I first learned of the concept from the Motley Fool guys: Pay Yourself First. I try to do that as much as I can with finances, but I realized that I haven’t been doing it enough with the rest of my life.
For instance, I wake up and immediately the mindset starts into “going to work”. If I’m going to do anything for myself, it tends to be something done at night after work, and many times I’m too drained or tired to put effort into it. Consequently, my own projects suffer.
Well, I’m trying to “pay myself first” in other areas. Let’s see how it goes. Wake up, do my own thing for a few hours. Yes, I still have to portion things right to give proper time to the day job. But since there’s no way I’ll neglect that work well, hopefully this will now mean other things won’t get neglected or ignored from lack of time or energy. Hopefully this will pay off for me.
I really want it to pay off for me. I’ve got a bunch of irons in the fire and I want to ensure they get forged to completion. There are also some new things I want to do, and I can’t do them until I clear off my plate.
Stuff From Hsoi 
Work get’s in the way of life if you’d don’t love it. Still, even at work I try to pay myself first: sneaking in a little paragraph or two of a book that I’m reading; scribbling down some ideas for my blog; writing a small list of things to do when I get home.
It’s never completely satisfying, real life seems back home in Kansas “i.e. there’s no place like home!”
Yet, these little bits of what I really like interspersed throughout a day in a small way alleviate the feeling of stifled ambition. Baby steps….
I’ve just let my life be ruled by too many other factors. Trying to take back control. So far it feels good, but I’ve only just started.