Post podcast release coffee time….
I’ve been super busy with the first release of the podcast this last weekend. Thank you to everyone who downloaded and listened to it, we hope you enjoyed it and found some value / entertainment from it.
This last Sunday I was in feeling the gamer guilt that I hadn’t made any recent progress on building or painting any of my armies. In fact I had broken the promise that I made to myself about not getting more warhammer 40k models until what I had was painted (darn you Grey Knights for being so tempting!).
I was going to grab some models and get started, but then life got in the way…. Then I had to work on the website, answer listener emails, check the download stats, work on ideas for the next show, take care of family duties, spend time with my son, taking a long nap to get rid of the nagging headache I had all weekend, etc. etc. This got me thinking why was I having such a hard time getting started? I enjoy painting, I’ve bought all top of the line tools to do it, taken tons of classes, lots of cool ideas, yet I was still letting everything else get in the way of the simple task of getting started. I think it comes down to a few things
1. My hobby area is an out-and-out mess! I’ve got an awesome hobby bar set up. Nice bar stools, thin shelving holding 100’s of paints, hobby mats, airbrush compressor and vented spray booth, good lighting, wall mounted bits bins, etc. The problem is I have a ton of half completed projects (painting a.d.d. here); things not put away where they need to be, and an overflowing backlog of unopened boxes, several 3 ft stacks… I think the mess, backlog of work, and pure chaos just is a bit overwhelming on subconscious level causes me to avoid the area. I need to spend a couple of hours cleaning up and organizing. Put the stuff I’m not ready to paint away somewhere out of sight.
2. Much as I like painting the backlog is huge and I haven’t sat down to come up with a painting plan. I should take my advice and figure out a plan by army (Space Wolves, Orks, Grey Knights, helping Jen with her Dark Eldar)
3. No schedule or commitments driving to complete anything. My last deadline was Adepticon and I was able to crank out 5 razorbacks in a week. Deadlines help give a sense of urgency / responsibility. Similar to having a set painting group to work with. The deadline or the group can help keep you accountable. I need to make some commitments to my group.
4. No set regular time to build models / paint. Repetition builds habits, habits become routines, and routines become easier over time. Build a habit of working on the hobby, even if it one day a week for an hour or two. Try to make it the same day to establish the habit. I’m going to try for 15 – 30 minutes a night and a good two-hour block once a weekend
Time management is hard with work, family, friends, kids, home improvement, exercise, etc. It’s critical to make sure your giving yourself the best chance to be successful at this.
