How do you find time to hobby?

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**Crispy78**

Yeah, I struggle too. Can't really give any tips - I managed my first painting session of about 3 months the other night - but I absolutely sympathise.

**Gulgog TufToof**

Seeing the comment about army lists reminded me that that was a big motivator for me too. I would make an army list and if there was something I really wanted in the army that wasn't painted yet, I would launch into that particular squad or character. I find that converting and customizing minis to make them unique is as much fun for me as painting them too.
As for the original topic question, finding the time to hobby is the same as finding the time for anything; you make it a habit. Most people have a pretty standard routine centered around work and family obligations. There is usually at least an hour or so per day that you have to yourself. Set aside a couple of consistent days per week (say every Monday and Wednesday, or whatever) where you spend that one hour painting. A couple hours a week will actually chip away at that unpainted pile.

**Asmodai**

Become a football fan. Between commercials and play stoppages, you can paint an army a season just in the dead time during games.

**LunarSol**

Asmodai wrote:
Become a football fan. Between commercials and play stoppages, you can paint an army a season just in the dead time during games.

I'm in this camp with pretty much anything on TV. Most shows really don't provide anything visually compelling beyond a few moments here and there. I just paint through whatever shows I'm trying to keep up with.

**Asmodai**

LunarSol wrote:
Asmodai wrote:
Become a football fan. Between commercials and play stoppages, you can paint an army a season just in the dead time during games.

I'm in this camp with pretty much anything on TV. Most shows really don't provide anything visually compelling beyond a few moments here and there. I just paint through whatever shows I'm trying to keep up with.

Simpsons is great too - the earlier seasons work almost equally as well as a radio-play.

**Memphiston**

I travel a lot on trains, so what I tend to do is put painting podcasts on, Bolt Action ones or even battle reports and I listen to them wherever I go. That'll normally push me to paint because they tend to inspire me.

**Blackhair Duckshape**

In my opinion, I find starting a painting session to be the hardest part of getting going. I try to organise my week in order to leave myself the biggest chunk of free time for fewer but longer painting sessions.

**corpuschain**

Elbows wrote:
The first step is to not really create a project pile. That's just hobby discipline which most people fail at (including myself, but I get better every year).

Avoiding the "buy new and shiny" constant money-drops unless you're making progress on assembling/painting stuff is a darn good way to start.

I don't force myself to paint...I wait until I feel like painting (occasionally I'll sit down and try..just to see if I suddenly feel up to the task). I can go 2-3 weeks without painting, and then I'll knock out 20 figures in two days because I just felt like painting. I try, as a general rule to have 2-3 things primed and ready to paint in case I feel like sitting down and taking a swing at it.

I try to never have more than one or two projects on hand at any one time. Stuff stays boxed or bagged or sorted until I plan on painting it. I don't assemble stuff to game with until it's going to get painted (don't play with anything unpainted).

On top of that, have a nice, well-lit area to paint and have a podcast or movie on while I do it.

This is pretty much identical to me, especially with regard to sitting down and seeing if you feel like painting. I try not to force myself to paint, or it stops being enjoyable. I say to myself, when I feel guilty for neglecting my painting, "this is a hobby, and hobbies should be fun. If you don't feel like doing it, don't do it."

I think it's easy to think you might be losing interest and all that money would have been a waste, but I try not to worry about that now. I have had many dry spells - sometimes months, sometimes years - but I always come back to it.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Actually, one tip I can give for increasing motivation is to look at other people's miniatures. I have subscribed to a few blogs on dakka, and looking at them usually gets me inspired to paint my own models. The trick is finding the right blogs to look at - too professional, and you'll feel inadequate; too amateur and they won't be inspiring enough.