I can relate. I went through a clean install recently because my last was about 5 years ago and I wanted to start fresh instead of installing from a Time Machin

I can relate. I went through a clean install recently because my last was about 5 years ago and I wanted to start fresh instead of installing from a Time Machine backup. I had a checklist from last time in my notes and remembered that it only took a few hours and then the system was set. This time it took much longer. Maybe because I went from Mojave to Big Sur in one go. So now I've started a small project where I automate as much as possible, using defaults and/or Plistbuddy to edit macOS configuration settings, install dotfiles using GNU stow, profiles for network settings, and just copying files around.