Not the way they are taught by their proponents. Too many use the to do list not just to set priorities but to project plan at the micro level. They estimate it will take so long to do this item and then match that with an available time slot throughout the day. The to do list wastes more time than it purports to save.
Straw man. Who the hell uses their todo list like that? Who are those "proponents" who suggest playing this sort of silly "estimate the task and match it to a time slot" game? I've never met one.
Todo lists are for one thing only: to take the things you said you'd do out of your mind so you can focus on that one most important task.