I am convinced that the only reason I have a phone is to take the random pictures for my VSCO account and not for phone calls.
For many years I have wondered why I have a phobia for phone calls. My journey to find out the cause started when I found other people on Twitter who also felt the same way.
In the earlier days, most of my phone calls had been for business. Chasing this client, getting feedback from a client, listening to a prospective client, getting dished the ‘we need to talk’ sentence from a girlfriend, having that emergency ‘Seye I need your help’ from a friend and the more frequent ‘Seye you don’t call me’ nag from other friends. In the latter case, I’d have to explain why citing the other reasons constitute to my not keeping in touch.
I shut down my phone for many days, relying on messaging platforms for communication. This was how I found out why I feel the way I do about phone calls. Many times, being friendly with my phone means I would be tricked, forced into commitments I have not properly thought through. For instance, a friend calls to say he has a bug on his website that he needs my help on. Suddenly I am committing to helping him only to find out I already made another commitment.
Someone who got my phone number off a friend calls and asks for a meeting to discuss his next project. Because I don’t have my calendar in view and because he’s probably a better negotiator, he forces me into setting up a meeting. Knowing from experience that meetings are most times a waste of time and a huge energy-drainer(if you live in Lagos), I end up shooting myself in the feet.
Or do I need to point attention to the very common scenario where someone calls me at the middle of an important self-commitment and just keeps rambling about god-knows-what and I am forced to listen all-through.
I have been a horrible communicator and still learning to be better. One thing for sure, I won’t pick strange numbers. You will probably ask, “what if it’s a big contract or someone wants to offer you 10 million naira?”. Well, if it’s mine, if it’s urgent and if it’s worth it, it will find a way around. What happened to email and text messages? Tim Ferriss shares my sentiments
