For the Love of Lists

Engineering life one step at a time

How Checklists Save You Time and Stress

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I’m going to let you in on a secret used by surgeons, fighter pilots, and rocket scientists…

What do they have in common?  Checklists.

Yes, even some of the smartest people in the world rely on checklists to keep track of everything they need to do.  There’s simply too much information to remember otherwise.

How Checklists Save You Time and Stress

Checklists are the key to relieving some of the burden placed on our brains on a daily basis.  We’re all familiar with the notorious “to do” list, but they can actually be used in a wide variety of situations.  Here’s how checklists save you time AND stress.

Why Use Checklists?

Our lives are filled with so much information it sometimes feels like our heads will explode.  We’re constantly trying to remember projects, deadlines, schedules, and so much more.  In a single day we feel torn between 10 different priorities.

That’s where checklists come into play.  Whether simple or elaborate, here’s why you should be using them:

  1. Eliminate Mistakes – No more worrying about forgetting an item or task.  As you check off your list you’ll know you have every detail covered.
  2. Reduce Stress on Your Memory – Instead of attempting to remember long processes, write a one-time checklist for you to follow on autopilot.
  3. Minimize Procrastination – When you know exactly what you need to do in a series of simply steps, you have no need to procrastinate.
  4. Complete Projects Faster – Breaking down projects into a checklist allows you to track your progress and feel rewarded throughout the process.

The more we can remove thoughts and reminders from our minds and put them down on paper, the more mental capacity we will have left to tackle the tasks themselves!

Notebook

How to Use Checklists in Everyday Life

You already use checklists in several places throughout your day: to do lists, grocery lists, and recipes.  But here are a few more ways you can use checklists to simplify your life:

  • Diaper Bag Checklist
  • Home Cleaning Checklist
  • Weekly Meal Prep Checklist
  • Monthly Bill Paying Checklist –
  • Annual Home Maintenance Checklist
  • Travel Planning/Packing Checklist
  • Family Meeting Discussion Checklist
  • Holiday Planning Checklist
  • Morning Routine Checklist
  • Party Planning Checklist

Most of these are pretty self-explanatory.  For example, if you have a baby in the family, you may like the idea of a diaper bag checklist.  You can write it out on an index card, laminate it, and attach it to the inside of your diaper bag.  Give it a quick look over before you go out and you’ll never have to worry about forgetting baby wipes again!

What would you use checklists for in your life?  Share in the comments!

Why You Should Evaluate Your Goals Every Three Months

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How many times have you set a goal at the start of the new year and practically forgotten about it halfway through?

Goals are like flowers – you can’t just plant the seeds and walk away.  You need to tend to them, check in on them, and cultivate them.

The best way to tend to your goals is to evaluate them at least every three months.  Even the most basic review will keep them fresh in your mind.  Here’s why:

Why You Should Evaluate Your Goals Every Three Months

You Renew Your Commitment

You know that motivation you feel when you kick off your New Year’s resolutions?  It’s usually enough to power you through the first few weeks at least.

Checking in on your goals once a quarter is like giving yourself a restart button.  Imagine having that invigorating burst of focus three more times in a year.  If nothing else, it will get you that much closer to achieving your goals.

Start by reviewing your list of goals.  For each one, remind yourself why you set it and what you have to gain by reaching it.  Then either continue your current plan of action or create a new one.  Commit to those new steps and surround yourself with inspiration.

You Make Adjustments

It’s easy to have grand plans at the start of the year.  But sometimes those plans aren’t as realistic as you thought.  Or they just aren’t as effective as you thought.

Looking over your goals every few months gives you the opportunity to review what’s working and what’s not.  This is the only way you can make adjustments that will really have an impact.

If it’s not working, you have a few options:

  1. Adjust your plan of action.  Maybe you expected to workout for an hour each day and realized you just don’t have the time.  So instead you could change your plan to working out for 30 minutes or an hour three times per week.
  2. Adjust the goal itself.  Maybe you set a goal of saving up for your dream house within in the year.  Halfway though you realize it’s just not feasible in that time frame.  So instead you change your objective to saving half of the down payment.
  3. Adjust your mindset.  Maybe you were excited to start fresh but lost motivation when things didn’t progress as quickly as you wanted.  This is a great time to build up your support system and recommit.

On the other hand, perhaps your progress is going better than you thought.  You may have even reached your goal already.  In this case you have two options:

  1. Stretch your goal.  Maybe you set a business goal of reaching $50,000 in sales but you’re already at $60,000.  Why not stretch your goal to $100,000 and see if you can push yourself that much further.
  2. Celebrate and move on to other goals.  If you’ve reached your goal and you’re content with it, hooray!  Put that one aside and make one of your others a priority.

Speaking of celebration…

You Celebrate More Successes

Celebrate Your Successes

Most people prefer instant gratification over waiting on progress.  Waiting is hard – you put in all this effort and for a while you may not even know if it’s paying off.  When progress is slow we lose confidence in our abilities and willpower.

Performing a quarterly check-in gives you the chance to take a look back at how far you’ve come in the past three months.  Celebrate the wins, even if they’re small.  And if you haven’t reached any milestones yet, celebrate the effort you’ve put in so far.

If it helps you, set up a reward for reaching each milestone.  Plan it at the start of the year so you know what you have to look forward to.

You Keep Yourself on a Deadline

It’s easy to procrastinate when you feel like you have an entire year ahead of you.  You start off with your action steps on your to do list, but they quickly get pushed to the next day, and the next day, and the next day, because they don’t feel time-sensitive.

When you set three month milestones you’ve suddenly narrowed your schedule.  Instead of having 365 days to reach a goal, you now have only 90.  You can even narrow that down further into monthly goals.  This keeps you focused on making your goals a priority in your life.

 

Creating Quarterly Goal Reviews

So how do you set up these check-ins?  Here’s how to get started:

  1. Schedule four reviews in your calendar.  Set reminders and consider them mandatory appointments with yourself.
  2. Break your larger goals into 2-4 milestones.  These are stepping stones to your overall objectives.  Assign them to each quarter.
  3. During each quarterly review, ask yourself the following:
    1. Why do I want to reach this goal?
    2. What progress have I made so far?  Have I reached my goal?
    3. What has been working?  How can I keep this up?
    4. What hasn’t been working?  How can I make adjustments?
    5. What am I grateful for in the past three months?
    6. What is my new plan of action?
  4. Update your calendars with your new plans.

If you’re looking for a planner or journal set up to accommodate quarterly reviews, check out the Powersheets Goal Planner or the Daily Greatness Journal (I love both of these).

Keep cultivating those goals and you’re sure to make those dreams come true!