8 Ways A Checklist Can Boost Your Productivity
If you’re looking to increase your productivity, a checklist is just the thing. Productivity experts and gurus alike all agree that one of the best ways to get more done in life is by creating checklists for personal and professional tasks.
Sure, it sounds simple enough: create a checklist and take off running while crossing things off as you go along. But we can assure you there’s a lot more to it than that. Checklists only boost productivity when they are used properly, effectively, and consistently. Otherwise, they can have the opposite effect. Here are eight ways a checklist can boost your productivity:
1) A daily checklist relieves your mind of trying to remember everything.
It’s not that your memory is terrible, but that it just can’t be trusted. When you rely on your memory to remember every task at hand, you’re bound to forget something along the way. A checklist serves as a haven where all of your important tasks are stored so they won’t be forgotten. Letting go of this mental burden frees up more of your mind’s energy to do more things.
2) A printable checklist keeps you focused on what needs to get done.
Checklists keep you laser-focused by increasing your attention span and allowing you to work in a more uninterrupted flow state with fewer distractions. When you have your list right in front of you; especially when it’s printed or written on your planner or to-do list; looking off into space or being distracted by emails, social media, and the like, seems to be less appealing.
3) Having a checklist makes things visible.
Once you put all those tasks in one place — especially if they are visual — you make them impossible for yourself to ignore; it becomes clear exactly how much more there is left to do and how far behind you’ve gotten. This visual representation acts as a powerful motivating factor; you see the tasks staring at you every time you look for something else to do; so naturally, you want to work on them.
4) Making a checklist online or on your phone helps in prioritizing tasks.
When you have all your tasks online or on your phone in front of you, it’s easier to rearrange and make decisions about which ones are most important and need to be tackled first (the “A” items), which can wait (the “B” items), and which can be delegated (the “C” items). This will help keep you focused on what matters most instead of worrying about the small stuff that’s not urgent or doesn’t matter as much. If something does come up that needs your immediate attention, then by all means stop… but try not to stray too far from the task at hand unless necessary.
5) Checklists make things clearer.
When you have a list of all the things you need to do to complete a task like going through new employee training and onboarding, it removes or lessens uncertainty from complex situations. So even if there are multiple steps and people involved to finish your training, you can still know for sure that you’ve completed everything required of you when you have a training checklist. And when simple things are laid out clearly, it makes it easier to follow through and make progress because there’s no guesswork involved.
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6) Using a checklist for your tasks reduces mistakes.
When you’re running around like a chicken with your head cut off doing all these tasks, mistakes inevitably happen — some small and others large. But checklists, like a preventive maintenance checklist, help reduce errors because they make each step clearer; whether it’s checking off items on hard copy or swiping them away on digital ones if something gets skipped over and warrants a red X — you’re going to notice it.
7) Ticking off items in your checklist motivates you to complete tasks faster.
Once you can check off items on your list; then there’s less work left for you to do (which is good because now you don’t have as much more to do). But what is noteworthy here is that this will also help propel you through your next tasks. In other words, completing one task quickly tends to lead towards a chain reaction of increased productivity.
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8) Checklists allow you to take on big projects without feeling overwhelmed.
A lot of things on your personal or professional to-do lists probably seem too overwhelming to tackle alone, but making a list, like a project management checklist, is one way to get through them. There’s something about breaking down big projects into smaller tasks that makes it feel more possible. Accomplishing these smaller tasks then makes you feel capable and confident in your abilities — which carries over into other areas of your life.
To Wrap Up
Checklists make things simple, visible, prioritized, and achievable. These are just some of the reasons why checklists are so beneficial in our daily lives. And while many of us may have heard of these benefits; we don’t always take the time to make checklists and use them to our advantage. Why not start now? You can write your next to-do list on a piece of paper or take it to the next level by using an online checklist maker like Venngage. Venngage is a web-based tool that makes it simple to create digital checklists, infographics, and other visual aids. Take advantage of this easy-to-use checklist maker and be more productive today!
Next time you’re planning a project or just about to go grocery shopping; remember these eight benefits of making a checklist, and take the time to make one. That checklist might be just the thing you need to boost your productivity and improve your general quality of life!
