@hopeful33250 - I tried out this "cleaning the kitchen" technique yesterday.

I do have depression and anxiety, but they are fairly well controlled with medication. I'm sure I naturally get to work sometimes doing something during time microwaving, but sometimes not. The idea of being proactive and making a small dent in something - putting laundry in the dryer, cleaning the kitchen sink, tidying the counters - during microwaving is a little uplifter. "I just used that time well and got something accomplished."

I often find chunking tasks - working in little bits, and over time - helps me in getting things done and mentally/emotionally. In grad school, many of the degree programs had comprehensive exams for the entire program as a graduation requirement. This is kind of daunting - studying everything from 2 + years. Some of my friends put it off till the last 2 weeks and were panicked. I started about 6 months out devoting an hour a day to studying for comprehensives, and it really helped me to do a solid review and freed me up from anxiety.