Happy Saturday, bookworms. Turns out, half of you are rebels. Last week’s poll revealed that 50% of you rate books you don’t even finish. The other half… well, you’re purists. I'm pretty sure somebody at Goodreads is giving us the side-eye.

This week, we learn how to design killer checklists.

— Maneet

Weekly Discussion

Do you remember the first app you ever downloaded?

Mine was a checklist app 🤓

It was during high school, when I got my first iPod Touch and had access to the App Store for the first time. There was a new app called “Clear” that allowed you to make these cool lists for different things and mark items as complete. I immediately began using it to create checklists for random parts of my life.

But as time went on, I started using the app less and less.

My lists were getting too complicated.

For example, one list that I still have today is my packing list. I try to use it every time I need to travel, and it helps me remember all the little things I would normally forget. However, at one point, I started getting a little too detailed with it. I began creating a bunch of optional items that would depend on the length of the trip and where I was going.

It got to the point where I needed to scrap the list completely and start over.

I wasn’t following the rules of making a good list.

In this week’s reading of The Checklist Manifesto, we learn a lot about how pilots use checklists to keep planes safe. The author interviewed the person at Boeing who literally makes the checklists that pilots around the world follow every day. He provides a few key ingredients that every checklist should follow:

• It should be short, no more than nine items.
• The wording should be simple and precise.
• It should be free of clutter and unnecessary colors.
• The list should be tested in the real world, first drafts always need adjusting.

That last one is golden.

It’s easy enough to sit down and create a checklist, whether it’s a to-do list for the day or a reference list for future you. But at the end of the day, checklists are meaningless unless they are made with intention and are heavily tested. The reason why checklists work so well in aviation is because they are short and easy for pilots to use.

That isn’t by accident.

A ton of time and effort went into designing those lists, and we can do the same for our personal lists.

What’s the most useful checklist you’ve ever made? How has it changed over time? Reply and let me know.

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