A documentation of my journey to improve my life
Few times in my life can I recall having been moved by something so strongly that I was immediately forced to take action. To watch or read something and then immediately have the need to know more about it or the need to call a friend just to share must mean that it had profound impact on your life. This was the feeling I had after finishing the documentary Forks Over Spoons. Before the credits were even rolling on the screen I had grabbed my...
Vegetarian Junk Food It’s 9pm and I’ve just gotten out of a meeting that ran a lot longer than I had expected. I hadn’t eaten dinner yet and my stomach was starting to churn in anger and discomfort. I knew I should probably go home and make something but I also knew that would take another 30-45 mins until I would get to eat so instead I optioned for something quick, easy and tasty. I remembered there was a pizza...
Carnivorous Consideration Let me just start off by saying that I am a carnivore, well I guess omnivore actually but either way a meat eater. and I would even go so far as to identify myself as a meat connoisseur. Few things can beat grilling up a good streak on a nice BBQ on a hot summers day. Getting a steak to just the right temperature where you can see grill marks on the outside but the inside is still juicy and red (FYI: medium rare is...
As I sat knee’s locked and neck cramped squished into my seat on possibly the cheapest airline in the United States I had a lot running through my mind. I was returning home from our annual company trip to Scottsdale Arizona where I had just spent the last 5 days trying to find a balance between accomplishment and indulgence (not an easy balance to strike especially when the drinks are free and the peer pressure is high). I was the only...
A Reflective Run Through Toronto So there I was in Toronto Ontario; centre of the universe, home of Stanley Cup victories long passed and dreams (delusions) of new ones still fresh in people’s minds. I ventured out for a jog to clear my head after a long day at the conference I was attending. My headphones in, a smile on my face, my mind was completely engrossed in the incredible scenery around me. The buildings all had this eerie history...
Step 4: Focus On Functionality Facebook, text messages, TheChive, The Awesomer, IWasteSoMuchTime.com, Youtube, Email, LinkedIn, Geek.com, io9.com, Twitter, Instagram. These are just some of my favorite distractions and they can very quickly turn my day into an entertaining but very unproductive experience. How can I possibly be expected to get anything done when there is an entire world of geeky, awesome, hilarious, entertaining content waiting at my fingertips at any given moment? Well unfortunately the reality is I can’t… If...
Step 2: Automate to Execute To truly be effective at the important things I need to first get through the mindless things. I can’t count how much time I regularly waste on last minute grocery shopping, trying to figure out what I’ll make for dinner, paying bills, searching for information online, and on and on… To fix this issue my plan is to get as many of these things off my plate as I possibly can by implementing some of...
The Productivity Plan If you’re anything like me your biggest problem with productivity isn’t motivation; the biggest reason I don’t get anything done is because I’m either overloaded, distracted, unfocused or all 3. Besides battling constantly to try and put a dent in my endless lists of unfinished work and generally struggling with prioritization and time management (see GTD article) I am regularly fighting with personal distractions and a lack of focus. After researching for the last few weeks and...
Pretentious attitudes, long hair, man buns, Lulu Lemon, tight pants, overly bendy, over complicated, stretching disguised as a workout. This was basically my general perception of Yoga and those doing Yoga up to the beginning of this month. Was it a bit (quite) prejudgemental? Well, ya, but I’m not sure this was totally my fault. My only experiences with Yoga to date hadn’t really been the most positive. Besides my one-off encounters with the friendly but strange hippyish types practicing their...
3 hours 32 minutes, 4 cups of tea, half a box of somewhat stale Triscuits and 1 celebratory beer after we began I took a step back and I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. My girlfriend Brittney and I had just spend the better part of an evening writing down and filing every single last “need to do” in our lives. And when I say every I mean Every! “Finish installing the return-air vents, send thank you cards to friends,...
