FWIW: when I first learned to fly <mumble, mumble> many years ago, I was taught that for single pilot op's it was a CHECK list, not a DO list. In this way one achieved the necessary redundancy in a single pilot environment. The DO was achieved in a series of logical flows or patterns, the CHECK came afterward with the handy printed card in your lap, and it is always humbling when you find that you forgot to DO something.
It is certainly not a foolproof system, but it does seem to help me.