<i>The trick is to pick the right sorts of projects for the top of the list. The ideal sorts of things have two characteristics, First, they seem to have clear deadlines (but really don’t). Second, they seem awfully important (but really aren’t).</i><p>I did this for years. #1 on my list was proving Fermat&#x27;s Last Theorem. While I didn&#x27;t do that, I got a thousand other things done.<p>Alas, someone else has proved Fermat&#x27;s Last Theorem and now my task list looks like everyone else&#x27;s.