Instructional &
Informational Posts
In Man Up, Jonathan chronicles the challenge of turning accident into endeavour. Overcoming years of bad habits, highly honed laziness, and a body that's generally uncooperative unless tricked into cooperation, he writes to remember and share his hard-won formulas for wellness.
The demons are winning. It’s what they do. Fluffy, Sparky, Damien—they’re baaaaaaack.
But they haven’t won yet... To regain my bearings, I need a map, a guide - to lead me through the checkpoints on my perilous journey.
In this case, the map is... a checklist!
Yes, the humble checklist. Why?
√ It collects crucial pieces of information, reducing anxiety about forgetting something
√ It organizes tasks
√ It makes more concrete the reality of what I have to do
√ It’s easy to follow at a glance
If you think this sounds overly simplistic, clearly you haven’t run into Sparky, Fluffy, and Damien in a dark forest. Checklists are simple, but powerful. Like a silver bullet. Just the thing to take care of werewolves and their brethren.
And for me, they’re amazingly liberating. They let me see the forest and the trees. They help me move through the forest, instead of getting distracted and lost in it.
Some folks use their smartphones. Others use a chalkboard. I just use a notebook that fits easily into my back pocket. It’s always there. When I hear Sparky starting to snarl, I grab my checklist and put up a fight to make my wellness happen.
Check and check.
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Next up? The Healthy Eating Survival Kit. Stay Tuned.
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Jonathan Maingot is a professional ski bum turned prospective writer and entrepreneur. When he's not banging his head against a wall at the difficulties involved in writing, he's likely on his cyclocross bike exploring his new backyard on Vedder Mountain in the Fraser Valley.
