There are two types of to-do lists

This is so true! I always find that my days are filled up doing trivial things like paperwork, and I genuinely feel exhausted at the end of everyday doing these 'small' tasks. And yet, I constantly get to the end of the week wondering where the week went, because at the end I hadn't really progressed very far with the "big-picture" project!

I find that I always have a bunch of minor stuff that needs to get done at work which ultimately doesn't matter, but feels good to check off on a to-do list. I also have tasks relating to software I'm developing which is much more important in the long-term, but is not immediately urgent. I'm currently experimenting with the idea of keeping two types of to-do list: a list of things I can't forget that I need to get done every day, and a list of things that advance my projects. Has anyone tried something similar or use a different methodology to get things done?