The W's of Reading: Required Reading?

I know.  I've been a little MIA again.  The truth is, I've been working on professional development courses this summer that require A LOT of online reading (because the courses are online).  Trust me, it has been a nice change from my normal grind, but all this reading has led me to this "W's of Reading" post.  What do you do when "required reading" starts to weigh you down? 

Honestly, I can hear myself answer this question.  Here's how that would look:

Me:  Well, I like to use fun/choice reading as an incentive to get the required stuff...out...of...the...way!

Me Now:  Yes, I usually do that, but reading all this professional stuff is bumming me out.  I just want to play Jewel Quest or online solitaire when I finish.

Me:  Fine.  Whine about it.  I gave you my answer, so what more do you want?

Horror of horrors, I realized that this is probably how some of my students feel. *sigh*  That means that I have to figure this out. 

Truth be told, I think that this is more about the level of burn out I felt this year.  Maybe I should have considered this before I signed up?  It seems like you have to come at required reading with gusto--which I don't have.  In school, I was that student who got all excited when we checked out a new novel; I was that college student who looked forward (yes, it's crazy) to getting new textbooks!  I just love(d) books.  That's why this feeling is a little odd.

All right, so I think I've figured out that I was just too burned out this year, so all of this professional/required reading is getting to me and driving me away from the things I love (i.e. my blog, my fun reading, etc.).  What about you? 

What do you do (or have done) when required reading (review requests or professional reading) gets you down? 

Anyone else out there escaping to a mind-numbing game of Jewel Quest???  Please come take it away from me!!!  I'm matching three cars in traffic that are alike.  It's just wrong.