shrift, I used a variant of your plan to organize my studying in college. I created To Do lists that broke single assignments down into components. My lists were usually pretty long. But at the end of each day, I could tell myself that I'd accomplished something.

For example, if I needed to read three chapters of the textbook by Monday, I'd list each chapter as a separate item on my To Do list. So if I read one chapter during the day, I could knock one item off the list even if I hadn't completed the entire assignment yet.

I am working from home today, but also kind of cleaning. I did a still big(not maintence four of my bookshelves, wiped off all the books, and have about another two boxes to give away. I am not going to have enough books to fill the shelves! But I am really only keeping book collections (I have vintage etiquette guides and secraries handbooks, and a lot of children's book series) sentimental books, books I haven't read that I think I will read (which was only 4) and academic type books that might be hard to get or expensive on kindle. Oh, and cookbooks, mostly vintage.

I still made my bad and washed my dishes today. I think I might reward myself and cook something! I haven't because I was afraid I would leave the dishes and didn't want to chance it.

Also, thanks for the tip, shrift. I totally do that at work. I am really good at work, and seen as organized and diligent, even if I am a little messy. It is like I just haven't applied those things to life because I have been working a full time job plus theatre for 20 years, and used up all the energy I had for that. And then I just stopped being able to keep it a little bit together

Unless it's for company, I don't even worry about "cleaning the bathroom." Most times, I do the sink and toilet and call it a day, because I haaaaaate cleaning the floor and the tub.

It keeps me out of the trap of not doing ANYTHING because I don't want to do EVERYTHING.

My lists were usually pretty long. But at the end of each day, I could tell myself that I'd accomplished something.

As a former perfectionist, it took me a while to be okay with the concept of incremental progress.

It is like I just haven't applied those things to life because I have been working a full time job plus theatre for 20 years, and used up all the energy I had for that.

Plus your commute! I had a moment when I realized that I spend 12-13 hours a day working and commuting, and if I wanted to get 8 hours of sleep, that didn't give me a lot of free time leftover to do things like make dinner, clean, read, and watch TV.

With commute, I often had days that were 6am-9pm, and occasionally 8 am until midnight or later. It was really becoming unsustainable and the theatre had stopped giving me even one little bit of artistic or educational satisfaction. I always knew we were giving the students not the greatest education, but recently lacked the energy to at least make sure the costume students learned something.

Sophia, you should be proud of what you've accomplished!

If not for Google reminders, my place would be far messier than it is - I handle most of my daily maintenance tasks during the "Hey, get off your backside and look at something that isn't a computer screen for 10 minutes" breaks my laptop tosses up every hour.

This forking fog needs to take itself off before I head out for my haircut: bad enough it's a 20-mile drive . . . .

I have THREE second generation iMacs, two blue and one ruby!

Those are probably valuable and collectable. Don't just toss those in the bin before checking eBay.

Sophia-inspired: yesterday had a second bulk garbage pickup. Goodbye old encyclopedia and silverfish-infested Readers Digest books for projects I will never feel like doing ever again.

Then I went to the thrift store and donated unwanted books and DVDs and a passel of decorative outdoor flags I got tired of five years ago.

I feel like I have accomplished something!

I swear time is moving backwards today.