Motivation and Getting Stuff Done

[Daeothar]

I agree on this just being a hobby and that one should enjoy the time spent on it, regardless of what it specifically is spent on (the main reason why I'd never consider commission work, due to then absolutely having to paint as opposed to when the Mojo surfaces).

But I also experience a kind of frustration when all that time spent contently sorting through my stash for whatever bit I'm after on that moment, planning ambitious and incomparably cool projects, thinking up conversions and laying out the bits for them, browsing the interwebs for inspiration (and I could go on and on), has nothing to show for it. And then, the 'make happy time' eventually becomes frustrating, because it leads nowhere,  you have no finished projects to be proud of, and all that time spent actually feels wasted.

So, what helps me in such situations are these points, in no particular order:

- Clearing the work surface - Every now and then, to bring the visible WIP projects down to 1 or 2 (one main project and another one as a guilty pleasure. Of course that's inevitably the one getting finished first ).
- A clear deadline - For the one project I'm working on (usually the project in question being required for the roleplaying campaign I'm DM-ing). But be prepared to move that dealine up when you see that you realistically won't be making it. Set another date and work towards that. Sticking rigorously with an unrealistic deadline invariably leads to more frustration. So be realistic form the start (and then add approximately 20% extra for good measure   )
- Finished projects clearly visible - From my painting station that is, as inspiration and motivation to keep going. Especially when those are related to the current project.
- Removal of all other distractions - Background noise drowned out through music I almost know by heart. Not too loud though. Preferred music ranged all over the spectrum: Fear Factory, Slipknot or Dethklok for SciFi and/or production-line style project for instance, or Simeon ten Holt's Canto Ostinato or Enya for individual miniatures and minute details. But also Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Nightwish or Within Temptation and many others  for less focussed jobs like undercoating, basing or such. Whatever the choice; I have always heard that album a zillion times before, so there are no surprises or distractions. The right music to go with a particular project is a really important aspect for me, as it also helps getting in the right mood (no Industrial Metal when painting Wood Elves for instance).
- Being alone in the house (really belongs in the previous category). - This helps tremendously, as at the moment, I have to share the room with my workbench with my wife's 'unwind location'. She doesn't hobby per-se, but has her PC there, a mirror and a collection of ointments, cremes, lotions and even more mysterious bottles, flasks and tubes that easily dwarfs my store of paint pots. This means, that she randomly barges in on me when painting, disrupting my mojo. And call me what you want, but in those situations, I find it really hard to get back into the flow. Luckily, with her being a nurse, she has to work shifts, which leaves many an evening on which I have the house to myself. This helps in concentrating, but it also means that I need to be prepared to paint on those evenings. The evenings she is not working, can then either be spent together, or be filled with lazily browsing the web, sorting through the lead, clearing the desk etc, etc where distractions are not (as) disruptive. This will be remedied soon by the way, when I finish a spare room to be an exclusive gaming room, which will also house a gaming table. This is a real luxury though, and I fully understand not everyone is in the position to have this.
- A prescription of Ritalin - No really; I got diagnosed with ADD at age 36, and addressing this condition correctly has helped tremendously ever since, not only with the hobby, but also in the workplace. Not saying you need any of that of course, but I do find it striking that a disproportionally large amount of those in the miniature painting/gaming hobby suffer form the same problems. Maybe it draws us in? Fact is that most of the people in gaming clubs I have seen and met, actually were diagnosed with AD(H)D or even something within the autism spectrum (or could be ). Nothing wrong with that, but for me, with the right help being able to stay with one project long enough to finish it, has proven to be a real boost to my productivity. And the hyperfocus on painting, when all the above criteria have been met, is still as strong as ever.


So, to conclude my ramblings, I'd say that yes; it is a hobby, and we do this for fun, but when the fun is gone through frustration of not getting any finished results, I found the abovementioned precautions to be really helpful in getting the fun back into the hobby. The results will follow once you've found what works for you. Stick with those things, and finishing stuff will then actually add to your momentum and fun, trust me...

[Alfrik]

Oh, just remembered the Great Incentive Source:

Commit to providing the use of some of your unpainted figures to an upcoming game convention game......... and ask the game organizer to send weekly emails for your progress reports

Worked wonder for my push to get various projects done!

