I've found it useful to stop thinking of my to-do list (ideally made the previous day as a template for the next one) as one giant list of "things I need to get done." Instead, I divide everything into two general categories: cognition-first or duration-first.
Yesterday someone said “happy kirkaversary” to me and I was gonna say that they’re a little late because Star Trek day was the 8th…
And then I realised.