I wish everyone a joyful Christmas and a prosperous New Year! Reflecting on the past year, I’ve written down key lessons that have enriched my journey.
- Ten Minutes – There is a lot you can achieve in 10 minutes. It may seem like it is not much. I am a busy parent. I have to drive my kids to school. I have to do homework. I work full-time. There is never going to be 2 hours to do anything. I write in between little breaks when my kids go to bed. When they are playing or having a meal, the idea is to do the little I can and continue later.
- Curing Forgetting: I forget to do what I need to do. It is an everyday battle. As with all things, the solution is simple. I have started to use a task manager to run my life. Whenever I encounter new information. I ask myself,” How will I remember this?”. I do it immediately or note it down in my task manager. This has enabled me to do much more outside my brain’s capacity to store and remember things. If you are wondering, I use the free Apple Reminders app installed on every iPhone.
- Upgrading My Workstation: I have upgraded my laptop to an Apple MacBook Air M1. My HP Pavillion just couldn’t cut it anymore. The battery can’t stay on for more than 30 minutes. My HP laptop has been preventing me from doing work. Instead of helping me do it. I end up wasting time by fighting with it. I have entirely ditched it.
- One Less Thing to Do: I am also consciously trying to remember less and less. I attempt to write down almost anything I find helpful in Apple Notes and Notion. These 2 Note taking apps are where I build my second brain system.
- Traveling to Nigeria: I traveled to Nigeria this month, and it was an eye-opener. Nigeria is just like Ghana. We are the same people. We do almost the same things but with minor differences. For example, Nigerians are complaining about the cost of fuel, which is GHS 9.00. In Ghana, we are complaining about the cost of fuel, which is GHS 12.00. Traveling made me appreciate what I have at home in Ghana.
- Performing Actions: Your actions are the most significant determining factor in anything you achieve. You can have the best idea. Yet, without doing anything. It is a waste of time. The higher the quality of actions, the better your life will become. I have decided to do something daily that moves me forward. That moves me towards my goals. Always do something about any of the things you intend to achieve.
- Next Physical Action: Doing the next physical action/step on anything you want to achieve moves you forward. I only need to perform the next physical action when stuck on something. This forward momentum brings clarity on what to do next.
- Making Moments Count: I love being busy. I love to have a list of things to do. I love to make time count by doing and making stuff. But I also carve out time to spend with my Wife and kids. It’s a rule I don’t break.
- Keeping Up Energy levels: I need to be alert and work as much as possible. The only way to succeed is to plan my meals and eat at the correct times. It turns out that most of my Migraines are triggered by skipping meals, especially in the afternoons. I, therefore, have decided to set an Alarm for noon to eat some Bananas.
- Taking Medication: I don’t particularly appreciate taking Medication. I try to avoid it as much as I can. I happen to be allergic to dust and cement. When I get exposed, I begin to have difficulty in breathing. In other words, I have Asthma. Knowing this, I still ignored taking my medication. I decided to run for a whole year to fix this. It didn’t work. When not well, take your medication. I feel much better with my breathing because I consistently take my Asthma medication.
