Checklist

Checklist are one of the simplest and yet most effective ways of organizing work and measuring progress.

A checklist is nothing more than a chronologically arranged list of the things that need to be done to reach a goal. It does not attempt to describe how each step is to be accomplished but rather what is to be done and in what sequence. Herein lies its power and simplicity. This in turn is a trigger to make sure we know how to do it and what to do.

Checklist can be quite formal, such as the ones which are designed for the preflight check of an airliner. They can be extremely simple, such as a simple problem solving checklist.

Once a checklist being created to solve a problem or reach a goal, it becomes a kind of " standard plan " or standard procedure for carrying out that task.

It therefore becomes very useful the next time we want to accomplish the same task.

We don't necessarily have to follow the same steps we followed before, but we have a list against which we can check to see that we have considered all of the things considered the last time the task was done.

We can also add items not needed before. Keeping a checklist is a way of passing along both history and experience, even as we add to, modify, or simplify the checklist for our future use.

Checklist become powerful communication tools when we use them to standardize a task.

Once a person is trained in the desired procedures, the checklist provides an incentive toward uniformity in future performance. In emergencies it can help the uninitiated to avoid gross errors.

Next to each item on the checklist, indicate who is responsible for completing the task and the time or date the task is completed.

Then as each task is accomplished, the checklist offers an effective display of the status of each task and the progress of each person responsible for completing the tasks.

Checklist can be constructed for almost any kind of a plan. After they have been used over and over, they eventually become habits.

A good example of this is making a shopping list in the sequence in which the items are arranged on the supermarket aisles.

After a while you find that you have memorized the supermarket so well that your mind automatically remembers the items that you need as you simply walk up and down the aisles.

A similar habit forming example is the checklist procedure we use in teaching someone to drive a car. The standard steps to safe driving soon become habit as they are repeated over and over. The checklist then is an aid to recall when habits are questioned.

Thank you for reading 📖

Love lots ❤️