Jay Honeck wrote:

I'm interested in hearing what you do to combat the human tendency
toward sloppiness? Any tricks that you might use, or methods you
might employ?

Discipline.

Every one of my flights follows the same pattern. I always have the
latest sectionals, low altitude en route charts, AF/D and approach
plates. I plot my course, review the charts. I file DUATS, get my
briefing from FSS (which *is* getting better).

My preflight is the same every time. Open the hangar, get my GATTS jar
(whatever it is called), grab the checklist, do my cockpit checks and
then around the plane right wing, nose, left wing, tail, roll the plane out.

Checklist sez, get the ATIS, ASOS whatever, copy it. Follow the
checklist. I won't go thru the whole thing as I suspect a few of you
may have done this once or twice yourselves! :^)

But that is the net of it. Follow the checklist. The checklist should
have your V speeds, your emergency procedures, your pre flight, takeoff,
cruise, approach, descent, pre and post landing and shutdown procedures
clearly documented. Do that and flying becomes almost like a cookbook
(that's a joke folks, breathe).

my 2 cents.

KC