Scheduling
As the poly phone app I linked back shows, sometimes when one's polyfamily grows, there's a lot of management to do. Day calendars are a big thing with us. If you have a poly friend, a good default gift is a detailed daily planner.
No, seriously, even with RP. Time management is HUGE. Especially since there's only so much time in a day most people roleplay and if you have two or more partners to split your time around when it comes to roleplay, it adds up. Everyone has their own structure and own schedules so people have to work around each other just like with regular RP. Though from experience, I see more people put their priority with FC related events and interpersonal and romantic relationship developments then most other types of roleplay.
Why scheduling is so important
When it comes to roleplay, everyone does things differently. One of the habits I have picked up that tend to work well for me is the 1 month rule.
The 1 Month Rule: A consecutive month of RP with someone is usually a good gauge for their average schedule and how much you can expect to have RP time with them either privately or in a public setting.
Now, this is not full proof. But it's worked well for me in the past and is what I personally go by and recommend to others. Everyone has their own system, however, so just do what works best for you if you've already found something to your liking.
When it comes to the management of time and scheduling, this becomes important when practicing polyamory in any setting. Before, you might have devoted quite a bit of time to one or two partners, and BOP! Development happens, things work great ICly, and now you have a third. A third who will likely want their time with your character just as the other two do. And contrary to popular belief, just because a character or person is poly doesn't mean that EVERYONE is involved with one another. If it happens and everything hits itself off? Great, but it's also no biggie if it doesn't. Which means in many cases your character's poly group will want their own kind of time with them.
It's easy to get swept up into the moment or with an RP partner you click with SUPER well and devote a lot of time too. But it's also easy for players and characters to feel put off if suddenly all of your available RP time is now fixated on a smaller group then before and what they once were used too no longer is the case. Not everyone ICly or OOCly adjusts to change well, so it's always nice to try and be considerate of that within a reasonable level.
This is when the question arises of "Well, it's my RP time and my money per month, I should be able to do what I want with it". Which is very true, but RP is also about a certain level of commitment when your character's story is intertwined with others. If you feel things changing to where the same dynamic cannot be held as before? Please let that or those RP partners know so adjustments ICly and OOCly can be made. This goes even outside of polyamory as well.
Some things that can help you stay organized!
Now, this is not full proof. But it's worked well for me in the past and is what I personally go by and recommend to others. Everyone has their own system, however, so just do what works best for you if you've already found something to your liking.
When it comes to the management of time and scheduling, this becomes important when practicing polyamory in any setting. Before, you might have devoted quite a bit of time to one or two partners, and BOP! Development happens, things work great ICly, and now you have a third. A third who will likely want their time with your character just as the other two do. And contrary to popular belief, just because a character or person is poly doesn't mean that EVERYONE is involved with one another. If it happens and everything hits itself off? Great, but it's also no biggie if it doesn't. Which means in many cases your character's poly group will want their own kind of time with them.
It's easy to get swept up into the moment or with an RP partner you click with SUPER well and devote a lot of time too. But it's also easy for players and characters to feel put off if suddenly all of your available RP time is now fixated on a smaller group then before and what they once were used too no longer is the case. Not everyone ICly or OOCly adjusts to change well, so it's always nice to try and be considerate of that within a reasonable level.
This is when the question arises of "Well, it's my RP time and my money per month, I should be able to do what I want with it". Which is very true, but RP is also about a certain level of commitment when your character's story is intertwined with others. If you feel things changing to where the same dynamic cannot be held as before? Please let that or those RP partners know so adjustments ICly and OOCly can be made. This goes even outside of polyamory as well.
Some things that can help you stay organized!
- Notepad with dates and times for events so you don't forget and over schedule an RP date with FC raid nights or something else important game wise.
- Make notes on when was the last time you RPed with people, polypartners or otherwise. It helps better show how you balance things between players and when you notice "Oh...haven't RPed with my friend Jane in a few weeks. Let's see what she's doing tomorrow".
- If your character is in a grouping where everyone is comfortable with each other and with the dynamic, try a group outting. Can be fun, lead to more interesting RP, and it kills multiple birds with one stone.
- Set aside specific days for specific things if you can. Tuesdays and Thursdays can be personal and FC days when you log in on those days while others can go to RP partners or other activities. I have a guild leader from WoW where his weekends were his storyline RP days and Sunday evenings were for football or raids.
