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John,
As per earlier comments I also find that fewer targets per session is more rewarding allowing one to really explore the target and let the fine detail emerge with time at the eyepiece. I also limit my targets to near culmination to give the best chance of seeing as much detail as possible.
The list you compile and the sources you use I guess will depend on your area of interest. There is a lot out there. I find myself returning time and again to the Aust. Sky &Telescope and Astronomy 2015 Australia for ideas.
In addition to static items to observe, I find having a list each month of events to observe to be an excellent way of adding interest to observing sessions. I always have a list of Luna occultations, observable comets, minor plant oppositions, planetary moon events and so forth. They become mini observing projects. For example I set out to observe as many of the Jupiter mutual moons events in the last 6 year cycle. I managed to observe 10 of these events. Another ongoing project is to observe one each of all the different events for Jupiter's moons, ie occultations, eclipses, transits, ingress and egress events etc for each of the four visible moons. This is taking a while to complete as it is harder that you would think. I always have Luna occultations on hand and will chase grazing occultations visible within Tasmania. The list of events to chase is almost endless.
Cheers
Steve
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