Are checklists effective?
Businesses have an unending stream of tasks they have to prioritize, delegate, and finish if they hope to stay afloat. It never stops. Show
How do you juggle all of that? A checklist might be the answer. Checklists might seem like ultra-simple tools for remembering which groceries to get or gifts to buy for the holidays. But they can also serve as powerful organizational tools for businesses, when done right. This post will explain the 2 broad types of checklists, some advantages and drawbacks of these tools, and tips to minimize those drawbacks. Well close with a platform that is excellent for creating and managing checklists thatll actually help boost your productivity. But first: Try monday.com What is a checklist, and what kinds are there?Most people understand the concept of a checklist. But lets define it, just so were all on the same page.
They have 3 main uses.
People use checklists for all sorts of things, but they can generally be divided into 2 types. Surgeon Atul Gawande defined the 2 broad kinds of checklists in his book, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. They are:
Whats the difference? Do-Confirm checklistA Do-Confirm checklist user does the activities listed at their own rate and generally in their own order. They can then consult the checklist when they feel its appropriate to make sure they didnt miss anything. This is called a pause point.
Back to the grocery shopping example: say you want to make a pasta dish for dinner tonight, but you need to buy all the ingredients. Its not mandatory to grab them in any specific order, as long as you dont leave the store without something. If youre like us, youll probably grab a couple items, then stop to consult your list and see whats still missing. That glance at your list is your pause point. Read-Do checklistRead-Do checklists are more regimented. The user carries out tasks one at a time, usually in a specific order, and then checks each task off as they are completed.
If we continue with this pasta example, the recipe would be a Read-Do checklist. You read a step, do that step, then move on to the next, in the order provided in your cookbook. Checklists have their pros and consChecklists have several advantages, but there are some downsides as well. Pro: theyre motivatingChecklists let you get the project or task out of your head and onto paper or a computer screen. Being able to see everything you need to do in front of you can be motivating. It makes the entire affair seem less daunting when you break it into digestible chunks. But the motivation goes further: as you check off each checklist item, you build momentum that carries you to the end. Pro: they guide your workChecklists give you direction. You can choose which tasks are most important to do first, and which ones can wait. In a way, it serves as a simple method of getting your tasks in front of you. This can increase efficiency and effectiveness when working on your project. It also leads to a better result in even the most serious of situations. In the late 2000s, Gawande famously helped the WHO solve the problem of unsafe surgical care by developing a 19-point checklist (which he discussed in his book). Several hospitals implemented the checklist as part of a study. Each surgical team at these hospitals used the checklist and saw decreases in surgical complications and deaths. Pro: they improve productivityMultitasking: it helps us accomplish more in less time, right? Wrong. Studies have shown that multitasking can reduce someones productivity by up to 40%. Switching between tasks stresses the brain and makes us less productive in our work. Still, its sometimes hard to listen to hard stats. Theres a lot of pressure to do everything now. And you may feel more productive when youre working on several things at once. Thats where checklists come in handy. They keep you focused on 1 task at a time, especially if its a Do-Confirm checklist. Pro: they make for easy delegationYou cant always do everything yourself. Luckily, checklists make delegation a breeze. If youre swamped and someone wants to take some work off your plate, just point to your list and tell them what they need to do. Or, you can hand them the list and ask them to take any task they want to take. Similarly, if youre hiring someone, new checklists break down your processes and procedures into a simple form they can follow. This gets your new employee up and running much faster, and reduces the amount of time your current employees have to step away from their jobs to help. Con: they can draw your focus to the wrong things
Con: they can become time-consumingSome people get too caught up in getting their checklist exactly right whether thats arranging things in the right order, breaking down tasks properly, or making sure every possible task is on there. Youll lose out on any time-saving or organizational benefits of using the checklist if you spend hours agonizing over it. Get started How to make a good checklistCreating a good checklist can make work easier and mitigate some of the disadvantages discussed earlier. Heres 6 tips for optimizing your list: Brain dumpFirst of all, you want to brain dump every possible task in your head. Get it out on paper to reduce the chance of forgetting things. Then, look for tasks that dont seem necessary and cut them out. Keep it short and simpleWhen a checklist is too long, it becomes distracting and unwieldy. You can simplify things by breaking up larger activities into multiple checklists or breaking broad tasks down into smaller sub-items. Complete each sub-item, then check off the overall task when theyre done. Dont make tasks too long and descriptive, either. Include critical information without fluff to minimize distractions or questions. Use verbs and be specificYes, it seems oddly specific, but omitting verbs can cause confusion. Think about it: say you had a checklist for cleaning an office. One of the list items is desks. What does that mean? Dust the desk? Organize the items on the desks? Tuck the desks away in a corner? No one can know for sure. But if you make the task wipe down desks, you convey much more information to the user. You can make things even clearer with more specificity. You might say, wipe down desks with disinfecting wipes, in case someones unsure what cleaning supplies to use. Test it outThanks to the curse of knowledge, the checklist might make sense to you. But to other people, things may seem out of order or illogical. There may also be unnecessary or distracting steps that a real-world test will make apparent. So, the only way to know for sure that your checklist is good is by trying it out in real situations. Update regularlyChecklists arent static they can change. You may realize you need to add extra tasks. There might be redundant tasks you can cut. Directions might be unclear.Whenever you come across these, update your checklist accordingly. Use software with checklist capabilitiesCut the paper waste and declutter your desk by using software like monday.com to maintain checklists. A checklist software app preferably a web app makes it much easier to manage checklist tasks, share checklists with other people, monitor progress on tasks, and so on. Get started Make checklists for anything you need with monday.comYouve seen the benefits that checklists have on you and your teams productivity. It only makes sense that checklists are the bread and butter of Work OS platforms like monday.com. That is why monday.com has a feature specifically for creating checklists. You can create a new checklist in monday.com by clicking the item for which youd like to make a checklist, selecting checklist, and entering the checklist items in the text field. Of course, monday.com also offers some checklist templates you can use for common Workflows, both inside and outside the workplace. Work checklistChecklists are a mainstay in the workplace. You use them for many of your processes. For example, when you onboard employees, you follow the same procedures each time. Thats something monday.coms employee onboarding template can come in handy for. Maybe you dont work in an office. Maybe you run a cleaning company that cleans offices. monday.com has you covered with the daily cleaning checklist template. Of course, in all of our templates you can categorize the different headings as you see fit. Personal checklistsChecklists arent just for the workplace theyre also great tools for keeping your life in order. After all, an organized life is a happier life. And you can reach that happier life by sorting your week with monday.coms weekly to-do list template. Or if you like to get granular, you can break your workflows down by the day with this daily task tracker. Hey, if youre really into organizing, use both of them. ConclusionChecklists are for more than just your groceries or holiday shopping lists. Businesses that use them correctly will have an easier time completing projects and delegating work. Checklists have their pitfalls, but you can avoid most of them by making sure your checklists are simple, short, and understandable. But of course, always make sure youre improving them. Oh, and get a Work OS platform that makes checklist management a zillion times easier. monday.com is perfect for that, so try it out today. Get started |