As a flying instructor and Examiner I enjoy taking the "war and peace" encyclopedia (checklist) from the pilot (qualified ppl normally) and throwing into the back seat, I then sit and watch as the pilot goes into a state of confusion and utter disbelief (what you can't be serious ? Oh yes I am !) Great fun and thoroughly enlightening for me and them.
So for what it is worth my method for checklists on pre departure
1 - Nothing is that critical on the ground.....I will say that again NOTHING IS THAT CRITICAL ON THE GROUND ! (Yeah I know that turbines can punish you if sequence of start is incorrect but you get my point for average PA28 / Cessna 172.
2- Get the thing started and forget about everything else for now
2 - Flow through the panel and check and setup everything that you need for taxi - then get clearance to taxi
3 - Do your taxi checks while you are taxying (I know this will offend many who don't think that checks should be done while moving but remember we are heads up and outside , not reading war and peace. So have a look to see if rudder is moving when pedals depressed, controls free and correct (why do only a few pilots actually look to make sure rigged correctly) set trim, set flaps and anything else that is appropriate.
3 - Stop and complete power checks from memory and final take off checks
Now when you think you are ready whip out the checklist and see if you missed anything (don't do all of the checks again !!!)
This works well after a few tries and has the following benefits
1 - Faster and more efficient
2 - Safer (eyes outside for much longer)
3 - You are forced to think about what you are doing
4 - Makes good use of taxi time (hell why not brief the departure if a long taxi)
5 - You still get to have a look at the checklist just to find out what you missed