Here we are again. Reaching the end of summer. When you come to the realization that you’ve squandered all your free time on frivolous things like watching sports, nacho chips and a little thing you like to call freestyle nap-drooling. (Don’t look for it in the Olympics, but it SHOULD be there!) Meanwhile, the massive lists you’ve spent the year building – all with the expectation that you would do them during the dog days of summer (so-called because you’re lazier than your dog) – have gone un-filled. Non-complete-o. And you’re running out of time.

If you’re like me, you’re about to start mad-scrambling. It’s summer crunch time for the project punch list. So, I’ve gathered a few tips on how to navigate the to-do deluge:

• Have patience. This is a must. It is highly likely that with a lot of patience, and a little faith, your wife will eventually talk to you again. Remember, the shame and frustration she is feeling over your complete and utter failure to finish a single thing is understandable. Afterall, this is likely the 8th or 9th year you’ve been given the same tasks.

• Cram. You need to think back to your high school and college days. Remember? Right before a test? The one you always forgot about. Until, say, 20 minutes before. But do you know what you were capable of when pressed? When the pressure was on? In 20 minutes, you could do remarkable things. You could plow so much knowledge into your head. You would go into that test feeling on top of the world. Like you owned it! I mean, you still failed. You ALWAYS failed. But for that briefest of moments, you felt really good.