Checklist: A Surefire Tool of High-Level Functionality

"The checklist is one of the most high powered productivity tool ever discovered. If you don't have a checklist, you're much more likely to forget something."_Brian Tracy

Few years ago, in the city where I lived, a five-story building near completion fell and crumbled to the ground in an instant. It was a colossal loss of lives and money.

As investigation revealed, the collapse was totally preventable; it happened because the site engineer had neglected an essential step in the process of construction. 

This incident is what inspired today’s article. And it is intended to safeguard us from a preventable mistake like this in the construction of our own projects. So, I am going to share a practical tool that we can benefit from, if we are willing to use it, in any area of our lives. 

Though it is not something extraordinary by definition but its value can be huge. What I am referring to, is just a simple list of all the steps necessary that we outline—beforehand—for the realization of any outcome that we desire. 

To get the idea of its value, we need to recognize that, the heavy loss suffered in the above narration would have been avoided, if the site engineer had rightly made use of a checklist.

Atul Gawande is a renowned surgeon who published a book entitled: ‘The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right.’ In the book, he writes: 

“Checklists turn out...to be among the basic tools of the quality and productivity revolution in aviation, engineering, construction - in virtually every field combining high risk and complexity.”

And he continues by saying that: “Checklists seem lowly and simplistic, but they help fill in for the gaps in our brains and between our brains.”

As humans we are far from perfect. Not even the smartest and the brightest of men is completely free from making a mistake or omitting a step in a process. No one is infallible, except God, the Almighty. 

So to ensure necessary safeguards when the stakes are high, it is important that we make use of a checklist. 

Steven Levitt, the co-author of the book, ‘Freakonomics’ thinks in this direction. He admits: “No matter how expert you may be, well-designed checklists can improve outcomes.”

Evidently, forgetfulness can cause things to go very wrong. This is true, whether we are looking at the construction industry, the airline industry, medical sector or any business for that matter; this is even true in our personal lives. 

So if we want to function at our best in any capacity, checklists need to become our functional companion.

Let’s Prepare Our Checklist Now

The thing to keep in mind about an effective checklist is that it should be designed based on what is essential. To be clear, an essential step is a step that can cause a trouble if missed or forgotten.

 

Therefore, the main goal of a checklist is to prevent human error, thereby ensuring that we do things the right way at the very first time.  

To create an effective checklist, we should avoid making the list too long as Atul Gawande concludes in his book:

"Good checklists are to the point, and easy to use. They do not try to spell out everything. Instead, they provide reminders of only the most critical and important steps."

Now, if we adhere to checklists, things will go quite right. We won’t have to think about every single step. Since the steps are already written and organized, we can easily direct all our attention to what really needs to get done.

Finally, with the right use of a well-designed checklist, we can ensure high-level consistent performance in any field of practice, even the most convoluted ones.