Staying motivated

[Primarch]

Hey
So, after you guys get home from the school, office, place of employment, how do you motivate yourselves to get some hobby stuff done. I currently have a gazillion and 1 (I counted) things on my to do list and somedays I just cant be bothered.
I know there is the painting wip thread to encourage people to post new pictures, but right now I'm just not in the mood to pick up a brush, a pair of clippers or even a rule book. Getting all those elves done and playing fantasy for 2 days solid has burned me out a bit.

I'm waiting for your pearls of wisdom. (Or Badruck just yelling WAAAAARRRGGGHHH at me ).

[The Other Dave]

I like to break my hobby tasks into bite-sized chunks, things I can finish in 10-15 minutes. My painting table is right next to my computer table, so when I hit a break with the latter it's easy to say, "OK, 15 minutes to paint the red on 2 more spiders. Go!" Having 2 or 3 totally different projects on board at the same time also helps - especially when you're doing a burnout-inducing mega-project - so when I can't look another goblin in the eye there's a formation of epic Wave Serpents right behind it that needs a quick wash or something.

The big motivator for me, though, is peer expectations. It's a *lot* easier to get motivated to paint something I've promised someone I'll play them in a game with at the next games day. (Man, that is some tortured syntax.)

[Colonel Voss]

I haven't had much time in ages to paint. Seems like I am lurching from one disaster to the next. But when I do have time and need motivation, I have set up an assembly line where any miniature that I have glued together sits waiting to be painted sit. Given that I have so many models, I have had to improvise and add two extra rules. 1) Only miniatures in my current to do list are out and 2) only the ones that have been completely glued together (I have a lot of marauders missing their shields so they aren't up there). At the painting end of the assembly line, I always keep five or so miniatures in a small group or one big model (usually 2 or 3 groupings in total). That way when I see how much I have to do in the unpainted section then looking at the small groups make me feel like that's a manageable size.

[Primarch]

I haven't had much time in ages to paint. Seems like I am lurching from one disaster to the next. But when I do have time and need motivation, I have set up an assembly line where any miniature that I have glued together sits waiting to be painted sit. Given that I have so many models, I have had to improvise and add two extra rules. 1) Only miniatures in my current to do list are out and 2) only the ones that have been completely glued together (I have a lot of marauders missing their shields so they aren't up there). At the painting end of the assembly line, I always keep five or so miniatures in a small group or one big model (usually 2 or 3 groupings in total). That way when I see how much I have to do in the unpainted section then looking at the small groups make me feel like that's a manageable size.

Personally I find assembly line painting exceptionally boring and I much prefer painting single figures. Thats not to say that it doesn't work for you, but batch painting my High Elves in under a month was what burnt me out in the first place.

[Spevna]

Yep, single figure for me too. Assembly line painting is boring as all buggery BUT a necessary evil at times.

I agree with the other Dave. Having something to get ready for is the big thing for me.

To get through it I tend to paint with a movie on while I paint.

One of the benefits of being your own boss is that you can make your painting room and office one and the same. If a student cancels or I have an empty lesson I can just crack out the paints and get to it.

[Primarch]

Thanks for the feedback, but I wasnt just talking about the painting,
What do you do when you're fed up of little toy soldiers for a while. The painting, the modelling, the rules, playing games etc. How do you get yourself back into the obsessive compulsive wargamer spirit?

[The Other Dave]

Thanks for the feedback, but I wasnt just talking about the painting,
What do you do when you're fed up of little toy soldiers for a while. The painting, the modelling, the rules, playing games etc. How do you get yourself back into the obsessive compulsive wargamer spirit?

That's a bit tougher. My own gaming OCD tends to swing between venues at the drop of a hat. Letting it run its course and spending a few weeks obsessing over D&D may just be what you have to do.

That said, for painting and modeling, I've found that if I don't feel like doing it, nothing makes me feel like doing it quite like just doing it. I'll sometimes look at my to-do box and just groan and not feel like touching it, but if I force myself to put together or paint just one model, I'll often find that I'm enjoying it and working on more stuff before I know it.

[Spevna]

Having unrelated hobbies helps.

When I get burnt out from weightlifting I launch into the gaming. When that gets to be a bit boring, I throw myself more into my training.

[me_in_japan]

What do you do when you're fed up of little toy soldiers for a while. The painting, the modelling, the rules, playing games etc. How do you get yourself back into the obsessive compulsive wargamer spirit?

usually for me, its painting/modelling that I lose motivation for. I generally dont put much focus on other aspects of the hobby (well, I read a lot of fluff, but that's hardly stressful...) so theyve never burned me out. When I do lose motivation for painting/modelling, I basically stop. I bugger off and watch movies, play video games, whatever. The same applies if I'm just dog tired after work.

The short(ish) version answer to "how do I motivate myself" is:

You do not find the muse. She finds you.

or, in less mystical faffy terms,

1) If you don't need to do it and you dont want to do it, then dont do it. Just cos something is half-done doesnt mean it needs to be finished NOW. (e.g. my avatar. I'm only now feeling like painting it, and I converted it over a year ago. My current plan is a doozy, though, let me tell ya...)
2) vary what you do. paint a bit, play a bit, shoot zombies on the PC for a bit. cook some nachos.
3) public deadlines can get things done, albeit they aint so fun.
4) Use fluff to inspire what you do.
5) set short term goals. (e.g. "finish my Eldar army" is a BAD goal. "finish this guy's leg" is a GOOD goal.) 40k and WHFB are buggers for this, as by their nature they require large collections. I reckon you'll find WarMachine to be much more forgiving. Malifaux, likewise. If you really must paint a whole army, make a schedule, but keep it realistic. Plan months in advance for tournaments. Set aside time after the tourney for no-painting-whatsoever. You won't feel like it (as you've recently discovered.)
6) Some folks like batch painting. I tried it, and it destroyed my soul. My current rule is: for a well painted mini, do it one at a time, and take as much time as you need. For fast painting, paint 2 at a time. I can paint 2 nurgle marines in an evening, start to finish. That's 14 a week. If I try and production-line eldar, I get 5 done in 2 weeks. Go figure...

Anyway, I know a lot of these things are painting related, but you can probly apply some of them to gaming in general. Hope they help

p.s. if you fancy a change, I could be convinced to play some PC games online. FPS or RTS, I'm easy.

[Mike the Pike]

Tell your lovely wife that you have lost the motivation to build, paint and/or play with the hundreds of minis that you have at home. The ensuing threats to stab/mutilate/divorce/murder you should be just the tonic you need to get back on the gaming horse.