I've been flying a somewhat large UAV lately, and inspired by the "real" aviators and The Checklist Manifesto, I put together a series of checklists. One for pa

I've been flying a somewhat large UAV lately, and inspired by the "real" aviators and The Checklist Manifesto, I put together a series of checklists. One for packing, one for pre-flight, and a mission-specific one for the day. Early on I was pretty lax about following them, and inevitably something bad would happen. I'd forget to pack something and not realize it until I had driven an hour. I'd forget to check for loose bolts and lose one. Or I'd completely forget one of the objectives for the day and have to go back out. I've tightened up my process quite a bit, and do exactly what your father does: if I get interrupted, I start over. It's mentally hard to do when I'm already feeling late, but I've come to the conclusion that that's exactly when I need to be more disciplined about it; that's when you forget things!