In this article, you’ll figure out what a good checklist looks like, what are benefits of using a checklist and how you create one to make your life easier.
Work, home, gym, shopping – the correct checklist will help you sort out everything. In this article, you’ll figure out what a good checklist looks like and how you create one to make your life easier.
What is a checklist?
A checklist is a list of items you need to verify, check, or inspect. With checklists, it’s so easy to keep track of what needs to be done or monitor the progress.
At first, checklists were only used in technical industries to check the completion of complex tasks. For example, the readiness of a plane for take-off. Now, we use this simple and convenient tool in literally all areas of life. On the Internet, you can find a checklist of a good website, a wedding checklist, a new habit checklist, and many more.
Why checklists are important
Checklists will free your mind from having to remember the steps you need to complete and worrying about the possibility of forgetting to do something.
They can also save time. Having the specific steps written makes them easy to follow and is likely to result in fewer errors. This means you won’t have to fix anything and save time.
Furthermore, the tool can improve your productivity. There’s something that people find satisfying about ticking items off a list. Checklist fans say that using checklists on a regular basis makes them more likely to complete tasks. Also, according to studies by Wake Forest University, tasks we haven’t done distract us. But just making a plan can free us from anxiety and make us start acting.
We’ll talk about all the benefits of checklists in more detail later in this article.
Types of checklists
Here are a few common types of checklists you can use.
- To-do checklists differ from checklists but have some similarities as well. To-do lists are about the things that need to be done, for example, this morning. A checklist is a set of tasks that tell you what to do to complete a certain process.
- Trackers are tools for introducing good habits or getting rid of bad ones. They allow you to track how regularly the same actions are performed over a long period of time. For example, if we want to “drink 1.5 liters of water daily” or “read books for at least 30 minutes.”
- Memos. The shopping list is a typical memo.
- With calendar checklists, you can control your day, week, or month.
- Challenge checklists help you achieve goals. For example, if you want to avoid sugar for 30 days or train yourself to be happy for 31 days.
Why use a checklist
It doesn’t matter whether you’re working on your business or preparing your home for Thanksgiving. You’re probably multitasking and dealing with tons of distractions which can make you forget to do certain steps. Or maybe you want to adopt a new habit but always lose motivation. This is where checklists can be a valuable tool to help you get things done.
Now, let’s talk about the importance of checklists in more detail. So, why use a checklist?
✔ It helps you stay organized
Sometimes, all of us can have one of those days where we feel like we’ve achieved nothing. On top of that, the inbox is full of unopened emails, and the apartment looks cluttered. With checklists, you can organize your small and big days, making a list of tasks you have today, this week, or next month.
✔ It relieves your mind
Many of us have some repetitive tasks to complete. And if we don’t have any guidance, we may forget important steps in the process. This is stressful and perhaps even impossible to keep things in mind all the time. So why not make a checklist instead of trying to remember everything? You can create a list of things to do when you get ready for a trip, organize a party, go grocery shopping, or even onboard a new hire. The purpose of checklist is to let you focus on essential tasks maintaining control over recurring tasks with easy efforts. That’s why are checklists important.
✔ It helps track progress
Use checklists to gauge skill development or track progress and all the steps. For example, if you want to start reading every day or lose weight, it’s a nice idea to try out this method.
✔ It helps stay motivated
Checklists can motivate us to take action and achieve goals. The next time you feel awesome after checking all the boxes and looking at a visual reminder of your success, you’ll know exactly why. Keep on making those checklists! Also, since the tool can make us more successful, it becomes like a virtuous circle where we’re motivated to accomplish more due to the positive results.
✔ It improves productivity
By working with checklists, you can complete repetitive tasks faster and with fewer mistakes. This will give you more time in the day, and you’ll improve productivity to accomplish more every new day.
For those who have online job work from home, checklists can help organize your daily working routine and stay productive.
✔ It helps in sales and marketing
Checklists are convenient not only as an applied tool for checking some processes but also as a digital product. It can be created quickly and looks beautiful. You can sell the checklist or offer it to the user as a file in exchange, making a business process. When the user gives their email address and/or phone number, you can send them more offers, personal discounts, info about the brand’s products, and more.
Interesting to know:
Checklists can literally save lives. When the US Army Air Corps introduced the Boeing B-17 during the Second World War, an experienced pilot crashed the plane. After this horrible situation, the Army required that aviators use a checklist before taking off. Now, this policy is prevalent in aviation around the world.
How to create your checklists
What if you don’t find the right checklist? Do you have to hire someone to create one?
In fact, anyone can make checklists. You can compose a memo even in a plain Word document or draw a habit tracker by hand and get a simple checklist. The main thing here is to apply the tasks in practice.
However, the design is also an important part. It is much more pleasant to work with a beautiful document. And it’s not necessary to hire a designer. These days, we’re lucky to have a free checklist tool. You can enjoy ready-to-use templates (trackers, lists, challenges, schedules, memos) or create your own checklists to your taste and requirements.
