Geeking Out With Checklists

Your Secret Envy

Do you feel like you are not organized at all or not ever organized enough? Do you have that one friend (that you secretly envy), who seems to have it all together and get so much done because she is so organized? What could possibly be the trick up her sleeve.

The older I get, the more goals I have, the more I try to accomplish the less organized I feel. Even worse, the more mistakes I make and the more things I forget, the less I’m able to get done. Is that what happens to you as well?

Get Geeky with Me

While I can handle a little clutter around the house, my organized mind cannot handle it when I lose something or forget things. In my day job, which is in IT, I write documentation to help people use various technologies. There is a lot of other documentation that goes along with my day job. One particular type of documentation that I’ve always felt a particular affinity for is the checklist. I know it’s silly, my only defense is that I am truly a geek.

Aren’t you glad that airlines use a pre-flight checklist to check the plane mechanically and for safety? Surgical teams, teachers and wedding planners use checklists. Whether you realize it or not and even if you resist the idea of using checklists, you use them all the time. A recipe has a checklist of tasks to do to create the yummy end result.  Doesn’t that make you want to get geeky with me?

Why a Checklist?

1. Checklists help you stay on task – how many times a day do we get interrupted?  Using a checklist will let you know exactly what to do after your interruption is handled.
2. Keep you from forgetting important steps – using a checklist will prevent skipping important steps when rushing through a task.
3. Makes sure things are done in the correct order – just as important as not skipping steps can be making sure they are done in the correct order.

Checklist Library

To get your library of checklists started, here are some links to some fabulous checklists you can use to get you started:

Pets
Moving
Cleaning
Home Decor
I hope getting geeky with me, helps you get things done, and inspires you to create your own checklists.  When you do, drop a comment in the comment section below and share it with the rest of us!
Blessings,

Lauree

…keep dancing the dream

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