Decision checklists
Under time pressure even experts skip steps. A short checklist for recurring decisions protects quality without slowing you down.
Key ideas
- Checklists catch omissions, not lack of knowledge.
- The best checklists are short and target the steps most often missed.
- Pause points matter: decide when the checklist is read.
Step by step
- 1
Pick one recurring, important decision.
- 2
List the five to seven checks most often missed.
- 3
Define the moment the checklist is used.
- 4
Use it for two weeks and remove any item that never helps.
Example
A team lead uses a five-item hiring checklist after each interview. Within a month, debriefs become faster and fairer because every candidate is judged on the same evidence.
Your drill
Write a checklist of no more than seven items for one decision you make weekly, then use it on the next real occasion.
Common mistakes
- Writing long checklists nobody reads.
- Listing obvious steps instead of the ones people actually miss.
Check yourself
What should a good checklist focus on?
Show the answer
The critical steps that are most often missed, kept short and used at a defined moment.
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