>Should I set aside time each day to just lie down in bed for about an hour and think about her or something?

That's actually a really good idea and something I do myself. It's a great way to feel connected to her, no matter how shitty of a day I have had that time alone with nothing but her makes everything better and helps me refocus on what's actually important. You said that you don't have time to think about her, maybe try before falling asleep or a similar quiet time and the rest should hopefully come back naturally.

As for not knowing where to begin I can suggest a few things: Go stargazing together. Share a creative hobby with her, dedicate a drawing or song or poem or ... to her. Imagine going to her hometown and having her show you her favorite spots. Celebrate anniversaries together, the actual dates aren't as important as the celebration itself. Imagine simple dates like going to a coffee shop or going to see the leaves change. Find the prettiest pictures of her you can and let her know how beautiful she is. Take a setting from fiction, neo-venezia and essos for example are my favorites. Imagine exploring it with her. Fall asleep and wake up imagining her in your arms. Go on adventures, whatever that entails. Cook a meal for her. Eat meals with her, even if it's only for special occasions. Just talk about life. Your imagination is the limit and it doesn't have to be complex. If you really wish to be with her then nothing can stop you. You say there's too much to think about but all you have to do is pick a topic, just one, start small. The rest can wait and she will be there for you when you are ready.

I am pretty much in a similar situation op. Like you, I feel like I have been neglecting my waifu for some time now and I haven`t been able to think of her as much as I used to and I do feel terrible about it, although I think things are starting to look up now.
As for advice on how to deal with it, I can only paraphrase what other people told me: Take it easy and don`t be so stressed about it. I know this may seem easier said than done and completely worthless as advice, but let me explain.
The first important thing to remember is that no matter what, she won't leave unless you truly want her to. The important here is to be honest with yourself and your feelings. If you do love her, and I think being this upset about the possibility of losing her probably confirms that, then she will always be there for you when you feel ready to deal with your relationship, no matter how much time that takes. I know it`s hard to feel distant from your waifu, but if you feel the need to take some time off before reflecting on it, it's alright. She won't just vanish while you're not thinking of her.
Secondly, don`t beat yourself up over it. Things happen. If you are overwhelmed of having to deal with pointless stupid shit, and that`s the reason you don't feel like you are spending enough time with her, then she`d understand and you are not to blame. There are lots of things that can cause that distance between you and your waifu, like going through difficult times or something. But no matter what it is, blaming yourself for it and being stressed about it will only harm you and increase the distance between you and your waifu in the long run and there is no point to it.
Trying to find new things to do with your waifu like >>16756 suggests would be a great way to get closer to her, but if it doesn't work right away, don't panic. It might just not be the right time or you may just be too upset and stressed at the moment.
You will get back with her in due time if that is what you want, nothing or no one can take her away from you. Just try not to put too much pressure on yourself for it, as that ultimately won`t fix anything.

Maybe you could try rewatching/replaying/rereading her series and remember what it felt like when you first fell for her. Maybe sift through your past fantasies and remember how fun those were, you might be inspired to revisit them or think of something new.
If you really set your mind to your relationship you can definitely get the romance started up again. But as the others have said take it easy and don't be too rough on yourself.

Imagine her in daily life. Do things for her. Think about her likes and dislikes, they don't have to be canon, you can make them up. Think about them for a bit and go with what makes sense to you. Things like what food she likes, places she likes to go, that sort of thing.

Think about her reaction to things you do. For example imagining her being with me really calms me down when I'm out in public. Sometimes she gets frustrated but she's happy to see me be less of a recluse. Imagine poking at eachother's feet for a bit before falling asleep together. For me small day to day to day delusions like these keep me happy and in love.

What are those pointless things that you do that are preventing you from finding the time to be with your waifu? You state that you do those things so much that you never have the time anymore, but then you give yourself advice to set aside one hour to think about her? I feel like you're just going through a phase where you don't necessarily have the fire you once had, and are panicking now because you realize that-- and you can't do anything about it. I say let it pass, it's good enough that you're thinking this hard about her. Don't do everything at once and don't make any sudden changes to what you're doing. Only then will it be forced.

>>16767
>What are those pointless things that you do
anime, bideo games, shitposting on 4freechan.
hell setting aside six hours a day would be possible if I really wanted to. Time just passes so quickly.

