Trying to stay on task?

I've discovered that somethings keep us from doing what we SHOULD be doing..Things like having to clean the living room or kitchen. I find that if I have to clean up before we can get started I tend to put it off. If the area is clean and everything is put in order than I have no trouble grabbing the kids school stuff and saying "lets get going!" It does make it hard at times. We start early somedays, have a ton to do and then it's dinner and dishes and getting kids ready for bed, etc. and by that time the last thing I really feel like doing is dishes. So they tend to be put off until later, or sometimes the next morning..which is kind of self-sabotaging because until I get stuff cleaned I tend to put everything else off. So I have to pay attention to little things I do that make homeschooling more difficult that it really is.
Is there something you do that sabotages your homeschool efforts? Can you look around and see what habits you have fallen into that has you putting off doing something you should be doing? Sometimes looking at the (bad) habits we've formed we can find area's we can work on. Area's that will ultimately help us keep doing what we're doing :)
My goals...make sure when I go to bed at night there isn't anything that I'll wake up to that will cause me to put off things. Kids get to help clean up the living room each night before they head to bed, and they get to help fill up or empty the dishwasher so the kitchen will be clean as well.
I'll just hope that whatever we are cleaning...the baby isn't coming right behind us messing up again. Right now he's entered the "lets tear things up, because that loud ripping sound is so cool" stage. So It's back to putting books up where he can't reach them before he damages to many things! We'll leave the older stuff that is already damaged where we can grab and read stuff together with him, but everything else...Up to the top of the shelves once again! It's been awhile since we've had to worry about these things...Wish I could believe the next stage was "let's help Mommy keep the house clean and I'll pick up my own toys" stage, However, since I'm still waiting for his older sisters to hit that stage I'm not going to hold my breath!