Handling Distractions

I need to come up with a better way to keep myself organized within EVE.  I'm not referring to where I keep my stuff.  I think I have that covered.  No, I'm referring to what I'm actually doing in the game.  EVE isn't the only gaming-related thing I do and sometimes the other things distract me from what I'm trying to accomplish in New Eden.

Currently I have three main distractions.  The first is Final Fantasy XIV.  I really like the game so far and I get lost for hours playing.  The second is the Alliance Tournament.  I do most of my gaming on the weekends and now that the tourney near the end, I find myself watching both the matches and the studio coverage.  I can't really play EVE and watch the coverage at the same time.

The final distraction is "Gamergate".  That whole thing is a little disturbing, and not just because 4chan is involved.  A lot of members of 4chan are trying to go against the 4chan image and act like responsible adults with reasonable concerns.  That in itself is interesting.  But as I look further into the "social justice" side of things, I'm starting to get a little creeped out.  I'm not writing about what I'm finding, though, because I want to try to avoid getting into politics.  I may write about the pseudo-conspiracy involving gaming journalism though.  I love conspiracy theories.

So that leaves trying to remember what I planned on doing when I do log in for a serious play session.  EVE does have some tools to help.  I already use EveMon, a third-party tool, to make sure I keep my skill queue filled.  EveMon is also useful for keeping track of my market orders and industry work.  But unlike EveMon's skill training function, the industry functions just tell me what exists, not what I need to do next.

The reason I started thinking about better organizing myself is that I want to build a Prospect but I forgot a couple of steps.  The most important is making blueprint copies for invention.  Instead of just going out to gather the results of my data core mining and begin inventing the BPC, I had to make copies, which means I won't begin my invention attempts until next Monday.  All because I'm unorganized.

I'm thinking about setting up a calendar I can look at so I know what I need to do next.  I'm not sure if I want to use the calendar in EVE Gate or Google's calendar.  I would just put in what I need to install in the various industry queues based on a building plan I'd create.  Almost sounds like a job, doesn't it?  But that's not a knock on EVE; I'm considering doing something similar for FFXIV also.  Although FFXIV is a classic tab-targeting themepark, I find the crafting engaging enough that I need to set some priorities and stick to them.

I probably need to set up Word documents listing my priorities in both games so I don't forget.  I find myself chasing after the nearest shiny in both games.  I'm pretty good about resisting the urge in EVE, but FFXIV is still new enough to me that I haven't established any priorities.  A Word document telling me where I left off sounds pretty good right about now.  Taking 5-10 minutes after a play session to make some notes would probably help make starting the next play session a lot easier.  Read my notes and start killing things.  Or making deliveries, if I'm playing EVE.  About the only things I kill in EVE are rocks.

So those are my latest rambling thoughts.  Given that I've rambled a lot lately, I probably need to impose a little order on myself.  After all, internet spaceships are serious business and I need to stay focused with my eyes on the prize.  Whatever that is.