Just thinking a little more this afternoon about checklists. A checklist should ideally, I think, have no more than five items. Much attention should be paid to the very first item. That first item needs to be very approachable indeed, or it will not be approached. Another good thing to think about is the "preward." Culturally, we are very predisposed to think about rewards, which come after the completion of a task. The "preward" comes before. There are whole groups of people, I believe, who will respond well to prewards. Better, in fact, than the would to rewards, which are really "post-wards."
Okay, so let's say there is something I wish I would do. I make up a checklist, with five items on it. It can have more but the additional items should, ideally, be optional rather than core items of the checklist.
I focus on the first item, making sure that it is something that I can do with no real sweat. It should get me "into" the flow of the task-set. If possible, it should be something very approachable.
I review all the other items on the checklist, asking as to each item whether I have a real 'definition' of it, and whether I know how to do it. I review the list several times, becoming familiar with it and identifying any problems. If there is a problem about any given item, I make notes next to it about how I might solve the problem.
Finally, I ask if there is any pre-ward that will help me get started on the checklist. It might be something quite simple, e.g., something to drink or turning up the heat. Or it might be something a little more involved, e.g., making a library request or purchasing something on Amazon.com.
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