List of daily tasks helps you get back in the old routine

For a multi-task juggler like Manar Al Hinai, it could be challenging to get all her goals set for the day accomplished without unintentionally overlooking one or two. Her solution: checklists.

Having a task checklist not only gives a sense of accomplishment but also declutters the mind for creative thinking. istockphoto.com

For a multi-task juggler like me, it can be challenging to get all my goals set for the day accomplished without unintentionally overlooking one or two.

Part of my job scope is to supervise different projects at any one time, in addition to running my small business and my writing career on the side.

All three aspects of my life require great attention to detail and promptness. Time is literally money in my case.

There were times when I was about to doze off on my bed after a long exhausting day when I remembered failing to email a client or finalise an article draft. But that was back in April, before my checklist era dawned.

It was because of the need to pay attention to details and ensure high-quality results that I rediscovered something I had forgotten since my school days, when I had a tonne of homework to finish - checklists.

Checklists are what drive most of my work's productivity and keep me focused on my goals. It is ironic in a way, as humans are initially driven by a need to feel accomplishment that comes from some place back in our primal days.

What I do every morning is write down a list of things that need to be accomplished throughout the day: from sending out emails, conducting meetings and reminding myself to exercise.

Checking tasks off your list not only brings you a great sense of accomplishment but also declutters your mind for creative thinking.

Many tasks on my daily list are repetitive. So every time I compose a checklist of a repetitive series of tasks I am providing myself with extra mind space to think about bigger issues and any creative ideas that might benefit my job/business.

What I also found beneficial is that checklists back me up in future projects. How so? Allow me to walk you through: I was managing a project for work that involved redesigning our corporate website.

Every day when I arrived at the office I would write down the list of tasks to be done for the day regarding the website. Because of that, I was able to go back to my list if I wondered about a certain task and knew exactly what day I worked on it. More so as hiccups occurred along the way until the execution of that project, I now know how to avoid similar future problems.

In his book The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande talks about how more and more organisations are using checklists in their daily routines. He discusses how they worked amazingly well in saving lives in surgery centres and in huge construction projects. One of the great examples provided in the book is of a Michigan hospital where using a cleanliness checklist in intensive care units eliminated a type of deadly infection.

In my case, I have two kinds of checklists you might consider to improve your own productivity level at work or in your personal life: category A, which is related to personal tasks and category B, which is profession-related.

Fitness goals and mundane tasks would go into category A and anything related to my work would fall under category B. That way I would not confuse the two, making referring back to certain tasks easier.

I am a retro kind of girl and still use my leather-bound notebook and pen to write down my lists. But for tech-savvy individuals there are several electronic checklist programs.

Do - www.do.com - is one of the top programs in its field. It helps users to create different projects and track different tasks. Users can also share their checklists with others by joining various groups. The program can also be managed via mobile phone. Other helpful mobile apps include Todo by Appigo, Checklist and Daily.

Sometimes the hardest part of a job or business is remembering to keep tabs on everything that needs to be done for the day.

It is easy to find yourself distracted by other things and you wind up failing to accomplish your goals for the day. This could harm your income, productivity and reputation.

Having something as simple as a pen and a notepad is sometimes what you need.

Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati fashion designer and writer. You can follow her on Twitter: @manar_alhinai