thx phil

i now remember why i indented the  sub headers. i use a init.el file thats
an org file (that is i tangle my setting.org) into settings.el at startup
thus the above capture you kindly shared:

 #+BEGIN_SRC emacs-lisp  :results none

  ** TODO Finalize %?%^{item}
     SCHEDULED: <%(my-next-next-working-day)>
  *** TODO Process %\1
     SCHEDULED: <%(my-next-working-day)>
  **** TODO Prepare %\1
       SCHEDULED: %t
#+END_SRC

will break the actual lisp code blocks.

Does anyone know how to get around in org lisp code blocks in an org config?

best

Z