Checklist

#checklist#ticking off#planning#step by step

Five things to do can sound like one huge task when getting started is hard. A checklist splits the pile into boxes, and the picture below shows what it looks like once the ticks start filling in.

A hand with a pen ticks off items on a checklist on a clipboard, where two boxes already have green ticks.

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Ticking off the list

A hand with a pen ticks off items on a checklist on a clipboard, where two boxes already have green ticks.

About this visual support

A task without a clear beginning and a clear end is hard to take on, and five of them in a row is harder still. It is rarely about willingness. The brain first has to decide what comes first, keep the rest in mind and at the same time remember why it needs doing. A checklist takes over much of that work, because the order is already written down and the only thing left is the next box.

The picture shows a hand ticking off items on a clipboard where two boxes already have green ticks and the third is waiting. That visible difference between done and still to do is exactly what makes the list useful. Your child sees how much is finished, not only how much remains, and every tick becomes a small receipt. Use the picture as a symbol at the top of a paper list or as its own item in a daily schedule.

A practical tip is to keep the list short, three to five items, and to let the first item be something your child can manage in under a minute. A quick first tick makes it easier to keep going. In Routined you can build checklists with pictures and ticks in your child's own schedule, and the app can be tried for 14 days at no cost.