A Confession and A Clever Tip

Confession:  I hate telephone calls.  The idea of making chit chat and inevitably having at least one or two awkward pauses makes me sweat.  It's hard work!  It doesn't matter how well I know or love you, unless it's to my family or husband, I try not to make phone calls.  Believe me,  I'm sparing you!  Awkward sweats aside, I like the idea of phone calls with friends, but I feel like I don't always have all the time I'd love to catch up and stay connected.
A few weeks ago, I read a cleverly easy tip for staying in contact with friends via the telephone.  I have wonderful friends and family scattered around the world, so doing these short 5 minute calls would be a great answer to the long distance problem.
Friendship tip: 5- minute phone calls from Cup of Jo.  This blogger's husband also wrote an interesting article for the New York Times about making friends as an adult.