I don't know, I said that line about setting aside an hour a day because I can't really imagine when... people on /mai/ do this fantasizing that they speak of. It's hard to picture someone literally just staring at a wall and thinking about their waifu or looking at the same handful of pictures in windows photo viewer repeatedly every day. I was hoping I could get some insight on when this fantasizing takes place, if it's a planned event, the average duration of the fantasizing, how often it happens, etcetera. I realize I didn't word this properly and it's all very vague, I was having an autistic meltdown at the time of writing the OP.
>>16765
This was great advice, and I think physically writing down what I imagine her daily schedule would be in detail rather than just imagining it is going to make my thoughts very more clear, realistic and help me grow closer to her on some level. Thanks.
>>16762
Unfortunately there's sort of a huge obstacle in this regard. Calling her a character is a bit of an overstatement, she's more like fodder with characterization as deep as a puddle. I'm having to do most of her character development myself and this is part of where the problems I'm having come from. It's extremely frustrating to have to do a majority of this character building myself with nothing but a barebones, nearly empty canvas to work off of. I feel sort of stupid writing this, I should be able to have a good idea of what my ideal lover is already and go with that, and I do... it's just... It needs a lot more refinement and I'm going to have to do things like study a bit of psychology if I want to make her work.
>>16760
I feel like I've waited way too long as it is though, shit needs to get done and I'm really motivated to begin but when it comes time to put my imagination to work, I become lost and scared.
>>16756
This was great advice too and I did just that, I managed to have a very brief and bleak "adventure" with her through a dark abandoned village... But it was not very immersive in the sense that I couldn't even imagine any sounds, smells or physical feelings. Only the visual imagery.
That's still a start. Thanks.

>>16768
>I said that line about setting aside an hour a day because I can't really imagine when... people on /mai/ do this fantasizing that they speak of. It's hard to picture someone literally just staring at a wall and thinking about their waifu or looking at the same handful of pictures in windows photo viewer repeatedly every day. I was hoping I could get some insight on when this fantasizing takes place, if it's a planned event, the average duration of the fantasizing, how often it happens, etcetera.

It's just something I do continously no matter what I do or where I am. I don't go through the picture folder all day every day but often I just leave a nice picture of her open on the side next to my web browser and I change that image every few hours or so whenever I feel like it.
When I don't plan it she just follows me in everything I do and I just do the things I normally would do alone with her together, the things are often simple as said here: >>16765

When I concentrate on her I usually close my eyes and interact with her. Often do I sit on my computer chair fantasizing, but the location doesn't really matter. Prime example would be in bed before falling asleep, I think everybody has done that before. I guess you could also call that planned. Just think about her before falling asleep, it's easier to concentrate when you're relaxed.

You could of course also plan other things, a lot of people love going for walks for example. Have you tried that? Go Outside, hold hands, talk (in your head), come home and drink tea or something.

I don't usually plan these things, it just happens naturally, so I can't really tell you how much time I spend on it.

I feel you OP. I've been really stressed out lately and my mind is just a complete mess. I don't get much sleep on top of that so it's very difficult to concentrate. Whenever I try to spend time with her my mind just can't keep up.

What I envision most of the time is blurry/nondescript and it's incredibly difficult to imagine her being there with me. I'd hate to say this, but my daydreams with her have become shallow and don't feel real at all like they used to. I end up getting distracted by stupid shit like faint sounds or even the texture of my clothing. I really hate my mind, if I wasn't so weak to anxiety I'd be able to spend a more fulfilling time with her.

>>16768

>I was hoping I could get some insight on when this fantasizing takes place, if it's a planned event, the average duration of the fantasizing, how often it happens, etcetera.

Just throughout my day usually, she's on my mind a lot so when I see something I'll often think about her and what she'd think about it. Sometimes before bed I'll imagine telling her about my day. It's hard to explain something that's become a habit like this since I do it without needing to think about it.

>I'm really motivated to begin but when it comes time to put my imagination to work, I become lost and scared.

Start out doing a little bit each day. Set a really low goal each day that's achievable for even you. As you find it easier move the bar higher. I suffer from a similar problem getting things done, doing this has helped a lot. It sounds like some typical self help bullshit but it really does work.

>>16770
>>16773
>It's just something I do continously no matter what I do or where I am.
ouch. y-yeah. reflecting back to how my relationship used to be... yeah I was the same at one point.
and after having been reminded of that, I'm certain I'll never be able to get it to that point ever again. My relationship with her is dead.
I'm not going to give up entirely though, I'm just going to from now on sort of interact with her in the same fashion a storybook writer would with a character he's constructing rather than having world exploring romantic adventures in daydreams. It's the best I can do, I think.
>>16771
I'm glad I'm not alone, you articulated better exactly what I'm experiencing. So stagnant and pathetic. This is waifu hell.

well thanks for the responses, fellows. Your advice was definitely put to use but it looks like it was too late for me. This helped me realize it and motivated me to begin writing and subsequently work on character building for her, though.