A man in sportswear is crouched down, tying his shoe on a foggy street. Unaware, he is near a zombie and several shadowy figures in the misty background, suggesting a scene from a zombie apocalypse. The setting is eerie with a backdrop of dimly lit trees and a hazy skyline.

You hear stories about people performing heroic feats in life-and-death scenarios: lifting a car off of a child, swimming for miles to get back to shore from a shipwreck, etc. Like most middle-aged guys, some part of my brain assumes that I would be able to do the same. A lifetime of living vicariously through action movies and video games leads me to believe that my body is just waiting to be unleashed for its superhero moment, like a Manchurian Candidate of fitness.

But, historically, I have not had many of those experiences in my life, so there is no need for an alter ego, yet. Even if I did, building a heart-healthy lifestyle around life-or-death adventures does not seem sustainable. Unless you fake it.

Read more

As I have explained before, I try to deal with stressful situations by planning ahead, most often through checklists or automations.

Deciding to keep my sick kid home from school and communicating with his teacher(s) and the staff quickly is just such a situation. I have created two Drafts accounts to help me in those times.

Read more