50+ Sample Work Checklists

What Are Work Checklists?

A work checklist is basically like a to-do list that enlists all the necessary tasks and steps to take in completing your whole work. Whether you use the checklist for professional or personal endeavors, there is no denying that checklists are one of the best inventions in history to help get your work and life to stay organized. And just like any checklist, work checklists contain an itemized list of deliverables or activities to accomplish and a series of checkboxes that help you check your work progress.

Studies show that employees get productive at only 60% of their time. And what leads to being unproductive often comes from regular work interruptions every three minutes and unnecessary meetings.

Why Should You Prepare a Work Checklist?

While it is common sense that a series of tasks for work or any project can be achieved by memorizing them, why should people make work checklists in the first place? There are lots of reasons that prove how important work checklists are and these are a few highlights

Combat Forgetfulness

A work checklist is a reliable document when you easily forget your daily or weekly task. While memorizing is a helpful practice, there are some people who easily forget things. And imagine if you have loads of work, around 50 to 100 tasks. Can you really memorize everything from start to finish? Thus, work checklists are your best references when it comes to being reminded of what needs to be done and what you have accomplished so far.

Work on Tasks Quickly and Efficiently

You can rely on a work checklist as it brings you the whole picture of what is expected to accomplish daily, weekly, monthly, or any schedule. The fact that you can plan and organize your tasks through a list will help you manage your tasks efficiently and quickly. You can even decide what needs to be prioritized and which ones to do first. And that stays true when you are really committed to the checklist and timely in doing so.

Reinforce Excellent Productivity

Always put it in your head that any checklist is a helpful productivity tool. And once you are given instructions and deadlines as written in your itemized chore list, you are driven to stay productive for sure. The more you accomplish your work, the more you will feel relieved, especially when you are nearly done with your checklist. So keep up with your productivity if your body is still capable of working more.

Build Smaller and More Workable Tasks

You are guaranteed to get your life more organized by dividing loads of tasks into smaller but more feasible tasks. It gets overwhelming when you list a task that is too broad, such as cleaning the room. So clean the room with what? You divide the office cleaning tasks into smaller doable tasks instead such as classifying office documents, moving the furniture to one side, and more. Also, this practice of dividing the workload ensures that you will have every single task covered in the end.

Feel Accomplished

Sometimes, what you need to receive a peace of mind is to slowly achieve the many tasks you have for work. That feeling of accomplishment is healthy rather than being stuck with a heavy mental load every single day. So just be patient and you will have every activity done after a while. And as you aim to complete the whole work checklist, you will feel a sense of purpose in the end. The fact that you have finished everything that is important for your work is something to be proud of alone.

Different Examples of Work Checklists According to Purpose

A work checklist is not a one-dimensional checklist. It actually has a bunch of types that would differ according to purpose. So in this section, you will learn about the different examples of work checklists based on their purpose.

Work Instruction Checklist: A work instruction checklist is what you use to document the proper ways to manage daily tasks in business. Hence, a checklist helps you determine if work instructions and processes follow standard operating procedures.Work Inspection Checklist: The workplace inspection checklist is helpful to managers when they conduct office safety checks. This checklist guides the inspector in terms of determining hazards and other factors to inspect at work.Work Emergency Action Plan Checklist: You can depend on workplace emergency action plan checklists in terms of determining and monitoring emergency situations to respond to such measures quickly and efficiently. Thanks to this checklist, you only follow the instructions given on how to achieve a flawless emergency action plan.Work Status Report Checklist: Meanwhile, a work status report checklist is your reference on what aspects to observe or look for to make it easier to write your work status report. Whether the goal is to check the status of the office, work server, or any element, expect the checklist to help you write the condition of work promptly.Work Safety Checklist: On another note, the workplace safety checklist helps you determine what possible dangers are putting your staff’s safety at risk. And this type of checklist goes hand in hand with work safety inspections.Work from Home Checklist: A work from home checklist is basically a checklist meant to be used by anyone working from home. It would contain the list of specific tasks to complete while working away from the office.Work Schedule Checklist: The work schedule checklist is more on your to-do list when building a proper work schedule. A common example is a shifting schedule wherein schedules change per shift and how that plays out is planned according to your checklist.Work Cleaning Checklist: One common use of work checklists is to set your cleaning tasks for work. Your checklist contains the step-by-step cleaning processes to observe a greener environment in the workplace.Work Order Checklist: A work order or job order checklist outlines the various activities or responsibilities needed to complete any project task. And it will all be organized and presented neatly through a checklist for easier reference.Work Plan Checklist: The work plan checklist highlights the many plans to focus on for accomplishing work purposes. So in order to make the plan happen, a series of tasks listed in the checklist will serve as the guide.General Work Checklist: The general work checklist can cover all sorts of work checklist types. But it will go according to how you designed it. A tip is to conduct task analysis so you know what specific tasks are worth adding to the checklist and that they are relevant to your purpose.

