TL;DR:
My problem: I need to close a program before my mac goes to sleep, but sometimes I forget.
My solution: use SleepWatcher to run an AppleScript that tells the app to quit. It's pretty technical.
I use IRC for work. Some people leave it open all the time; I prefer to use it as "office hours", and only have it open when I'm working and more-or-less interruptible.