Do you Checklist?

Have you ever heard a Bengali exclaiming ‘Oyi Jaa’? The tone itself will tell you that all of a sudden the guy has remembered something very urgent and important which he/she had forgotten altogether. Today the whole world including the Bengali calls it out as “Oh Shit”.

There are numerous examples daily on this score. Once on our way to Hrishikesh from Delhi, we realized after we crossed Meerut – a good 50 kms away that we had left behind the boiled drinking-water cans at home . There were 4 kids with us. We had to return to get the jerry-cans. I know of a travel agent discovering on reaching the airport that he had left behind his own passport at home. Imagine the condition of the tourists who were to travel with him. He called up his relation to go to his neighbour’s place, collect the keys, get the passport and then ride a bike all the way to Sahar Airport from South Mumbai. The logic – the bike will be able to negotiate the traffic; a car would not.

Then I know of people who’ll remember something just two minutes after leaving the house. And this happens continuously with these people. I just can’t make out why it does not strike them 2 minutes before while leaving the house. I am sure there are theories on the entire spectrum of forgetfulness. You google and you get to see tons of material to go thru.

We are aware that the human brain has tremendous capacity to retain. It can further be improved by mental exercises. But at the end of the day you need to retain the cream and not day to day chores. The question then arises as to what happens to the day to day chores. They are also important. You just can’t deny their existence. So what do we do? Do we have any tool to take help from? Yes- we do have a simple tool – that of making a checklist and following it up properly. Making a checklist will be futile if you do not glance over it when needed. You need to continuously update the checklist also as time passes and the scenario changes.

I am a big supporter of making checklists. I make one at least before we go out on holidays. So far it has given me wonderful results. You just don’t miss out on anything- and you can’t afford to. Example – you buy Eurail tickets on your credit card sitting at home. You don’t carry that particular credit card on the date of your journey. You land up buying a second ticket in the train at the current price. Only the ticket does not help – you need to produce the credit card also for verification. On our journey from Paris to Frankfurt we saw a Frenchman paying thru his nose for not carrying that particular credit card. Maybe he had bought them on someone else’s credit card.

When to start making the checklist?- one day before the event? One month ago? Or one year prior to departure? To me, the process should start as soon an event is conceived and thought of. You are planning a trip to New Zealand- start the process straightaway. Initially you can write down whatever comes to your mind. The ranking can be done later. And there is no fixed auspicious moment. As and when something relating to the trip comes to your mind, just pen it down on the list. Soon you’ll find that the list has already crossed 10 points. I’d prefer to include everything- even the shaving cream etc also. Else at the eleventh hour you’ll find that the existing tube will not last the 15 days of travel. So you’d be buying toothpaste or shaving cream at Cologne or Paris or Christchurch using up the precious foreign exchange you are carrying which was bought paying a hefty commission. It’s your money. The Checklist only smiles at you for not being used. Let me share with you the documents we were carrying for our Western Europe trip this May:

1. Passport

2. Invitation letter as a proof as to where I was heading. At Dublin airport last year, we had a trying time when we could not give any document as to our friend’s address. Finally when Immigration decided to call on our friend’s number (which fortunately I readily had) , I could lay my hands on an application I had made to the Irish Embassy which carried my friend’s references.

3. Tickets booked on line:

Air India

German Rail Pass

Munich to Vienna train, Vienna to Prague Bus, Prague to Dresden train, Hamburg to Copenhagen and back bus, Hamburg to Amsterdam bus, Amsterdam to Paris Bus, Paris to Argentan (Return) train, Paris to Frankfurt train tickets.

4. Hotel reservations at Munich, Berlin, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

5. Foreign exchange

Those were the documents. Then we had gifts and other items. The excel sheet carried over to the next page.

The point is a good thought-out checklist leads to a sound plan and program. Most of the avoidable worries are passed on to the checklist. A periodic glance at it leads to a smoother execution. It actually leads you deeper and deeper into the process and your plan becomes more and more robust. Else the ‘Oyi Jaa’ syndrome sets in and a substantial part of the fun time is required to be devoted to frantic phone calls and calls to the Almighty for urgent help.

Atul Gawande, a surgeon in the US has come out with a best seller “The Checklist Manifesto”. It has examples showing how the complex operations of flying an aircraft or doing a surgery on the operation theater make extensive use of the checklist to come out with 100% success.

Please make it a point to visit the net and read about the book. I am sure you’ll buy the book at the next opportunity. The Indian edition is now available here.

http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/07/book-review-checklist-manifesto.html

There are other sites also on the book.

I just cannot help but reproduce the excerpt below from

http://us.macmillan.com/thechecklistmanifesto

Complications reveal the surprising power of the ordinary checklist.
We live in a world of great and increasing complexity, where even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. Longer training, ever more advanced technologies—neither seems to prevent grievous errors. But in a hopeful turn, acclaimed surgeon and writer Atul Gawande finds a remedy in the humblest and simplest of techniques: the checklist. First introduced decades ago by the U.S. Air Force, checklists have enabled pilots to fly aircraft of mind-boggling sophistication. Now innovative checklists are being adopted in hospitals around the world, helping doctors and nurses respond to everything from flu epidemics to avalanches. Even in the immensely complex world of surgery, a simple ninety-second variant has cut the rate of fatalities by more than a third.


In riveting stories, Gawande takes us from Austria, where an emergency checklist saved a drowning victim who had spent half an hour underwater, to Michigan, where a cleanliness checklist in intensive care units virtually eliminated a type of deadly hospital infection. He explains how checklists actually work to prompt striking and immediate improvements. And he follows the checklist revolution into fields well beyond medicine, from disaster response to investment banking, skyscraper construction, and businesses of all kinds.


An intellectual adventure in which lives are lost and saved and one simple idea makes a tremendous difference, The Checklist Manifesto is essential reading for anyone working to get things right.

Atul has added life to our simple checklist. I use it for my travel. Now see how the world uses it for flying planes and what not. So what if you are not flying a plane or doing a surgery? You are driving your life and in a few cases others’ lives as well in these complicated days. I am sure you’ll find the CHECKLIST a very friendly and reliable partner.

Long live the Checklist!!