Post I just saw in a gardening group:
Any advice for veg garden starting/maintenance for when you’ve got nothing in the tank? When I get done working my shifts I’m exhausted for days it seems.
My take (heavily influenced by permaculture design principles and by my own tendency to be lazy):
Start small. Micro, even! Like, just a tiny bed maybe 4×4. Or even just one pot growing 2-3 greens or lettuces you like.
You can always expand as time & energy permits, and as your successes fuel you to do more.
And, very important for your energy & sanity level (as well as health of the plants) — put the garden pot or bed as close as you possibly can to the main door you use to walk in & out of your house.
Also I really like what a couple of other commenters suggested: Instead of working in the yard, try sitting outdoors and enjoying it first. Put a chair in the garden and sit out there after work. Listen, admire, take deep breaths. If you feel like working in the garden at that point, great; if not, save it for another day.
And: Don’t stress about pulling weeds. Let them be; they’ll eventually die and become fertilizer for your garden.
(Or you can chop-and-drop them for that purpose; chopping and dropping is a much more relaxing and less physically taxing endeavor than pulling out unwanted plants. Anyway, at least some of those wild plants could be beneficial natives that are attracting pollinators who will help your food-garden as well as helping the ecosystem as a whole.)