Think of the things you frequently do in your workday. These are tasks you perform over and over again. Still, every time you perform them, you have to stop and think about what you should be doing and what comes next. 
This slows you down. It slows you down because you have to rethink the steps you’ve already taken previously, every single time you repeat a task. The secret to quickly and easily tackling those sort of tasks is to create a system. And the simplest system to create is a Checklist.
Checklists can literally save lives.
Doctors use them before surgery to ensure they don’t skip a step or overlook anything in the pressure of the operating theatre. Nurses use them when they deliver dangerous drugs and to reduce infections. Airline pilots use a checklist before taking off. And smart people everywhere use them to guarantee better results and make life easier and better.
Systematising your tasks is a better way to do many of the things you need to do. Think about the most valuable tasks you do over and over again. Break these tasks down into their smallest steps. Come up with checklists or a system of steps that need to be taken to perform this task.
A good way to think about creating checklists and systematisation is to consider how you would break the steps down if you were to write the steps down for someone else.
If that person were totally new to the steps, what would you tell them to do? Create checklists that reflect this.
Each time you go to perform the task or project type, you should have these steps in front of you.
You already know the steps (you do this task often!), but these checklists give you a system to follow and eliminate the need to think about it.
You can complete a task much more quickly when you can just sit down and do it using your checklist, without thinking about the steps involved. You’ll also be less likely to procrastinate.
You can start by doing just a few steps when you only have a little time available, in confidence that you will be able to pick up wherever you left off without too much effort. This will help you get it done.
And even more importantly, a good system or checklist makes it so much easier to delegate or outsource tasks when you are ready to do so.
If you love checklists as much as I do for getting stuff done check out my collection of 18 Daily Tasks and Planning Checklists now.
