4 Benefits of Using Checklists

Do you create daily checklists? Do you go through your day excitedly crossing tasks off of a list as you complete them? What about non-daily checklists?

Examples of Checklists:

• Daily To-Do’s
• Moving Checklist
• Grocery Checklist
• Packing Checklist
• Wedding Checklist
• Baby Checklist

There are so many benefits to creating checklists, yet there are millions of people who never bother to make them. Are you one of these people? Or are you one of the few that actually does use checklists to improve your life?

If you don’t use checklists to get you through your days, let me reiterate the importance of using them. Following are 4 benefits of checklists.

1. Using a Checklist Allows You to Get More Done.

It’s been said that you get an endorphin rush whenever you cross something off of a checklist.

If you’ve used a checklist before, you know how good it feels to get things crossed off. When it feels good to do something, you’re likely to keep doing it, right?

That’s why checklists are so beneficial for getting things done. Many things.

2. Save Time and Brain Power.

Instead of going through your day trying to remember what you have to do, write your to-do list/checklist down on paper (or on your phone or computer).

Seeing a list of what you have to get done, instead of trying to remember it all, is going to save you a ton of time – and, yes, brain power!

3. Make Delegating Easier.

When you have a list of tasks to do, it’s much easier to hand certain (or all) things over to someone else to handle, when you aren’t able to complete those tasks yourself.

Whether you are instructing someone to tackle just one thing from your list, or everything on it, having that checklist in front of you is going to make delegating a whole lot easier.

4. Reach Your Goals Quicker.

Setting goals for yourself (financial and personal) is an important step in accomplishing what you want in life, and having checklists will help you to reach those goals quicker.

How? Because when you break down your goals into bite-sized pieces, and add those pieces to your daily checklists), they seem much more attainable.

If you have set a goal to lose 20 pounds in 6 months, one item on your daily checklist could be to exercise. If you have set a goal to publish a book, one item on your daily checklist could be to write at least 1 page of that book. If you have set a goal to learn how to sew, one item on your daily checklist could be to learn how to set up your machine.

Goals are much easier to achieve when you break them down into smaller goals. Add items to your checklists that will help you to reach those goals and watch how fast those goals are reached.

The good thing about checklists is that they are easy to create. Simply make a list of things that you want to accomplish in a day and get to it!

I recommend creating your checklist every night before bed because, believe it or not, your brain will start working on those to-dos while you sleep.

Be sure not to overwhelm yourself with too many items on your checklist. My rule is no more than 7, because any more than that makes me feel defeated before I even begin.

Do you use checklists to help you get more done?

Be sure to check out our free downloads page to print many different types of checklists.