Checkmarks Make Me Happy

It's true. Like most of you, I have a long list of tasks that need to be done in any one day or week.

I am pretty good about remembering what I have to get done by when, what I've already finished, and what has just been added to my plate. But my brain is not 100% reliable with that, so I make lists.

Sometimes these are lists on my computer desktop or in my online Task List. But those are too easily hidden. I have to see them to be reminded. So I often make paper lists. There is something very satisfying about having the kinesthetic experience of physically ticking something off my list with my trusty green pen.

I was talking about this last summer when I was presenting a bunch of practical tips to help textbook authors stay on track at the Textbook and Academic Authors conference. During the talk, my buddy Mike Kennamer tweeted, "'Checkmarks make me happy...' Kevin Patton". When I saw that tweet later in my Twitter feed, I chuckled that he took this out of the discussion—but I also realized how important a point that it is.

Whether it's a textbook revision or a long semester of teaching A&P, those little surges of dopamine that happen when we can check something off our lists really do help keep us motivated.  Seeing the progress we are making as we add ticks to our checklists provides some additional satisfaction, which also helps keep us going.

And checklists also keep us from forgetting important things to do.

In an online course I teach, it's easy to forget what needs to be graded each week because there are no stacks of tests or papers sitting there on my desk glaring at me. Those assignments are hidden away on a server somewhere and I need to intentionally call them up to grade them. So I need a checklist. the one pictured here lists grading duties organized by module (we have two-week modules A, B, C,...) and by week.

Each Friday, during my scheduled grading session, I look at my checklist. I note that, even though it may not always feel like it, the trimester is actually progressing. And I see what I need to grade this week. And—hooray!—I get to check it off my list when I'm done. What a great way to start the weekend, eh?

I recently posted my grading checklist in that online course. It's a bit late for this last term, but next time I teach the course, my students can print out my checklist to help them keep track of what they've submitted each week. Sure, they have a syllabus. Like they're going to use that to make their own list? Really? What planet do you live on?

What can we use from this in teaching undergraduate A&P?

• Grading checklists help us make sure that no graded assignments fall through the cracks.


• Grading checklists provide happiness and motivation. At least a little.


• Scheduled grading sessions help us keep up with our grading tasks, preventing them from piling up and disturbing our mental health.


• We can share grading checklists (and an exhortation to use them) with students to help keep them on track—and stay motivated.