Ask SCORE: Checklists increase efficiency and save time

Effective time management is essential for a successful business owner.

Since there are always more things to do than we have time to do, we must do everything we can to enhance our productivity. David Allen, in his excellent book, "Getting Things Done," emphasizes something that most other time-management authors omit - the importance of checklists.

I agree.

I have found checklists to be one of the most powerful and easiest to implement time-management techniques. Unfortunately, we tend to think of checklists as applying only to situations related to personal and public safety, such as preparing to take off or land in an airplane, but they can and should be used for any complex, repetitive task.

A checklist serves much the same function as a recipe. It lists the steps, actions or issues to consider when performing a task. If we use recipes for something as ordinary as making a pumpkin pie, certainly a checklist would be useful when we interview a prospective new employee or invest thousands of dollars in the stock market.

A good checklist encapsulates what we have learned through study and experience. It ensures that we don't forget an important step or fail to ask ourselves an important question.

And, perhaps most importantly, from a time-management perspective, a good checklist saves time by not having to rethink or regenerate the steps necessary to perform a task in the most efficient and successful way possible.

On a personal level, I find it interesting that people routinely use checklists for such everyday tasks as grocery shopping, packing for a trip and exercising, but they seldom take the time to prepare checklists for such things as the steps required to winterize their boat or things to consider before photographing a family gathering.

Clearly, there are many areas in our daily lives that could benefit from checklists.

As for our businesses, where mistakes can cost money or result in undesirable legal action, checklists are even more important. Some of the areas that I have found checklists to be invaluable in my business and offer significant time savings include:

• Preparing monthly financial reports.
• Gathering data for annual income-tax preparation.
• Orienting a new employee.
• Interviewing potential new employees.
• Terminating an employee.
• Opening and closing a store or office.
• Operating procedures for office equipment.
• Preparing for tradeshows.
• Preparing for a sales call.

Don't restrict your checklists to only those areas that involve money or safety. Any repetitive task is a candidate for a checklist, especially one that is complex.

Another valuable aspect of checklists is that they allow us to delegate tasks by providing detailed guidance on the manner that we would like tasks to be carried out. Over time, checklists represent a valuable body of corporate knowledge, but we must first take the time to document our methods and procedures.

The process will seem tedious at the time we are doing it, but it pays off in the future with fewer mistakes and significant time savings.

SCORE, "Counselors to America's Small Business," is an organization of volunteers, affiliated with the Small Business Administration, who help small businesses, at no charge, achieve success. To request a confidential meeting with a SCORE counselor, to learn more about SCORE, or to see a list of upcoming workshops, visit www.score390.org. On Oct. 27, SCORE is presenting a workshop on "Preparing a Business Plan." And on Nov. 17, there will be a workshop on "How to Start and Manage Your New Business."