Oliver Burkeman in The Imperfectionist: Lists are menus
And here’s the kicker: aren’t all to-do lists really menus anyway, whether I choose to think of them that way or not? After all, if there are vastly more things I could do with any given hour or day than I actually can do – if there are a million ways to do good work, be a better parent, spouse or citizen, live healthily, and so on, yet only time for a handful – then in fact we’re always picking from a menu, even if we delude ourselves that what we’re doing is getting through a list.