My 43 Tips on Life (Five O’Clock Tokyo 4)
Craig Atkinson
8 pages
https://www.instagram.com/fiveoclockzine/
My 43 Tips on Life (Five O’Clock Tokyo 4) is an A5, black and white zine about the rules, tips, tricks and other life lessons Craig has picked up during his past 43 years on the planet.
Maybe it’s the just-passed blue full super moon, or perhaps because it’s the first day of spring here in the land of Oz, but a zine about taking stock of one’s life and reflecting on the lessons one has learned just plain felt right to me.
My 43 Tips on Life starts off with an introduction to this zine and how it’s not meant to be an advice zine. Rather, it’s a celebration. It’s a zine about stepping out of all the things we can get caught up in life in order to check in with yourself and make sure the things you are doing still serve you. I was already eager to read a zine with life pointers, but the motivation behind the making this zine made it all the richer.
From there we get right into it. I found myself smiling with number one being ‘do your most important thing first’, as where else would this point be the most appropriate? It’s advice many of us have heard before, but I enjoyed reading how Craig applied it to his thought processes and his life. The second point – “I’m either all in, or all out. I can’t do half and half.” – had me nodding right along as well. It’s taken me a few years, but I’ve come to realise that about myself as well.
I won’t go through every single point with you, but I loved the variety. Some points were shorter while others were proper big paragraphs. Craig writes about all sorts of things, from food (cooking and consuming) to time itself. Did I agree with every point? Nope. I can’t read on a train. I get motion sickness. But agreeing or agreeing isn’t the point. This is about Craig, and I enjoyed learning more about how he views the world.
And therein lies a huge reason I love perzines: You can learn so much about yourself by learning about other people.
The design of this zine is modest and to-the-point (just like Craig is) with only text in a clear font and nice font size. The typography choices let you focus on the words and their meaning rather than the presentation.
My 43 Tips on Life is not only a zine I enjoyed but one that has inspired me to make one like it. Maybe I’m nosey or just curious about people, but it’s the sort of zine I always appreciate because I always appreciate the fact that so many people have been through so many different things than I have, and there are hidden gems everywhere.
“This isn’t an advice zine, a how-to, self-help, or I’m better than you zine. It’s a celebration of my life for me, and something I felt like sharing.”
Well I, for one, thank you for sharing it, Craig.