Forseeable Obstacles

I've been mentally preparing myself for NaNo and today I made a list of things I can see coming and plan for them so that I can jump those hurdles like a champ.

Obstacle #1 - Netflix
I am addicted to watching TV shows on Netflix. I've been doing a decent job of tempering that recently (okay, decent might be an overstatement) but it is incredibly easy for me to waste an entire night of my life watching episodes of Merlin or Dead Zone or whatever. And let's face it. Zoning out in a world that has already been created and produced for you is a lot easier than building your own, brick by brick.

Obstacle #2 - The internet in general
Memebase? Facebook? Woot? Amazon? Craigslist? Only a few of the time-wasting sites that can suck out my brain any given day. The worst part is that these sites only provide the lowest level of entertainment. They're just serious time sucks.

Clearly both of these are things I should work on in the off-season as well but why not start in November?

So. I'm cancelling both cable and my internet service. To be fair, I'm planning on moving soon, and will probably start at least the internet back up when I do. But until then, there's no reason I can't just use my phone for the basics. BAM. Distraction taken care of.

Obstacle #3 - Life
This might be the busiest November I've had since I started NaNo. I've got Tarot class going on, a reunion with my high school besties, a road trip to Indiana (of all places!) and of course, Thanksgiving. I really pretty heavily on weekends. Not this year!

Obstacle #4 - My job
I was unemployed for my first NaNo. In subsequent years, I had a job that offered a lot of downtime. This year I have a job that is not only heavy on the "no writing novels at work" policies and also heavy on the overtime.

I'm hoping that ridding myself of #1 & #2 will help with #3 and #4. The only other thing I can think of to beat these to is focus. Plan and focus. Two of my lesser skills. I'm going into this November more prepared both with my story and with my mental game than ever. And I'm a couple of months into a Major Life Change. It's the perfect scenario to help me get my act together. It's pretty exciting when you think about it.

See? NaNoWriMo will not only help me produce another novel, it will help make me a better person! And that will benefit everyone. Trust me. ;-)