“I think it would be a good idea!”
~ Mahatma Gandhi, when asked what he thought of Western civilization
Good morning and happy Monday! I’m not sure why the quote from Gandhi is especially relevant today, but there it is.
Let’s get to it.
Let’s talk about checklists.
You might thing this has absolutely nothing to do with creativity. We’ll see about that.
Why do we need checklists? We remember to brush our teeth and pee before bed.
Humans don’t need checklists to remember to do the hard, unusual things. Those we actually do a fair job of remembering.
We need checklists so that we don’t forget to do the obvious things.
For example, a checklist adopted by operating rooms worldwide reminded surgeons and staff to do things like introduce themselves to one another before the surgery. I imagine that, if you’re part of a team about to cut someone open and take out an appendix, you should probably know everyone’s name and what they do. Obvious, right? But that checklist of obvious things and its adoption saved lives all over the world.1
So why am I writing this? Because I just found out that I dropped some plates last week, and this morning they went crashing to the ground. A simple checklist, checked off in a timely manner, would have prevented this.
Another checklist I need to make: Everything that goes into having a CD made. I’ve done it three times now, and I’m STILL surprised at the steps that I forget, finding myself scrambling at the last moment.
So I’m going to do myself a favor and make a few checklists.
My very best,
Philip
See The Checklist Manifesto - highly recommended reading.
There’s a checklist manifesto!?!? #onboard