i like the perspective, but "quitting" has a pejorative aspect to it,which I don't think applies in all cases.For me, when things get tough I quite. I am a quitter and I have never really been ashamed to walk away from things that I don't want to do, but I probably should have been. I always find a way to do things I want to do at the expense of long term planning. Right now, I am making a very big push that will secure the long term for me so I can get back doing whatever makes me happy! It's a different way of thinking about things than I have always done, but I am slowly convincing myself to go along with it(lol). What I won't do is muddle along with something that has no benefit other than pay the bills nor miss out on doing things until I am older. I have done the alternatives and if things weren't so expensive now, I would have never had any motivation to pursue something worthwhile. Everything has a silver lining, almost everything.
When I was younger, my parents were big believers in "finish what you started". I tried the violin, but after a month of practicing, I hated it. My parents made me finish the year. What did I learn? Don't try new things without first making sure I had an exit strategy if I didn't like what I was trying. Great life lesson, though not the one my parents were trying to instill in me.
Furthermore, and to your point about time management, the older I get the more I value my time. I simply refuse to coast through life on autopilot, potentially doing stuff of little value or interst. Everything goes into my calendar and everything in that calendar is considered in the context of opportunity cost. I may not like what I am doing each and every minute, but I am fully accountable for the decisions on how I allocate what time I have.
Thus little LOA has been interesting in that I happen to have about 8 hours available to me that will disappear when I return to work. I try to purposefully manage how I use that time. My decision to do errands and write while lying in bed this morning was a conscious one. I needed to ease back on the rehab a bit, but wanted to get stuff done. I am also enjoying getting an opportunity to write for pleasure (something I don't normally prioritize), and put that in my morning schedule.
It sounds like this is similar to what you are trying to do, and I hope you get the opportunity to prioritize more pleasurable tasks soon.