Falling Behind

I have participated in Nanowrimo for several years now. Every year I seem to go through a similar routine which I have credited for the fact that I have crossed the finish line each and every attempt. Sadly a big part of this routine is my tendency to fall behind, sometimes significantly, forcing me to have a few days of dedicated catch up. This year has already proven to be no different.

I can use the excuse of the fact I am working full time hours this year. Having the five days I am locked within the walls of my casino dealing cards definitely takes time away from my writing endeavors. However that reasoning gets crushed when I think about Nano from 2014 when I was working two jobs. I may have been part time at both but that still meant three to four days per week per job and several of those would end up being double shifts. I began work at three in the morning then after eight hours I would head to my next job for another eight hours and finally make it home by nine at night. That year I still managed to finish my novel with a few hours to spare.

I have obligations to my boyfriend. We don't get to spend much time together and I need to make time for him. Especially considering that November has Veteran's Day and the Marine Corp birthday which are important to him since he served in the Marines for eleven years. However I honor my time and these special dates every year and still manage to complete my project on time.

For some reason I seem to thrive under the time pressure of taking part in this challenge but even the crunch of thirty days to complete the fifty thousand words has never been enough. I still manage to find those times when I am coming from behind to complete my work. I would like to get to the point where instead of putting off my writing for a few days, with the exception of special occasions, I would instead finish earlier in the month and have time to work on a different project as well.

I think since this year has already proven to be the same old routine I will be adding to my goals next year the desire to finish Nano in twenty days and get a solid fifteen thousand into another book by the end of the month. I wonder if anyone else goes through this same back and forth every year with Nano or other challenges they take part in.