Yes, a common problem. I find myself thinking that maybe paring down my life is the answer. Making choices. Domestic downsizing. Pare things down to 2 or 3 core activities perhaps. But what to give up? Should I give up reading? Movies? Playing guitar? Surfing? Sports/exercise? Social life?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.

1. Don't watch TV.
2. Don't clean the house.
3. 7:00 a.m. bad, 3:00 a.m. good.
4. Coffee is your friend.
5. Relationships? Heard of 'em. They're mythical, I believe.

That and smelling the roses.

Hire a personal assistant? Maybe not, but one thing you could do is pay someone to clean your house every week or two. I know for me, that helped hugely and was worth every penny. I hated having to spend all day Sat. cleaning when I wanted to be doing other more interesting things.

I know the feelings. Both Christy and myself seem to lately killing ourselves trying to balance a work lif eand a home life. I am looking at doing more work from home, and we have set things up to make that happen. I t great expense, but I thnk it will work. You are living the dream you know you wanted in your heart. I know it seems you are missing something, but it is up to you to find it. I know we don't get much time to talk to each other on the phone, but I will talk to you anttime of the night if you need to. Take 5 minutes today and look at your life. You will see that you have it pretty good. Delete the things on Tvio that over a week old. They make re-rns for a reason. Take three minutes to read before you go to bed. Take your cat to the vet and listen to music there. even on the ride to and from. Pick up your phone and call someone hen you are on the commute to anf from work. I tell people everyday how to get pennies out of nickles it is the same for time.

Susie Q -

I have a housekeeper. I'm still cleaning, though. I make a mess.

Oh, and add to that list returning e-mails :-)

I really don't know why it bothers me so much, but one multi-tasking thing I hope you don't do: use that cell phone in a public area.

Unless you've accessorized yours with an aluminum foil beanie. And you wear a cape. Then, it's ok; it's street theater.

"I'm not microwaving *my* brain!"

My own job has me working 50-55 hours a week, about 9:30 AM to typically 7 PM every day. I also sometimes work from home a few hours on the weekend. But then, I a. don't have a relationship, and b. live with my mom who cleans and cooks for me, and does an amazing amount of work for someone 87. Still, I find I have to multitask, ie. take my laptop while getting my car fixed; listen to my iPod for enjoyment while cleaning my car/personal space; turn on the radio while I do laundry; watch TV while I eat dinner; eat lunch at my desk at work. You get the idea.

Having said that, I read an interesting article in Reader's Digest about handling stress. The trick they say is not to take, say, a day to destress, or go to the zoo/massage parlor/whatever, or sleep all day, etc. etc. The reality is how you handle stress on a daily basis. A friend once said that 'rest is simply a change in your state of mind'. RD is basically saying the same thing, albeit not so eloquently. When you sit at a computer, your body generates a fight-or-flight response. It's important you learn to read your body's signals - be aware of the tenseness in your shoulders, and lower them. Listen to your breathing, and slow it down. Do you stare down the vending machine at 4 PM? Your body is sending you signals that it wants relief, but that doesn't mean head for the Snickers bar. :) Go for pretzels instead.

I don't know what to tell you, Mike.

I'm kind of with you... 50 hour work week, full time graduate school student, planning a long distance wedding (it's a JOB, I tell you!) and being captain of my soccer team--it takes its toll. You just kind of deal, I guess.

There's no magic potion. Prioritize what has to get done, what matters most to you and fuck the rest!

yeah, prioritize and put YOU first.

obviously, job is important because you need to eat and stuff.

friends are important...but only in so much as they support you and enhance your life.

i personally NEED a minimum of a few hours every week to do NOTHING. i play gameboy, i watch TV with ginna, I read. I sit around and vegetate.

this really recharges my batteries. i'd recommend it to anyone...just MAKE time for NOTHING.

or just sit in your own filth and never leave your home. i find that to be fun too.

amen brotha' - that's all i have time to say myself... -lsol

ps - e-mail's a waitin' when your server's back up

Housekeeper -- that's a MUST! Combining tasks -- like they said above is s MUST, and just letting go of whatever doesn't get done -- without feeling guilt.

"or just sit in your own filth and never leave your home."

Is Matt spying on me? That's pretty much what my life has degenerated to these days. I keep meaning to do something about it, but I'm a procrastinator. I got a new TV and entertainment center. What did I do with the old TV and entertainment center? I moved them to the middle of the floor between my kitchen and my bedroom. They're supposed to go into one of the extra bedrooms, but they haven't made it there yet. That was back in January. It's now March. I'm pathetic.

Hey Mike, you should pick up the new issue of O magazine. I saw it in line at Wal-mart on Monday. One of the feature stories is on this very topic. Let Oprah tell you how to make every minute count!