In case you haven’t heard, and that is highly unlikely if you spend any time at all on this ship, I’m heading off to San Francisco next week for the annual RWA National Conference.  I’ve attended a smaller conference in New Jersey, but never the Nationals.  I’ve also never been anywhere near the west coast.  To say I’m excited is like saying Nora is kind of successful.

Though I’m a plotser (or plantser or whatever we’re calling the plotter/pantser combo this week) in my writing life, in real life I pants it all the way.  I rarely plan ahead, take everything as it comes, and never, absolutely NEVER, make lists.  Until now.

Last week on the Romance Bandits blog, Blaze author Tawny Weber covered the topic of getting organized and prepared for the conference.  She ever suggested making a schedule spreadsheet complete with color coding. Her timing was perfect as I’d just had a dream – make that a nightmare – the weekend before that I had arrived in San Fran without any of the things I needed.  Say what you will, but the Universe was telling me to get my arse in gear and get prepared.

First thing I did – make a list.  This is SOOOOO unlike me it’s scary.  I hate lists.  I have a friend who makes lists about making lists.  It’s a constant battle not to choke her when she tries to push these lists on me.  So the fact I succumbed to this task says a great deal about my anxiety.

I learned several things from the list.  One, for the amount of bathroom items required by me daily, I should be much better looking.  Seriously, the bathroom stuff took one side of the page.  And I kept adding to it.  But almost all of these items are packed (travel size items are my friend!) and marked off the list.

Another thing I learned is that shoes are not a big deal to me.  I’m taking my tennis shoes (wearing them on the plane actually) and the heels I’ll wear to get all prettied up for the awards ceremony.  Not another pair made it on the list.  With my bad knees, everyone will just have to deal with me in tennis shoes.  Otherwise, the pain will drive me to tears.  And for the record, I’m not pitching so no worries on me going in to impress an editor or agent in tennis shoes.

The final lesson was that one list leads to more lists.  I now have the list of things I still need to buy, the list of items I will wear that day, and the list of items I need to do prior to leaving.  It’s like a disease that keeps spreading.  Though I admit, for a person with my memory issues, I should probably embrace list making more often.

What about you?  Do you make lists before a big trip?  Do you make lists for everyday things?  Or does making a list send you over the edge?  Could you make it through a four day conference with only two pairs of shoes, or would you need a separate suitcase for foot gear alone?  If you’re going to Nationals, what’s on your list that I might have forgotten to add to mine?

PS: Tune in next week when I talk about creating spreadsheet schedules and picking the right workshops.