Time Management

It is kind of shocking how different life can become in regards to time management when at different stages of life.

When I was in University, very ill but not as ill as I am now, I felt that I had those full 24 hours in a day to accomplish everything. I had really bad insomnia, so instead of lying there staring at the ceiling, I used it to my advantage. I packed my schedule so fully that if one activity ran even 30 minutes late, I would be speeding through the city and scrounging for a granola bar in my bag. During that time, I wound up in the Emergency room at least once a month. My intestines were brutal but my energy level was insane.
I also knew that this high energy level would not last. I wanted to get as much life in as I possibly could while I still had a full 24 hours to work with every day.

That's the thing no one tells you about fatigue. It's the part we don't always understand about illness. It is not always the pain that takes us down. It is not always the symptoms, the side effects, the medications, or the pain. It is the overwhelming feeling of being body-exhausted. It is the fatigue that takes you down.
Suddenly, instead of having 24 workable hours in a day, you get 3 or 4, at a quarter of the speed. Your energy level bottoms out and what you used to be able to do in 24 hours you can't even do in 24 days.
Your time management changes.

I used to be able to cram 2 or 3 appointments in one day, along with work and school and volleyball and going drinking and writing a paper and studying and reading a novel for fun. Plus eating and my usual 18 trips to the bathroom. Maybe even a nap in there.

Now, I have to plan days ahead to do any cleaning of the house, to be able to go to one appointment without any help. If I want to spend an hour painting, I cannot have anything else planned for that day. If I want to do a couple hours of singing, two days prior and two days after have to be cleared. I can be spontaneous, but I still have to make sure I have nothing important the next day.
It takes my body much longer to recuperate, much longer to do anything at all. My time management strategies have drastically changed.
Even something as simple as getting ready! My best time (I was running late) for getting ready in the am was 7 minutes. That includes a 1 minute shower, doing my makeup while I went to the washroom, curling my hair while getting dressed, moving at lightning speed - still getting all dolled up.
Now, just to be able to brush my hair, put on makeup, and get dressed, takes me 30-40 minutes. Getting all dolled up requires lots of long breaks, so it takes me 3 hours to really take my time getting ready so I don't crash.

My usable hours used to be 20-24 every single day.
Now, most days, I may only have 1 hour. The remainder are spent resting, medicating, taking care of our puppies.
Some days I have 4 usable hours - but then crash for a few days.
Anything above that and I am suffering for weeks (it is almost always worth it though). These usable hours don't reset the next day like they used to. It is never the same every single day. I do not get to reset my energy levels with a good night's sleep. It will take weeks of proper sleep after draining my energy completely.

How many usable hours do you feel you have every single day?

How much would your life change if your usable hours went from 10 hours to just 2 hours?