Checklists: A Buffer Against Human Error
As a part-time National Park Service ranger at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, I lead public tours of a decommissioned Launch Control Facility. Two missile officers sat in a hardened capsule 31 feet under the ground and controlled 10 Minuteman missiles.
As you can imagine, these were highly trained individuals. They received continual training, tests, and simulations to keep their skills sharp. But they still regularly used checklists for everything they did.
No matter how much expertise we accumulate, we are still human. We are vulnerable to basic errors. And checklists can protect ourselves from some of the most blatant ones.
Ness Labs Newsletter, The Case for Checklists
Why would such highly trained professionals use checklists?
Because even trained professionals are human. They forget, and they make mistakes.
The Checklist Manifesto: Transforming Medicine with a Simple Tool
The need for and impact of checklists is illustrated in the book The Checklist Manifesto, How to Get Things Right, by Atul Gawande. He was a surgeon who implemented checklists in the hospital where he worked.
As a result of using checklists, the hospital experienced huge improvements. The rate of major complications for surgical patients fell by 36 percent after introducing the checklist. Deaths following surgery decreased by 47 percent. Surgical site infections were reduced by almost half. All of that was a direct result of using checklists.
Think about that a moment: nearly half of all deaths following surgery were prevented simply by introducing a checklist. It’s humbling to realize how such a simple tool can create life-or-death outcomes.
Using Checklists in Everyday Life
We can use checklists in many areas of our work and lives.
I use checklists to ensure I complete all the steps needed to edit and publish my blog posts. After publishing the post, I place links on multiple platforms. However, if I don’t consult my checklist, I often forget about one posting location or an administrative cleanup step.
In addition, I use checklists in my personal life. For instance, if I’m going on a trip—not so much a simple short-term trip as a more involved one like an out-of-state trip to Disneyland—I’ll often make up a checklist to ensure that I do everything I need to before we leave and pack what I need to bring with me on the trip.
Using digital tools like NotePlan and Craft has made my workflows more efficient and reduced mental clutter. I no longer worry about forgetting steps because my checklists are always at my fingertips.
Digital Tools to Elevate Your Checklist Game
So, how do we use tech to help us make more effective checklists?
I use checklists as templates in NotePlan. When I need to use a particular checklist, I use a keyboard shortcut to bring up the insert template command, then select the checklist I’m looking for and insert it into my daily note.
I also use checklist templates in Craft, and used to use them in Obsidian. You can make checklists in Apple Notes, although no templates are available.
Even the popular mind-mapping app MindNode allows you to use checklists. I’ve used them to highlight and check off action items I’ve identified as a part of a quarterly review.
Most task managers also allow you to make checklists. You can set up tasks where if you have a recurring task, you can have the task and a checklist below the task when the task is due.
Conclusion
Why do checklists matter, even for the highly trained? Because being human means being imperfect, no matter how much training or experience we have.
Checklists have proven their worth in every field, from medicine to missile operations to everyday life. They help us manage complexity, prevent mistakes, and focus on what we do best.
Technology makes creating and adapting checklists for our unique needs easier than ever.
So, whether you’re launching a blog post, planning a trip, or reviewing your quarterly goals, a checklist isn’t just a piece of paper or an app—it’s a commitment to doing things right.