The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande is an easy-to-read, engaging book that provides a simple solution to the complicated modern life — A checklist.

One Sentence Summary

The systematic approach of creating and maintaining a functional checklist to complete a task will reduce errors and increase the chances of achieving the best outcome, whether in flying planes, cooking, constructing giant structures or performing surgery.

Why checklists are important?

1. Checklists significantly reduce the potential cost of human mistakes.
2. The act of creating a checklist forces the mind to think of all the parts involved in completing a task.
3. Checklists allow one to create ritual that eliminates the thinking about routine tasks — so that greater focus can be given to the non-routine stuff.
4. Creating checking mechanisms requires making tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge which can be understood and applied across all-related-members. Hence, checklists help people communicate and work together better.

"We don't study routine failures…when we look closely, we recognize the same balls being dropped over and over, even by those of great ability and determination. We know the patterns. We see the costs. It's time to try something else. Try a checklist."

What makes a good checklist?

1. A check list can't be too long — if not people won't use it.
2. If the task requires a long check list, then the task needs to be broken down into subtasks(with more narrow focus) before imposing checklists on it.
3. Items on a checklist can be READ-AND-DO (where you read the item and then go do what's specified) or CHECK-ONCE-DONE (where you confirm you've carried out the action specified.). Both methods work.
4. A good checklist must be owned and maintained by someone who has the commitment and discipline to constantly iterate and revamp it to keep it up-to-date.
5. Every checklist must have clear 'pause points'. Pause points are moments during a task where one should stop and run through the lists before moving forward. (e.g. preflight checklist before a flight takes off, a recipe before one starts cooking, etc.)

"It somehow feels beneath us to use a checklist, an embarrassment. It runs counter to deeply held beliefs about how the truly great among us — those we aspire to be — handle situations of high stakes and complexity. The truly great are daring. They improvise. They do not have protocols and checklists. Maybe our idea of heroism needs updating."

Bonus

• Apps that can be used to produce checklists : Personally, I have had great success with Asana and Trello.
• I use David Allen's Get Things Done system along side checklists to remain effective and efficient.

Tweet These Quotes!

• Man is fallible, but maybe men are less so.
• Maybe our idea of heroism needs updating.

Thanks for reading this far! If you got value out of this book digest, it would mean a lot to me for you to scroll down a bit farther and hit the recommend button.

SK lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is a social entrepreneur and he writes about productivity, entrepreneurship and lifehacks at sathyvelukunashegaran.com.