Some project managers cling to the fantasy that work will get done in a predictable and orderly fashion if only they wrote down everything that needs to be done

Some project managers cling to the fantasy that work will get done in a predictable and orderly fashion if only they wrote down everything that needs to be done and put checkbox next to it (preferably with a target date) That sounds more like a to-do list, rather than a checklist. The way I understand checklist is to have a short (or manageable) and repeatable list of very important items that need to be checked before major events (surgery, software release, flight take off etc). If there are dates next to items and every single tiny item is in the list, then it is a todo list.