I echo what other said about finding ways to feel accomplished at the end of the day. I started doing crafts, like crochet and cross-stitch, and really like giving gifts to friends. It's been quite the change, but I've been trying hard to prioritize and validate doing these things because they are important. I also wanted to suggest having a mix of easy and harder things to do. Some days the pain and anxiety are so bad, I can't even decide which color to color a picture, so I have a color by number book. Other times, I want to be challenged, so I learn a new crochet stitch. Having both outlets is crucial for me.

In addition to feeling accomplished, I recommend finding something that lets you forget about every thing for a bit. I play a video game that I find so consuming, I briefly forget I'm in pain. What that is for every person is different, but I think it's valuable for the hard days.

I also echo what other people say about breaking things into small tasks. I will list out the various steps for things and only ask myself to do one part of the task at a time and sometimes a day. Listing out all the steps can be a bit overwhelming, but it does get easier with practice. I started out small, mostly doing it for things like required multiple steps, like calling the doctor's office and waiting for them to call me back. Instead of just listing talk to doctor and then leaving that on my list for days, I will list the task for today as call doctor. And then I will have on my running list, follow up with doctor on X. I don't always need things stepped out so much, but I find it's really helpful.

When I originally read your post, it sounded like you were looking for strategies on how to tackle the things you want to get done on any given day. If I misread that, then you can stop reading because the next part speaks to that.

I also find it hard to make lists and I feel overwhelmed when I do. I recently implemented this system and it seems to help. I keep one long running list of all the things I need to do. I sometimes remember things at random times and need a place to store them. Then, each night, I look at the list and my calendar and think about a few things I can do the next day. I then write those things on a white board in a spot I will see when I am eating my breakfast. One of the things I found is that I often forget to check the long list for something to do, but if I have a few things listed on the white board, I see them and then think about whether I can tackle them. Now it's super important that I don't put more tasks than are possible for me to accomplish and I also don't pressure myself to complete a task that isn't feasible because I woke up feeling worse than I did before. I also color code the tasks so it helps me figure out how to do them. So I color code things for my health, things that make me happy, things that make me leave the house, and then other things. You may have noticed that I put on there something that makes me happy. That may sound odd, but I also find that sometimes, I forget to take care of me and bring joy into my life. Because I am so unwell all the time, I need joy in my life more than ever. As an overachiever, I really struggled to let myself do something that brings me joy before I had accomplished all the tasks. But since I'm too ill now to ever get through the long list in a reasonable time, I make sure to do at least one thing that brings me joy each day and to do that mindfully.

That's the other piece to all of this that I've found really helping - learning to be present and mindful. I took the MBSR course, which was designed for people with chronic pain, and it helped me cope with the pain more than anything else (well, except meds). Taking time to experience the joys of life has helped me stay positive. So if I decide to watch a tv episode as my joy for the day, then that's all I do during that time. I don't check Facebook or eat or anything else. Instead, I get lost in the show and really appreciate it for what it is. If I mindlessly watch it, then it doesn't bring me joy and just adds to the feeling that I'm not accomplishing enough in a day.

In addition, I have a magnetic chore chart (for kids) that I use to remind me of all the things I need to do weekly. I know it sounds silly, but my "chores" are showering, physical activity, socializing, doing something fun, cleaning my place, and doing something relaxing (meditation or restorative yoga). I try to make sure I do 2 of those things a day. This combined with the list helps me keep focused on the priorities. As much as possible, I try to keep things like bills set-up so they just take care of themselves so I can use my energy to take care of me.

Lastly, for things like making food, which don't have a clear - this has to be done at this time - I have a list to remind me of what I can do. When the pain is bad, I forget simple meals I can make, like a tuna fish sandwich. So I have a white board where I list the raw ingredients, mostly the perishables, and also list possible meals. This way, when I need to make food but can't figure out what, I have a list to look at and be like, oh yeah, I have the spoons to make tuna sandwiches!

I hope this helps and wish you all the best!