*g* I know what you mean. I'm much better at organising someone else's plot than dealing with my own!

I'm a deadline-needer too. Sometimes a self inposed one works, but quite often it doesn't. I'm best if I'm writing for someone's birthday or another fixed point. And, as you've just experienced, life has a nasty way of getting really hectic at just the wrong times!

Good luck with your Nano plot! I'm happy to give as much encouragement as is required :P