Brewing the Oatmeal Cookie Amber Ale

I got lazy last night and didn't do anything to prepare for today's brew. That was a mistake. Here I am trying to clean my gear, toast the flaked oats in the oven, calculate my mash temperatures and volumes, and I still have to measure out my ingredients. And I have to do all this before my ketttle even sees any flame.

The night before an all grain brew day:

1. Read over the recipe. Make sure there's nothing unusual overlooked or forgotten.
2. Make calculations. Strike water volume/temp. Sparge water volume, etc.
3. Clean your gear. Especially your mash tun and at least one kettle. And a spoon/paddle, and thermometer. (You will use these first.)
4. Measure out your ingredients (Especially your grain and water. Again, you will need these first.)
5. Other things you may have forgotten: Propane, ice (for chilling), yeast starter (if applicable)...

Next day:
After all the frustration at the beginning, everything turned out pretty well. My mash temperature was a little low. It was 150 or 151 instead of 152. The initial temperature was high, and again, I over compensated with 2 quarts of cold water.
Other than that, everything went well. My OG was 1.055. My overall volume was a little smaller than I expected, but I left some trub in the kettle. And now I have some more headspace in the fermenter.