[myincubliss]

Day one's over and done with, and I managed to finish...

one mini!



Full waffle and whatnot on the blog: http://deadleadproject.blogspot.com/2012/01/womp-day-one.html

[Alfrik]

I disagree, there are at least 25 rats that you have painted

[myincubliss]

Day two, and I havent failed yet!





Full waffle (and wobbly freehand!) on the blog as usual: http://deadleadproject.blogspot.com/2012/01/womp-day-two.html

[Commander Vyper]

Saw your blog re: Halo and the other Halo blog. Good luck with the clix, I could never get on with them that why I went for Pig iron and proxies for my covenant, (apart from the pair of hunters up for a reach style repaint!

Motivation is a big issue for me currently, especially in the context of available time, (which there is very little of currently with two year old twins, work, life and an extension starting in three months!)

Anyway my advice to you is set a line in the sand, (a gaming weekend, or a visit somewhere, comp or what ever) It's what drove both my zed project and my Halo table forward, I always get distracted by the shiney shiney that's a given but work on stuff that can be 'cross used' to: (alot of my larger scenery pieces are equally at home on a zed, modern sci-fi or cthulhu board/setting).

I hope that once the extension's done I'll have a bit more order to my chaos and have a functioning studio/study/gaming room(s) into the bargain.

Anyway back to my sick bed as I currently have the green phelgm death.... I'm sure I'll be turning soon!

Stay on target!

[Cosmotiger]

This is against the common wisdom I know, but I found I actually did better at getting things completed when I gave up trying to paint large assembly-line batches.  That usually resulted in something like twenty orks with only the skin and a few random bits painted, and me sick to death of looking at orks.  Now I stick to no more than 1-3 miniatures underway at a time, and I work all the way through til they're done.   I still do things like cleanup, assembly and priming in large batches, but paint the figures on an individual basis.

[Commander Vyper]

I tend to stay away from 'armies' these days (apart from 15mm) for that reason. All my projects can have projects within the project, so that way it never gets hum drum, that's the theory anyway!

[FramFramson]

I do find it much easier to paint individual figures only.

Sometimes I do squads but no more than 5-6 or so at a time.

[has.been]

1)Have the gap between starting & finishing as small as possible. This may mean do skirmishes not full armies or do group/club projects (if each club member paints 6 british infantry & 30 zulus you will soon be able to fight big battles)
2)Remove any 'blockages' such as:- projects you have lost interest in; scales/periods you no longer do; clutter on the table. etc.  If you have a group of fellow gamers try emulating the American 'barn raising' practice. Most of us have a 'log jam' of some description that stops us getting on with what we really want to. Get your mates round for a whole day working on that 'log jam' . The host provides food and drinks for the day, and as many hands make light work the problem is dealt with. I was part of a group a few years ago who did this, I learned a lot of different techniques from the others, had a lot of fun, cleared a log jam of mine & in return helped others clear theirs when they hosted a 'paint-in-a-day'
3) But in the end only one rule realy works.......do what makes you happy (if you want to do it you will/ if you don't want to do it you won't.

[myincubliss]

Day 3!





Just a couple bits that Mr Postman should be bringing and I can put focus on some halo goodies (he says, famous last words...)

[FramFramson]

Oh neat! What's the second mini? 

[myincubliss]

Oh neat! What's the second mini? 

It's from Hordes, a Woldwarden iirc. He's quite nice, a stone golem wrapped around bundles of sticks...

And as ever, another day, another post: http://deadleadproject.blogspot.com/2012/01/womp-day-four.html

Although today had very little hobby time, and I only finished this pair:

[Braxandur]

You are doing a good job there! If you keep this up you might even run out of miniatures if you are not careful...

Any change of posting somewhat larger pictures?

[myincubliss]

Any change of posting somewhat larger pictures?

If you click on the pictures on the blog you get a bigger one, though I've always advised that the best way to enjoy photographs of my miniatures is at arm's lenth, in a darkened room, with one eye closed  truth be told, I really need to start finishing earlier, as not having any natural light is making my photos even worse...

Speaking of which, four today:









Bigger pictures and waffle on the blog: http://deadleadproject.blogspot.com/2012/01/womp-day-five.html