Checklist the Repeat

When a repeated process fails by omission, build the shortest checklist that catches the misses.

Bedtime works fine when you run it. When your partner runs it, the nightlight gets forgotten. When Grandma covers, the water cup and the second story vanish, and a routine that should take 20 minutes becomes an hour of protest, because each caregiver carries a different, incomplete version of the ritual in their head.

Checklist the Repeat is the heuristic for a repeated process that fails through omission more than bad judgment: nobody is choosing wrong, steps are simply falling out. The procedure from the spec: observe several cycles of the process, list the critical steps, the red flags, and the definition of done, then test the shortest useful checklist, such as six lines on a card by the bed covering teeth, water, nightlight, two stories, song, door cracked. Every caregiver runs the same card, and the child's routine stops depending on whose memory is on duty. The safeguard: leave room for exceptions and judgment, since a checklist is a floor, not a script, and a sick or scared kid outranks the card. The stop rule keeps it honest: keep the checklist only if omissions actually fall without the list becoming its own ritual burden. Do not checklist work that fails through judgment; a list cannot fix choosing wrong.