I spend a lot of my time dreaming... no not sleeping but rather that head space where you think about what could be. Usually this coincides with what I'm focusing on at the time - which lends me towards an obsessive pattern of behaviour regarding those things I enjoy. WoW is no exception and that is part of the reason I've cut back on the hours I play.
However such dreaming (or rather planning) is a useful tool when play time is limited, at least when it is within the bounds of reasonable expectations. By planning what you want to achieve in your hour of WoW it allows you to get to the business of 'doing' as soon as you log in. Setting small goals and then achieving them makes it so much more rewarding, and despite the limited play time you can actually feel yourself progressing - have I made those two XP bubbles that I wanted to make, did I finish the Wrath gate lines of quests (which is my aim for tomorrow on Coaz)? It may be as simple a goal as 'Play a round of Alterac Valley'.
In terms of goals I tend to have four types:
1. Short term goals
This is what I mentioned above - something achievable in a session of play.
On a side note - this is one reason I enjoy leveling - the rewards are constant and consistent, rather than the gear gathering in the end game which relies so much on chance (although Emblems go a long way towards bridging that gap).
2. Medium term goals
This is something that might take you a few sessions of play or so. One of my medium term goals is to finish those last three levels for Coaz to finally hit 80. Then maybe get that reputation and dailies out of the way to turn Keluin into a Crusader.
3. Long term goals
What do I see me doing in 6 months of play? My long term goals tend to be rather vague, but will usually influence some decisions made now. For example my next leveling goal after Coaz is to bring my druid up... all the way from level 22 where he currently resides. To that end I bought the leather heirlooms shoulders and chest (and they could also be used by the last of my plate wearing brethren that I haven't leveled yet - the Death Knight).
Long term goals are also more likely to change - I haven't finalised which character I'll level next. Pragmatically leveling my Death Knight or Warlock will be a quick process given they are already closer to the goal... but I'm really liking the flexibility in terms of roles that the hybrids bring and the druid is the king of this.
4. The dreams
These are the 'what would I do if I didn't have to work, didn't have a family, decided to dedicate myself to WoW' thoughts... the ones that if I'm thinking pragmatically will never get off the ground... and occasionally form into a level 1-5 alt in the appropriate class. Sadly, in reality this is where any dreams I have of leveling a Horde character sit...
Having set goals, laid out our best plans, come play time that doesn't mean that it is how it is going to happen. I'm all for being flexible - and that is one of the wonders of playing a game involving and revolving around other people. Last Sunday I ended up leaving Coaz sitting in the middle of a cave trying to get some spit on him by some Jormungar to go and join a Trial of the Crusader raid. In the past I would often drop what I was doing to tank some instance - we'll see how that pans out, but I'm guessing I'll be the same - willing to go help and interact with others when the need arises. That is the joy of the game for me - not the perfect execution of a plan - and so I'm willing to slow my progress to that end.
Time Tools
There are a few tools that I would recommend to assist with your time management. I'm not proposing to pull out MS Project or the equivalent and make a complete plan! But there are a couple of things that I think help a lot:
1. The WoW Calendar
If you want to be involved in what is coming up in the World of Warcraft then it is worth looking ahead at what events are happening. Then you can be well prepared. You can access this either in game or via the armory.
2. Tour Guide Add-on
I love this add-on! Tour Guide is a framework for creating an in-game guide with the idea being it'll guide you through the steps of whatever task you wish to achieve (that someone has written the guide for!). Guides exist for many of the world events too!
With the coming changes in Patch 3.3 to the quest markers etc this isn't as required - but combine this with Jame's leveling guide and your leveling process is as streamlined as it is going to be.
3. Lightheaded Add-on
Another one of my favourite add-ons, Lightheaded brings the power of wowhead to your ingame quest log. Coordinates and tips to those sticky quests are right there without having to worry about alt-tabbing, or squinting to see that game in windowed mode!
4. Parental Controls
What you see in the image at the top is my parental controls settings. This isn't something that will help you make the most of the time, but rather make sure you stay within those arbitrary limits that you set. To stop myself from staying up late I've set them up to kick me off by 10pm. My guild mates find that amusing... but given that they are a guild that usually starts raiding at 10pm - it is good to have that fallback protection from the temptation to join them. If you really lack the discipline - I suggest using it and giving someone else the password! As one of my guildies (who is also a parent) said "they are called Parental Controls" so use them to control yourselves parents!
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