Contents
Mental Model
Checklists
Summary
A checklist is a tool that can be used to outline a set of 'things' that need to be completed.
Since humans have limited memory and attention, checklists help us accomplish tasks that would otherwise be too complex or error-prone.
The key idea is that checklists are a tool to help us increase accuracy and consistency.
More...
Examples
- A shopping list
- A list of items to pack before travelling
- A list of people to invite to a party or wedding
- Pre-flight checklists for airplane pilots
- A surgical preparation and safety checklist
Why It Is Useful
The human mind doesn't do well when faced with complex but repetitive tasks. We tend to forget or skip important steps, which results in mistakes, accidents, and other problems.
Checklists let us outline procedures we can follow each time we perform a repetitive task, helping us get the same result each time without mistakes.
Case 1: A shopping list is
Case 2: A travel checklist works the same way as a shopping list. By writing down all the items you need to take with you ahead of time, you reduce the chances that you will arrive at your destination without socks.
A travel checklist can also be kept, re-used, and perfected over time so that whenever you travel you can rely on the same, time-proven checklist to make packing quick and accurate.
Case 3: The pre-flight checklist is very important to pilots. Some studies have shown that checklists have had one of the largest positive impacts on air travel safety in the history of flight.
Case 4: Similar to air travel, checklists in the operating room have had an amazing impact on the success of many different types of procedures. Simply having a list of surgical tools in the room beforehand, which gets verified after, can limit how often someone wakes up with something still inside of them ...
How It Fits Into The Latticework
Charlie specifically mentions checklists:
I’m a great believer in solving hard problems by using a checklist. You need to get all the likely and unlikely answers before you; otherwise it’s easy to miss something important.
I like to use a checklist to list all my other Mental Models so I don't forget to apply one in any given situation.
Next Step
Pick a process that you follow on a regular basis, create a checklist for that process that lists all the steps in order, then going forward follow your new checklist whenever you execute that process. You should find that it helps you finish faster while also reducing errors.
Further Reading
- Wikipedia: Checklists
- Book: The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
Please share your thoughts on this Mental Model or the post itself in the comments below!
John Ware says
July 8, 2018 at 7:33 pmAndrew – This is a good start. One thing that popped out at me is that we are starting a discussion, which could turn into a debate if we’re lucky. There are so many ways to go with mental models – who’s used them, and to what effect, and so on – whether the person was famous, or not. Maybe some of your readers used a particular mental model to great effect. At any rate, opening the door to a discussion is a good thing.
Maja says
May 12, 2018 at 1:25 pmOH OK, just realised I already have a checklist from you, but it wasn’t really that helpful without those summaries, so keep sending them 🙂
Maja says
May 12, 2018 at 1:23 pmNeither checklists nor 80/20 rule is new to me, but somehow those simple to the point summaries are brilliant reminders.
I love the idea of mental models checklist, you are welcome to send one in newsletter if you have it handy 😉 I guess it would massively help me with latticework
Dan Brady says
March 22, 2018 at 4:39 pmYes, this summary contains enough information to educate those people that the concept is new to – very useful, indeed. Thank you!
Tejas Shah says
January 20, 2018 at 2:15 pmDear Andrew,
Really useful and meaningful. You are doing great work and I express my Sincere gratitude.
Keep it up!! God bless you
Yld says
August 29, 2017 at 6:29 pmhello
very good !
CLEAR & CONCISE TO THE POINT :))
Wing Vasiksir says
July 12, 2017 at 3:11 amThis is great. A very effective way to learn the models. Please send email each time you do another one!
Jim McRobert says
April 2, 2017 at 8:18 amSimple is best! keep them coming (not to often – weekly??) as need to get into the habit of putting it all into practice.
Great work – and many thanks
Nathan says
October 22, 2016 at 12:35 amThis is great. Would “fast and frugal trees” fall under the rubric of checklists?
In the Charlie Munger quote , I sensed a bit of the FFT heuristic.
Martin Titchenell says
September 19, 2016 at 2:08 pmThis new way of presenting the Mental Models is fantastic and exactly what is needed. It complements the list nicely. I look forward to seeing many more.
G Horn says
May 27, 2016 at 1:08 pmI would add a checklist to solve problems as suggested by Charlie.
Arkadiusz says
May 8, 2016 at 2:00 pmGood direction! Pls keep creating those summaries.
Neelesh says
April 4, 2016 at 1:47 amNice work and thanks for all the effort. Helps people like me learn from smart people like you. Really enjoy the new format too. Suggest breaking the models into specific areas/topics similar to what was commented above by Max (engineering, biology, psychology, science , economics etc)
Max says
November 18, 2015 at 5:20 amI am also a big fan of this new change, it makes it a whole lot easier. Another idea for you is a change in the pdf checklist, you should divide the models in sections of all disciplines. For example.
Engineering:
Margin of Safety etc
It would make it a lot easier for own research.
Keep up the good work Andrew!
Antonio says
November 13, 2015 at 1:16 pmHi Andrew,
I find this approach for learning Mental Models more useful. So keep going and I’ll wait with patience for next models with the same approach.
Good job !
Andrew McVagh says
November 16, 2015 at 9:36 pmGood, I’m glad you’re enjoying the new Summaries! I have many more planned and they should be coming your way soon 🙂