Checklists are a crucial element to getting things done.  Whether you are creating a grocery list, planning a vacation, or completing daily tasks, composing a list beforehand will help to ensure your success.  With a little forethought and planning, you can utilize checklists in several areas of your life such as Financial Planning, Home Management, Meal Planning, Party/Event Planning, Time Management, Student Planning, Time Management, and Travel Planning (you’ll find lists and checklists for all of these topics as a member to ListPlanIt.com).

How many times have you gone to the grocery store and forgotten an important ingredient for your dinner menu?  Or even worse, have you gone on vacation and discovered you forgot your camera or a certain pair of shoes?  Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life, it is difficult to remember every detail.  Lists help to not only relieve our minds of the vital details, but also to store and record those details for frequent use and future reference.  By taking the time to plan ahead, you will feel more confident and prepared.  This is especially important in emergency situations.  Imagine having a checklist available for an emergency such as a hurricane when time is of the essence.  Here are some steps to take to building a well-crafted checklist for any situation.

• Set aside some time.  Plan to create your checklist when you know you can dedicate some time to it without any interruptions.  I am a big fan of taking a weekly planning retreat to plan all of the upcoming aspects of a busy family:  budgeting, meal planning, holiday/event planning, to do lists.  Are you a morning or a night person?    Understanding this will work to your benefit when creating your daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly to do lists and schedules.
• Brainstorm a first draft. Write or type out your list as the ideas come to you.  Do not worry about the order of tasks.  The important thing in this step is to get them down in front of you, whether that is by hand or using a device.
• Organize your tasks.  Whether you list your tasks by time/date or by order of importance, a list should be organized so that it is clear and easy to follow.  What’s great about this step is you often discover steps that you might have missed in the first draft.
• Make your list achieve-worthy.  This is my favorite step.  Now that you have an idea of what challenges lie ahead, it is time to create a list that is worthy of accomplishment.   Color code your lists by printing them on colored paper (different colors for different areas of your life).  You’ll find that the more of yourself that you put into the list, the more motivation you’ll have to actually complete it.  Simply adding check boxes or even lines to place a check mark will give you a reason to return to your list.

If you are wondering how to properly develop a checklist that works,  ListPlanIt.com was developed over 5 years ago to provide guidance and to save time in the planning stage.  Right now, you can choose from 1 of 2 membership options to gain access to hundreds of printable, readymade lists.  Coming soon, ListPlanIt‘s Mobile Membership will be a way to create, store, and share your own lists using a mobile device.  For updates on release, be sure to Like our Facebook page.