My thinking is threaded. I maintain lists (in a simple txt file and more recently, in Notes on the Mac) and add the tasks to it. Subtasks go into an indent. I have different notes for regular work/pet project/blog/learning/travel. priority-must-do-now/daily chores is separate one. Every morning I open my priority/daily chores stuff and try and wind that up. And then I just scuttle around the other lists and do whatever my brain tells me I can. I find that some days I do more from the blog notes and some days more from the regular work notes. The notes serve as goals for my brain and it invents/discoveres solutions in no particular order. This makes me more productive because I can switch when I'm bored (which to me is an indication that my brain needs more time to find solutions in this space). And if nothing is hitting the right note, I'll take a nap or read or watch a show for a bit or go for a long walk or hike - anything that's not in the to-do just to give myself the creative space. I find that giving myself problems to solve, and allowing my subconcious brain to invent solutions for it while I do other things actually works quite well for me and allows me to make steady progress.