I could see how it could be beneficial for some types of tasks in that:

- you avoid clutter, tasks like "fix the squeaking door" which would otherwise stay at the bottom of your list forever are purged

- it forces you to prioritize tasks

- at the start of each day it forces you to consciously plan what you really need done, which is something one may want to be doing anyways to be more deliberate about what you spend your time on

That said, I would probably only use this for non-critical personal stuff rather than in place of trello or tracker.

Thoughts in no particular order...

- creates pressure to actually do the things on the list

- often things that end up on TODO lists shouldn't have been there. Natural pruning saves wasted time later

- add items to TODO lists is sometimes just a form of procrastinating - better just do the things than put them on a list. This is a nice middle ground for keeping track on a busy day

- long term goals aside, there's a lot of value in starting a day with "what do I want to get done today" and this would be a nice aide

Sometimes my to do list is the only record of a given task I need to complete (e.g. someone says something verbally, I add it to the list, and there's no text or email regarding it). If it's getting deleted at the end of the day no matter what it's going to force me to complete those tasks lest I forget about them entirely.

But more importantly, why are you asking what the benefit is of a self-described "dumb thing"?

it would make you stress more about getting your things done before it deletes them and you loose the record of what you were responsible for doing.

because more stress in my day job is exactly what i want. ... SO not.

It’s impossible for a task backlog to start forming. Every day is a clean slate. It also makes the end of the day a stronger finish line than if it only marked tasks overdue.

Does it make a difference if you were asking it dishonestly?