What is a Checklist?
A checklist is a task list or a to-do list and is considered as a reminder. It is a set of records of the repetitive activities and to collect data in an orderly manner. Generally, a checklist is used to perform routine checks and to ensure workers' productivity in the task listed in the checklist. There are various checklists that are used occasionally. Usually, it starts with a daily checklist and it escalates into a higher and professional level like cleaning checklist or project checklist, depending on the checklist's owner. To fabricate a checklist, one must follow certain steps on how to make an effective checklist.
How to Make an Effective Checklist
It is an important aspect of productivity to track the set of events to be accomplished in a specific amount of time. It would be a big help to formulate a checklist in order to reach a certain goal. To help you in making your checklist, we will provide you steps on how to make an effective checklist.
1. Identify Mistakes that Cause Failure
We tend to make mistakes, and if not corrected, it will occur over and over again. To make a checklist, you must first identify mistakes from your routine and make it as your guide in formulating one. In that way, you can attain an orderly checklist that will help you track your activity to make it precise and successful.
2. Gather Data
Data gathering is also a big factor to formulate an effective checklist. In that way, you can conduct a survey as to what are the causes of their common failures and make a checklist out of it. According to surveys, the success rate of decisions based on data gathered is higher by 79% than those made using pure intuition alone. In that way, your checklist is concrete and has a solid frame because it came from outsourcing.
3. Create Simple To-Do steps
Create a simple list of to-do steps to remind you to do a specific task. You can check your calendar and determine as to what task you need to perform at that certain time. In creating your own checklist, you can easily remember tasks whenever it is written in its simplest form. As a matter of fact, tackling a problem with a complicated problem solution is going to end up in failure 99% of the time, as per statistics. With that, start making simple to-do steps to aid your problem in maintaining your routine.
4. Test the Checklist
Now that you formulate your initial sample checklist, you must have a pre-testing of your output. Lapses and flaws are expected in the first testing. Take note of the mistakes and learn from the process because mistakes serve as the corrector to your personal checklist. After you perform this step, you can proceed to the next and final step.
5. Refine the Checklist
As you gather the result of your pretest, you can now polish your checklist and use the gathered data as the basis to formulate the refined project checklist. Learning is inevitable, and so the more you learn, the more your checklist will be effective. Experience is still the best teacher. As you consider your work a success, try to share it with others who badly need a checklist.