I do this too, mostly so that when I look at the previous week’s list I don’t feel bad that I missed stuff. I can see the other bullshit that I had to do instead and see that I wasn’t just slacking.

No joke, it’s the most direct solution to the problem of “shadow work” that I know of.

Unexpected yet unavoidable tasks are just a fact of life, even for the experienced and organized. Tracking them makes you better at anticipating them next time.

Advanced calculus: do the same for recreation, rest, entertainment, and hobbies to re-frame fun as a responsibility and recovery as well-invested time.

Sometimes I do it too. Usually when I’m so deep in some side quest it overshadowed the main story, and suddenly remember there’s a to-do list to go through.

I put “write a to-do list” on every to-do list