The Secret of Checklists: 3 Easy Steps to Planning Successful Programs and Events

Many years ago, I was working as a recreation supervisor intern at a resort. One of my main responsibilities was making sure that we had ready equipment and supplies for our activities for families and kids.

I was especially put in charge of the Friday night Marshmallow Roasts, which included a campfire and lots of kids enjoying "s'mores" with their parents and families.

The recreation supervisor (my manager) knew everything that had to be ordered for the event, but she was off of work for awhile, leaving me to oversee it.

I conferred with the other departments to make sure everything was ready, and thought it was all set for success.

An Unexpected Problem 

Things were going well, until about halfway through the event, when more people showed up, and I realized we were out of graham crackers and marshmallows. It's kind of hard to have "s'mores" for kids without marshmallows!

People kept coming back and asking for them, while I had sent people scrambling to find more of them back in the vast kitchen.

We finally found some, but it made for a less memorable experience for the families and kids.

On top of that, during another Marshmallow Roast, the area was smoked out, since we didn't ask the service staff to place the fire downwind!

After this experience, I sat down and thought about how there needed to be a fail-proof way to make sure that the activity and experience was successful and enjoyable.

The biggest problem that I had was that at every event, something seemed to be forgotten about or miscommunicated.

I wanted to be able to make sure that everything was in place properly, every time, to ensure success, and was determined to make this happen!

The Solution

These problems led me to the solution of putting together a checklist of everything that needed to be done for the event, down to every detail.

Making sure that there was a complete checklist to cover the event's supplies, equipment, and activities, prevented me from running into an issue with the Marshmallow Roast any more, and it was successful from that point on.

This success led me to create complete checklists for the other events as well, which helped a great deal.

3 Simple Steps

Creating a checklist is easy - the challenging part is making sure that it is comprehensive and complete and does not leave anything out. It basically requires three steps:

1. Gather all of the information that you need regarding requirements of supplies, staffing, activities, and logistics. Make sure that everything is covered, down to the last detail.

2. Form the information into action steps that are required to be completed for a successful program. Write the action steps down on a list.

3. Prioritize the list and rewrite it into the order that is necessary for the action steps to be done for the program to be successful.

Voila! Now you have a complete checklist that, if followed appropriately, will practically ensure success of your activity or event every time!

The main thing with checklists is that they keep you from forgetting about things that may seem simple - with a checklist, you will not forget about anything because it is all written down in the exact order that it needs to be done.

An example of a checklist for an event such as the Marshmallow Roast may look like this:

              Marshmallow Roast Event Checklist

1. Create flyer and sign for event

2. Create "exit survey" for event

3. Contact and arrange for musician

4. Contact staff to set up campfire

5. Contact staff to set out plenty of food and utensils

6. Collect event payments

7. Ensure and maintain area safety with staff

8. Facilitate event with staff  

9. Pass out and collect "exit" surveys

10. Thank guests upon leaving

11. Cleanup event area with staff 

12. Thank staff and discuss event and give and receive suggestions and feedback 

Since the Marshmallow Roast "fiasco", I have used checklists many times, and each time they have allowed me the peace of mind to turn my programs over to autopilot in making sure that they run smoothly.

No more forgotten items or miscommunications with staff! 

Conclusion 

By simply following the action steps that you have outlined for yourself, checklists make it easy to have successful programs.

They also save you a lot of work and hassle and make implementing programs much more efficient.

Primarily, using checklists allows you to make a much more enjoyable experience for your events and activities. 

For all these reasons, once you start creating checklists, you may find you have a hard time giving up using them!