How to Craft a Stellar Work Checklist

One type of work checklist does not work for all functions. Hence, you have to create a work checklist that fits your purpose, standards, preferences, and other considerations. So are you ready to make your own work checklist? Be sure to apply these steps for exemplary results:

  • Step 1: Identify Your Work Checklist’s Purpose

    You were already introduced to various examples of work checklists according to purpose. So be sure you can finalize for what purpose your checklist is for. That way, it gets easier to set the layout and what specific tasks should be added to your checklist. And if you need help getting reminded of your work purpose, a clear statement of purpose after the title of your work checklist can certainly help.

  • Step 2: Download Your Preferred Work Checklist Sample

    Have you tried checking every sample work checklist template above this article already? Choose from over 50+ editable checklist templates for work. And the best part is you can customize your work checklist right after rather than just sticking to general examples. You may opt for a free daily task list template for work, printable project checklist, work process checklist sample, and other blank work-related checklist templates. Optimize a template now!

  • Step 3: List the Different Tasks and Deliverables

    Since most work checklists expect you to complete a set of tasks and activities, then make sure your checklist actually contains an itemized list of tasks or deliverables. A tip is to list down all the tasks in a draft first until you can start organizing and grouping the tasks to their common elements. Give time to review what possible duties must be completed or you might miss any. Also, be specific in listing tasks. There is no need to write long and complete sentences as long as they are easy to read.

  • Step 4: Set Checklist Organizers

    A work checklist is not simply a list of tasks. It contains a bunch of organizers which help you keep track of your work. For example, there are blanks and checkboxes provided for every item and you put a mark on each task you finish. It will be reliable as your progress tracking sheet. You may also classify your tasks according to priority level, urgency level, or difficulty level. So whether you arrange items from a range of deadlines, difficulties, or any category, what matters is that you are making the list easy to follow.

  • Step 5: Update Your Work Checklist Regularly

    Conduct a thorough evaluation of your checklist and once you are confident with your work, your next task is to commit to your work checklist from now on. Also, practice notetaking because you are meant to update your document regularly. Maybe you followed the steps enlisted in the checklist yet you failed to mark which ones you have finished or are still in progress. Thus, always take note when you finish a task to check your progress promptly.

FAQs

What makes an effective checklist?

An effective checklist should be easy to follow, accurate, and efficient even when situations become more challenging. But at the end of the day, checklists don’t do the job. No matter how you form a checklist, it all goes down to how much effort you put effort into following the tasks.

What are the two categories of checklists?

Checklists are divided into two fundamental categories:

  • Daily checklist – a checklist that contains a list of tasks that need to be achieved daily or regularly.
  • Situational checklist – a checklist that highlights certain areas of life such as a birthday party, wedding, or graduation.

What is CLA?

CLA stands for checklist analysis. And this form of data analysis is important in terms of determining and handling potential risks brought by your checklist. Indeed, you write items and tasks in a work checklist but CLA involves criteria in ensuring you get the processes correctly.

Work checklists are flexible enough to be your to-do lists and checklists for business, school, or even personal life. But bear in mind that the appropriate work checklist layout, content, and design will also be responsible for making dependable work checklists. So using our sample work checklist templates, customize your own checklist in the best way possible until you won’t have to worry about your work productivity anymore. Download now!