We all have been in situations where we are convinced of something. A thought, an idea, a correct way to do something, only to find out later that we were 100% wrong. Its a crazy feeling because in the moment every piece of your being is convinced you are right and we argue our point incessantly to others that we are correct . . . . only later to be humbled.

I was guilty of this with checklists. I used to laugh at people who depended on checklists. This is most evident when the classic checklist book, The Checklist Manifesto, was published about 15 years ago. I literally laughed out loud that someone would write a book about checklists.

Who in their right mind would read this book on such a simple concept?

What a waste of time.

Well again, my old perspective is very wrong and after being humbled about checklists a few years ago I decided to read it.

Here are some highlights . .

The book was written by a world renowned surgeon Dr. Gawande. The below review quote on the book summarizes better than I ever could:

“The results of checklist implementation are astonishing. In a three-month experiment in eight different hospitals around the world, the rate of serious complications for surgical patients fell by 36 percent after introduction of the checklist, and deaths fell by 47 percent. Even Gawande himself, a highly trained surgeon with years of operating experience, found that his own performance improved notably after he started using the checklist. His point is that surgery, like any complex task, requires a regular check of all the fundamentals—to liberate the team to focus on the work and any unexpected circumstances that may arise.”

That surgical checklist was crazy simple. So simple that many surgeons (who have trained for decades to do what they do) thought it was laughably useless. It included very basic things like each member of the surgical team introducing themselves and confirming which side of the body the surgery would be performed on.

But the results from that super simple checklist were astonishing. Mortality fell by 47%

Ok. so checklists work. Now they are standard practice for everyone from airline pilots and surgeons to burger flippers at McDonald’s. They improve everything.

We have lots of checklists at work. Everything from how to clean a treatment room after a procedure to an EOD doctor checklist that reminds us to send in prescriptions for patients.

What about a checklist for your life?

What about a checklist for a masterpiece day?

Sounds stupid? Sounds like it’s a waste of time? Perhaps. Maybe that’s your perspective. I’m here to tell you, in the most non-confrontational way possible . . . you are wrong. I feel I have permission to tell you that because I once shared that same perspective and I was humbled, realizing I was wrong.

In Matthew Kelly’s great book, Off Balance he talks about a daily checklist that would/could ultimately lead to a masterpiece day. The idea being to string enough masterpiece days together and you start to have a masterpiece life.

Here is how Kelly describes it:

“If you look back on the past ninety days, some days were better than others. There were probably some great days, a lot of fairly average days, and perhaps some bad days. What caused the great days? Was each one just happenstance, completely out of your control, nothing to do with you? Or are there certain things that you did that predisposed that day to being a great day?”

So what would be on YOUR masterpiece day checklist? Well it obviously depends on the individual and what’s important to them.

Here is mine. Do I accomplish each of these everyday? HELL NO. But I try to accomplish as many of them as I can each day and I’ve experienced how much better my day goes (and the following day goes) when I can accomplish these things everyday.

Here is mine:

• Early Rise. Wake up at least 60 minutes before the kids, so I have time for my morning routine without distractions.
• Meditate and Pray. Spend a few minutes every morning in prayer and meditation.
• Gratitude Journaling. Write out at least three things that I am grateful for.
• W.I.N. (What’s Important Now) Journal  three things that I must accomplish TODAY in order for the day to be successful.
• Deep Work Block. Spend anywhere from 15 minutes to 90 minutes doing deep work on something important in my life BEFORE I access my phone and/or the internet.
• Move. Move my body in some way.
• Hydrate. 100 oz of water daily.
• Love/Serve/Care. Based on Jon Gordon’s great simple read, The Carpenter. Everyday, in every interaction possible figure out a way to love, to serve and to care. Some basic examples . . .Send a love bomb video. Take a walk with someone important in your life. Serve someone in some capacity, fully engage in a conversation. . . . .
• Eat clean, avoid booze and stop eating early. I try to stop eating three hours before bed
• Digital Sunset. All electronics off a minimum of 60 minutes before bed.
• PM journaling. Answer three simple questions. What went well today? What needs work? How can I be better? Great “brain dump” leading to better sleep
• Read a real book in bed. At least one page
• Breath work.Five minutes of medication or box breathing before I fall asleep.

What’s on your masterpiece day checklist?

Or perhaps a better question . . .

What needs to be removed from your normal day checklist?

• Endless scrolling on social media?
• Binge watching TV?
• Mindless eating?
• Dealing with stress via drugs and alcohol?

We only have one chance at this thing called life . . . .Why not try to crush it?