While I understand the lesson, LR more and more feels like a game made up by that kid on the playground who constantly changes the rules to win.

I tend to work long, unpredictable hours as well. One thing that has helped me is to study early in the mornings. I'll try to get about an hour or so in every morning right when I wake up and before I start the rest of the day since it's the only consistent time of day I have. It was a little hard at first, but sitting down with my first cup of coffee for the day and digging in for an hour or so has almost become like a relaxing morning habit. I'll caveat, my circadian rhythm is a bit screwed up. So I am usually awake by 4AM whether I want to be or not.