Avoiding Overwhelm after Hiatus Returns

     Your Neopets look at you, incredulous. “You’ve been gone eight years.”

     I jumped in headfirst. I read all the guides on returning. I joined a guild, updated my user lookup with my rusty HTML skills, and immediately started chasing avatars—something I had no interest in pre-hiatus, but seemed to be The Thing to Do now in Y23. All in 24 hours, and I was over the moon! There really isn’t another place like Neopets online. It has the same vibes and good-natured community I love almost a decade later.

     But in exactly three days, I was stressed out. Would this lend go through in time for the next? I was cruising the Neoboards for information, asking questions of kindly fellow Neopians (thank you!) I had to make a cheat sheet for the new acronyms, and bookmark pages as the shifting sands of the site changed around me.

     Sound familiar? If so, read on, friend! This is the guide for you (and for me):

      If you’re feeling negative about your Neopet goals, let’s take a second to assess.

     What’s going on? It could be social— was it an awkward interaction with another Neopian? Second-guessing your post in your guild chat. Maybe it’s frustration: you’ve been refreshing for that random avatar event, but it’s been hours! Come on!

     Whatever it is, I’m not here to tell you it’s just a game (but if that helps, use it!)—

     Rather, I’m saying digital interactions and digital goals are very *real* and require time and effort from us. And sometimes, it might add to or remind us of the problems we have from the physical world.

     Maybe a moment is all you need to reset. If not, writing down what’s got your goat and, maybe, a walk or a bout of video game button-mashing might give you a boost.

     All right. Zen achieved. Quick, what’s next?

      Hold on. Let’s talk priorities. Narrow down what you actually enjoy doing!

     Choose one (okay, or two!) adventures for your first week or two. Prioritize the ones that bring you a happy, shiny feeling.

     If I could redo my first three days, I would’ve done less. Joining a guild was the perfect priority for me — I’d always loved being one before the hiatus, and had run one myself. I’m also working with another guild member on writing for the newsletter: another good choice for me, involving writing and making connections with people.

     What would’ve made my Return to Neopets easier is not start chasing avatars, especially ones that require big lends. It’s stressful—especially for someone who, less than a week ago, didn’t know we could transfer Neopets now or anything about how that worked. Plus, not having enough time (darn it, job!)

      Now it’s time to make a NeoNotebook for everything else.

     Wait, didn’t you just say to focus on a few things?

     Well, yeaaaah, I did! But I’m guessing if you’re reading this, you tend to bite off more than you can chew at once, and you do so for a reason, right?

     My “NeoNotebook” is really a set of notes on my computer that syncs with my phone. There, I keep track of things I see on the site that I don’t understand and answers from questions I’ve asked on the Neoboards. It’s a comforting little document.

     Here’s an example:

     - What an a “UC” pet? A: uncustomized pet

     - Look up Customizations

     - Plots I’ve missed: Wraith Resurgence, Faerie Ruin (maybe?)

     - Already gone but curious: Habitariums

     - Missed: Altador Cup (what’s that?)

     - Avatars: the big three are SuAP, MSPP, and BCG (note: it’s not GCB, whyyyy is that always the typo you do?)

     How you'd organize this document is totally up to you, because everyone's minds works differently, but I want to share what works for me.

     My notebook is subdivided into sections: Chat Questions, Read This, and then "Avvies" because the list for that had gotten so long. While I will be taking a break from chasing the Big Three and all the expensive avatars, I don't want to lose all that I learned. (So if you, like me, would like to step back from something but feel you've invested too much time learning the ropes — write it down!)

     Chat Questions are things I've asked, or other Neopians have asked, that I found helpful. I organize these by topic—Games, Neopets.com History, Anime/Gaming. This also helps me be a better conversationalist in the boards and my guild!

     I actually keep usernames and pet pages of people in here too, so I can follow-up for lends, collabs or find resources when I eventually need to.

     Read This are resources—usually petpages or Neopian Times articles—that I want to read. I usually have been recommended these from someone, so I try to keep track of these usernames too, if I know them! Some of them I refer to again and again, and I add those to my bookmarks along with all the site links I need to get to during the Neopets.com redesign.

     So whether your notebook is digital, like mine, or physical —hey, it might even be in your head or on a social media feed! But however you choose to keep your notes this NeoNotebook—whatever you want to call it—helps you by giving you a place to “dump” your questions, ideas, and thoughts about Neopet-related projects, without needing to take action on it just yet.

     I satisfy my need to learn and feel productive, without overwhelming myself! Phew.

      Slowing fold in new goals, one at a time.

     After two weeks, or whenever you get a little bored with your goal, slowly add in new things from your NeoNotebook!

     Looking at my list right now, when I'm ready to sprinkle in more goals, I know I can pursue a few easier avatars — some of my guild members have offered assistance with, not ones that I have to spend a ton of time on the Neoboards. I also really enjoyed updating my profile user-lookup, writing this article, and brainstorming ideas for a newsletter with my guild co-member. That tells me I enjoy creative projects where I can write, so, I think I'll add "update petpages" to the queue, starting with my oldest pets.

     And maybe I'll be able to write for you again.

     All that said: This is your Neopets, you do you! You don’t have to keep up with whatever everyone else is doing—or listen to a single thing I just said—unless that’s what floats your Toy Boat.

     Welcome back to Neopets. Have. So Much. Fun!