Managing time

So far, my decision to use Waterdeep: Dragon Heist appears to be a wise one.  The group is enjoying the rich tapestry of personages the book has to offer, and I find myself freed up from stressing about what to do next.  Without getting into any spoilers, the group is in the second chapter of the adventure, a curiously low-key exploration phase before beginning ratcheted back up in chapter three to a pace that will continue for the rest of the book.  The long-time GM in me is mildly disappointed that I'm not creating my own material, but this has given me the time to focus on a lot of other projects, including renovating the game room.  I will have to see if I transition from Dragon Heist to Dungeon of the Mad Mage.  In November two of my players will have a baby, while after Christmas break another player's schedule changes so he is no longer available on my game night.  That leaves me with three players, all youth rather than adults.  At that point I either run with the three I have, try to recruit new players, or switch games.  The game night will likely stay the same--it is too convenient for me not to.

Oddly enough, I'm not sure how hard recruiting new players will be.  Dungeons & Dragons appears to be everywhere in this town right now.  A week or so ago I was at the grocery store and ran into a college student I know from church, a young woman who I knew to be a gamer, and I mentioned that I might have an opening in the gaming group soon.  The young man at the register immediately said, "you're running a game?  Do you have more than one spot open?"

In another incident I was taking my wife's piccolo to be repaired at a small shop and I happened to notice that on her desk were a couple of D&D miniatures.  This prompted a conversation about the game and what her group was doing.  Even at my son's small university he reported the D&D club has "thirty to forty members" and the biggest issue is finding people to run games so they can break the club up into smaller groups.  For a game that doesn't release all that much in the way of new material every year, they seem to be doing okay.

Finally, I read a good blog post over at Monsters and Manuals about his decision to abandon smart phones and limit time spent in front of screens.  I spend most of my day in front of a computer, not always because I must but because it is there.  When I got home, I would succumb frequently to the temptation of checking Facebook, or email, or whatever.  Even trying to put it away at the dining room table was sort of a trial.

So, taking a page from Noism's book, I decided that at 7:00 PM the phone goes away.  I can't switch to a "dumb phone": there's a couple of apps that I have on there that help me manage my daughter's health.  But I can put the phone in my bedroom with the ringer on in case people have to call me (I'm on call almost all the time) but otherwise it's gone.  It is already making an impact, although I'm acutely aware now, as he is, of how much the people around me are on their phones, even in the comfort of their own homes.  We will see if my productivity picks up.