Limitation Breeds Value: How to Use Limitation to Your Advantage

The most valuable time during Skype or any video call is the end part, when you say your good byes. As soon as you figure out you’re limited on time, you tend to value that time very much.

Talking directly to the point and making use of every remaining second seems like the only way to make use of the moment.  Sure, it is.

I’m not disciplined enough to set or follow time limit during Skype calls or Google hangouts. If I start a call with someone for just 10  minutes, it goes on for more than an hour. Maybe I’m anxious that I’ll not get to talk with them for a long time. And I wouldn’t know when I’ll get to talk with them.

We value everything that’s limited. The only reason diamond is so expensive is because it’s very limited. If there were diamonds all around the world like pebbles, it wouldn’t be of value.

Petrol price rise up when it’s limited. It rises up even more when it’s extremely limited.

It works outside of monetary confinement as well.

If you have a dress which is hard to get, you tend to value it more. You don’t like clothes which everyone owns.

When you are out in the Airport, you pay all your attention to the person who is departing. It’s because you are aware that you have very limited time with the person. That particular moment is intimate and very precious. It starts to feel precious all at once, even if you never cared about the person before.

I find myself talking about the important points only during the end of  conversation, because during that time, I feel like the time is running out.

I do hangout and Skype call with Niall Doherty from time to time. It’s fun. I really get that vibe and positive energy after I talk with him. He is the reminder of where I came from, which leads me to motivation and influence to work on my goals. Or at least, to remember my goals.

As soon as I talk with him, I visualize my past and how far have I come along with time.

But when I start to talk with him, I go off guard. I don’t realize what’s important and what’s not. I talk about everything that’s on my mind.

It’s not entirely bad, but it could be better. If I had specific topics to talk about which were important, I wouldn’t go about blabbering gibberish most of the time.

So, here’s my rough idea for any video call:

1. Don’t start video call unprepared: List the things you want to talk about before the call. Write it on notepad so you don’t forget it and go off guard.
2. List your points at the beginning of the video call: Notify what you’re going to talk about to the other person. That way both of you can be aware of the time you have.
3. Talk directly to the point: Don’t wait to talk about important stuff in the end. No bullshit.
4. After you finish talking about everything that’s on the list, you can start those random conversations if needed.
5. Before closing out, review in points what you talked about: This is very important. Even if you ignore all of the above points, don’t ignore this. You need to get the glimpse of the call at the end so you’re sure what you talked about. So you are able to take action. Most of the time we get confused after the call. It’s because we talk about various topics, and when it ends, we remember only the bits and pieces of it. If you have any action to perform after the call, make sure you send out an e-mail briefing what you talked about. Especially, I do this to my clients when we have work to do.
6. Break any, if not, all the rules whenever you want.

We don’t always start video call to talk about something specific. We talk to strengthen our relationships and talk about what’s going on in our life. So, it’s important that we enjoy the call more than anything. Relationship is what matters in the end, not the gibberish talk.

Like I said before, I feel happy and excited when I get to talk with someone who I haven’t met for a long time. I get that vibe and motivation to go further.

Along those lines, if limitation makes everything more valuable, then we can make it work for our advantage.

Learn to limit your time with everything.  If you can limit your time with everything you do, you can trick yourself to work on it fully.

For example: If you are working on something, set a time limit for it. Maybe 30 minutes or even 15 minutes. Start your work after that. I usually set time limits to work on my laptop so that I don’t get overwhelmed and get things done on time.

However, it might not work for everyone. We are all different. It’s better that you give it a try and see if it works for you.