With my bipolar depression, I have on and off success using lists to make my days productive. Sometimes I respond to one type of list and sometimes another.

One list that worked well for me recently was to set down one task for each day of that week. Each task was something not particularly difficult but one I'd been putting off. For example, I had a stack of boxes that needed to be taken to UPS. Not difficult, right? Yet I'd put that task off for months!

All the tasks I chose for that week were the same type of thing - make a phone call, pot a plant, etc. And of the seven tasks, I got six of them done, only missing the one because a friend needed help and that was more important.

So if you're sitting there feeling overwhelmed, this is my challenge to you: think of seven small tasks you've been putting off and decide to do one each day. These should be tasks you only need to do once and they are done forever (or for at least a month or two, like my UPS boxes).

I think what made this work for me was that I set up a week's worth of tasks on the first day. I think now, though, that the task for the 7th day should have been to set up the next week's list. That means coming up with 6 tasks per week. With everything there is to do, it isn't that difficult.

Give it a try - and let me know how this technique worked for you.

~Marcia