James' World 2

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After a 15-month bad patch, business is finally on the up for Zambian car dealer Dingani Banda.

The 29-year-old, who imports used cars from Japan to sell in the capital, Lusaka, has seen his monthly sales jump by 50% over the past year, largely due to a strengthening of the country’s kwacha currency.

Banda said that had been a godsend for him and other businesses in the southern African nation that rely on imported supplies, and had boosted sales.

“The fluctuating kwacha in the last few years was a nightmare, and so to be able to enjoy its stability and appreciation in recent months has been relieving,” Banda told Context.

“We have had an increase in clients being able to afford purchasing vehicles now because of the appreciated value of the currency.”

President Hakainde Hichilema, dubbed “calculator boy” for his background in finance, has been credited with ushering in such economic improvements since taking office in August 2021.

Hichilema has swiftly moved to renegotiate the country’s defaulted debt, put a lid on brisk inflation – bucking the global trend – and signed a $1.3-billion three-year loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

But while financial markets have celebrated such steps, many poor Zambians say they have yet to see the benefits, and some fear the IMF deal will mean austerity measures in a nation where about half of the population lives on less than $2 a day.

Tax justice and anti-poverty campaigners said the agreement had already led to the abrupt removal of fuel and electricity subsidies, leaving the poorest Zambians vulnerable to higher prices linked to the war in Ukraine.

“This program is based on the traditional IMF austerity package – but delivered on steroids,” said Nalucha Nganga Ziba, a social justice advocate and former head of the charity Action Aid Zambia.

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Yvonne Mwansa (R) and her daughter Mirriam Mwansa pose for a picture at their kiosk in Ng’ombe, Lusaka. October 21, 2022. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Zanji Sinkala

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Since the pandemic, remote or hybrid working has become the norm for most of us, with many employers deciding to ditch the traditional, five-day office work schedule.

And while remote working seems like the dream flexible job — not having to join the rush-hour commute, no office distractions, and tons of money saved on overpriced lunches, it can also be challenging in its own right. In fact, once the novelty wears off, many remote workers often feel stretched, non-productive, or struggle to find a work-life balance. 

Be it not having a proper work set-up, structuring your day or simply developing unhealthy habits, many different things can impact on our mental health and work productivity. 

So if you feel like you’ve lost your “mojo” and need motivation, be sure to avoid these 7 common mistakes we make when working from home.

1. Not setting up a designated workspace 

While it might seem tempting to work from bed or snuggled up on your cozy sofa, not having a proper workspace is a common mistake remote workers make. Even if you don’t have a spare room to create a home office, you should create a boundary between home life and work. 

If you can, allocate a specific area such as a corner in your living room, or even unused space under the stairs that could be converted into an “office nook.” In addition, invest in one of the best desks or best standing desks to suit your space and needs. Since you’ll spend most of the day sitting down, one of the best office chairs will help you get the right posture and work more efficiently. 

That said, you could work in a library, local coffee shop, or even a designated co-working space if you don’t particularly feel productive some days. Our work environment plays a major role in how productive, healthy, and successful we are. 

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Man eating at table while working (Image credit: Getty Images)

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Molly Elwood, a copywriter in Portland, Oregon, started using a screen-time monitoring app earlier this year and was unnerved when she discovered she was on her phone 11 hours in one day. Once, she couldn’t get off the Instagram/Facebook/Twitter/e-mail merry-go-round while riding in the passenger seat during a road trip and ended up carsick.

Tiffani Patel, a massage therapist, yoga instructor, and personal chef in Austin, Texas, knew she needed to make a change when she realized she was choosing Instagram over her dog Forrest, a mutt she says is “85 pounds of love.”

“What am I doing?” she thought. “There’s a live, beautiful animal in my home, and he’s not going to be around forever.” She got rid of social media apps.

Catherine Price, a writer in Philadelphia, browsed eBay for Victorian-era door knobs instead of paying attention to her newborn baby during a feeding. When she finally glanced at her daughter’s face — illuminated by the blueish light of a phone screen and looking at her mama — Price’s heart sank, and she realized it was time to make a change. She ended up writing a book called How to Break Up With Your Phone.

“Changing your relationship with your phone can have effects that are surprisingly profound,” Price says. “I’m a happier person, and that came directly from changing my relationship with the metal rectangle in my pocket. I thought it would be just better time management.”

Coincidentally, Patel, Elwood, and Price all took up the guitar after breaking up with their phones. They had the time all along; it was just getting sucked by a small, shiny screen. How much time? According to screen-time tracking app Moment, the average user of the app picks up his or her phone 52 times a day and spends 3 hours, and 57 minutes using it. And those are people who have chosen to track their screen time.

Overcoming a smartphone addiction — and yes, many experts consider compulsively checking your phone a behavioral addiction, similar to gambling — has the potential to improve your relationships, sleep, physical fitness, and mental health.

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Zac Freeland/Vox

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After all the turmoil of Covid, post-pandemic inflation, and return-to-office battles, “there no longer seems to be a revolutionary project roiling the knowledge sector,” wrote author and professor Cal Newport in The New Yorker recently. “Office workers seem to have retreated into a pervasive atmosphere of fatigue.”

He concludes, “What started with the Great Resignation has become the Great Exhaustion.”

That certainly jives with my own personal state of mind at the start of 2024. Will this overarching feeling of tiredness be our lot for the rest of the year? Nope, answers Stanford management professor Bob Sutton. But it may lead us into the next great trend to hit workplaces. He terms it “strategic slowness.” 

Will 2024 be the year leaders finally hit the brakes?

This prediction comes as part of an interesting project from journalist Katie Couric. On LinkedIn recently, she gathered a group of CEOs and other business thought leaders to answer the question “What will be the next big thing in 2024?” You can check out their diverse and interesting answers here, but the one that really caught my eye came from Stanford’s Sutton, who is known for his popular books and straight talking. 

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Photo: Getty Images

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Let’s Begin…

Can we break bad habits by being more curious about them? Psychiatrist Judson Brewer studies the relationship between mindfulness and addiction — from smoking to overeating to all those other things we do even though we know they’re bad for us. Learn more about the mechanism of habit development and discover a simple but profound tactic that might help you beat your next urge. Watch Video

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TED-Ed

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Use this easy crêpe mix to make sweet or savory pancakes. There’s enough batter to make a main course and dessert for a family of four.

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Easy crêpes

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We have just entered the season of Lent, a time to pray and fast to commemorate Jesus’s 40-day sojourn into the desert at the beginning of his public ministry. About a quarter of Americans—including 61 percent of Catholics—typically observe Lent through voluntary sacrifice, fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. Many religions have similar ascetic traditions, such as Yom Kippur in Judaism and Ramadan in Islam, in which believers repent and reflect on their need for improvement.

Lent is intended as a somber period, not one typically associated with joy and celebration. But here’s the weird thing: I like it and look forward to it. And I’m not alone—many of my friends who observe Lent say they are happier during those 40 days than during the rest of the year. Even some atheists have chosen to observe Lent for the benefits it can bring to body and mind.

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JAN BUCHCZIK

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Feed the family this comforting, budget-friendly sausage ragu with pasta. You can freeze the leftovers for another time, and it tastes just as good.

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