Spinning the wheels

I thought that over the lovely extended weekend that I would be able to possibly catch up on what needs to be done at home. I don't know if it is over-ambition or unrealistic expectations or what, but here it is Monday and I feel no further than I was before the weekend started.
Sure, things got done...some loads of laundry, the tree decorated, some Christmas decs up, Josh's tool room organized and cleaned out along with added shelving, vacuuming, dishes, meals, shopping, visiting with family, a parade (that was a complete disappointment), organizing of closets, and other stuff...but here's some that remains...
Finish our Christmas lights, clean the upstairs, laundry, and a host of other things.
Yesterday, I felt like the wheels were spinning faster and things were getting done slower or not at all.
I think that for Christmas I'm going to ask for a helper elf. We have our lovely little "Taggie" Elf on a Shelf, but I need so much more than one that sits on a shelf.
Since I don't know where those can be purchased, I'm going to hold to the quote I heard from Josh the other day "work smarter not harder".
Do you ever fall into the spinning wheels problem?