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Most of the time I have, is done doing assignments and studying for my exams, this leaves me approximately 3 hours to myself, possibly to play a game or 2 of league of legends or just sit down and...sleep! What's frustrating is that there's a strong urge to continue painting those minis on your WIP shelf, but you're pretty out of energy and won't feel like doing anything. I also want to continue my necron blog, it's really being neglected

Anyways, have you ever or are currently in this situation?

I am currently under the cold grip of the winter cold. When I get home, I want to continue painting but I know that really, I should be heading to bed.

I pretty much put everything down over the last few years as a research student. I've painted more in the last couple of weeks than I have in nearly two years. I was busy quite a lot and stress and tiredness took it out of me the rest of the time.

12 hour work days + commute time + need for sleep and sustenance = model assembly put on hold and no chance for painting in sight.

I work full time in a job that requires overtime. I simply don't get the time through the week to do much, and hobby time on weekends is limited to about 3-4 hours on Sundays due to being busy most Saturdays.

This is the prime reason I have had a 1000 point Tyranid army for about 18 months and have only finished 2 squads.

I have a massive amount of painting to get through, but I just haven't had the time. Classes are a major factor, but also having to deal with campaigning for the removal of a professor who's presence within the department is entirely toxic to the university and the students who he supposedly teaches. Although I'll hopefully have my final meeting with the dean on Thursday, and having finished my classes and exams, I'll finally have a moment to get some painting/drawing done.

Oh, and insomnia helps too.

Never had it, to be honest.

Wasn't a gamer at school.
Didn't have to deal with it at uni (roleplayed without minis. So much easier to keep a sketch on a piece of paper neat and tidy than a box of minis).

Didn't have time for it in the Army.
Had weekends when I worked after leaving the army.

Now I have plenty of time.

More "I have money that I'd like to spend on minis, but Christmas is squatting over my cash, mocking me".

Currently doing training half-way across the country away from my minis, so I don't even have the opportunity to paint or play them.

Yes, I really wish I had the time and my minis to paint and play.

You just have to push yourself.

This time last year I was working 12hrs by day and taking care of my dying grandfather by night, and in the half hour or so I had of actual me-time, I painted a Miniature or two.

StasisNid95 wrote:Most of the time I have, is done doing assignments and studying for my exams, this leaves me approximately 3 hours to myself, possibly to play a game or 2 of league of legends or just sit down and...sleep! What's frustrating is that there's a strong urge to continue painting those minis on your WIP shelf, but you're pretty out of energy and won't feel like doing anything. I also want to continue my necron blog, it's really being neglected

Anyways, have you ever or are currently in this situation?

The time put into schooling should net you time and/or money later on. You
just have to wait or learn how to paint in the hours between study and
exhaustion.

I have a slightly different problem. I have hours of free time at work every day, but I can't use them productively. I can trawl the forums as much as I want, but I wouldn't dare bring my minis and paints in. It pains me to think how much painting I could do in that time, if allowed...

9 to 12 hour working days, 3 hours commute, family with 2 Kids at home - including sleep, sustenance and quality time with the family, this leaves me with about 30 minutes a week to get some painting done.
On the other hand, I'm getting the kids to start up painting, so at least the hobby area isn't just a waste of space

8 or 12 hours working a day, leaves no time durring weekdays to do anything but eat and sleep. Weekends i try to go to a local store, but that all depends on what my wife decided she wants to do that day..

Studying for my last two exams - Corporate Law and Evidence. Corp law exam starts in an hour and 20 minutes.

In between I'm getting distracted by websites, trying to talk the wife into letting me buy Super Dungeon Explore and putting some paint on warjacks.

(please kill me)

Having a job and not enough time to paint minis is better than having no job and all the time in the world. For the first month or so it's like Summer break, but then lethargy sits in and you never want to paint anything or do anything ever. It sucks.

Over the years there have been periods where painting was out of the question for me. Sometimes one just has to prioritize. But lately I get about two hours a night during the week and up to eight hours on the weekends unless Mrs. Snurl has other plans.

I have 10,000+ point of CSM and DoC that is 90% unpainted. I can probably field 1500 points max painted, and that's just basic table top quality.

I'm currently working on 1500 points of IG (my flgs requires basic tabletop paintjob to play) and that's going to take me a couple of months to complete. Instead of looking at everything on the shelf, just put one or 2 things up there, or in my case a 10 man IG squad. You'll get some time here and there and at least you'll feel like you're doing something.

Unbuilt I currently have an LRBT, 4+ bloodcrushers, a FW Khorne Blood Slaughterer Impaler, 10 old metal Terminators and the list goes on... Best not to think about this list. :p

StasisNid95 wrote:doing assignments and studying for my exams... have you ever or are currently in this situation?

Oh certainly, but trust me ENJOY IT! I remember feeling miserable in college because of the stress of class and money trouble, but you turn around one day and you are 30, or 40, or 50. It goes by so fast.

Honestly, working is far superior to school, but assignments, homework, lab time registration, finals etc. is one day just replaced by rent, then mortgages and family and... Cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon... You have to make time for what you love everyday.

In summary:

YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO SURVIVE, MAKE YOUR TIME, HA HA HA

chromedog wrote:Never had it, to be honest.

Wasn't a gamer at school.
Didn't have to deal with it at uni (roleplayed without minis. So much easier to keep a sketch on a piece of paper neat and tidy than a box of minis).

Didn't have time for it in the Army.
Had weekends when I worked after leaving the army.

Now I have plenty of time.

If this is true, then I expect a new thread in 2012. The one from 2009 is getting stale

Ah, energy and motivation issues and the self-loathing that can potentially result - an all too familiar tale, StasisNid. While it never actually helps to hear it in the moment, it'll work out, whether you get though it or around it (sometimes you overcome the issue through willpower and change your routine/outlook, sometimes your situation changes and the problem simply disappears).

Brother SRM wrote:Having a job and not enough time to paint minis is better than having no job and all the time in the world. For the first month or so it's like Summer break, but then lethargy sits in and you never want to paint anything or do anything ever. It sucks.

Amen, Brother (ooh, that worked out nicely )! I took an extra semester at school but had a year long lease, so I was doing nothing but working two part-time jobs for the latter half of the year (barring the occasional trip to the fraternity house to drink with the young'ns). During that time, I barely painted anything and hadn't really started scratchbuilding, yet. After moving out of state, I was unemployed for a few months. It was a welcome reprieve, initially, but after a while, it devolved into a dull cycle of time-wasting. I was stressed about money, I was lethargic (well, more so than usual)... everything lost its flavor and it was nearly impossible to get anything done, even though I was sure I'd feel better for it.

archont wrote:You just have to push yourself.

There's something to be said for this, much of the time - just take care not to overload and burn yourself out, entirely. Towards the end of the aforementioned period, I did finally manage to kick my ass into gear and cleaned up and painted a small batch of minis. After ripping through that little batch in record time through sheer willpower (harder than it sounds, for many, myself included), I got into a bit of a groove. In a matter of weeks, I essentially doubled my number of painted minis. Not an impressive number of models, by any means, but it was a veritable explosion of productivity, comparatively, and was a pretty big source of satisfaction.

Of course, as soon as I got over that hump, I found work and now I barely have the energy for hobbies. Again! Still, having scaled that wall once, I find myself better equipped to get stuck in once that perfect one-shot project rolls around and I've been putting in time towards my longer-term projects, here and there, as well.

TLDR version: It's a hobby, don't let it stress you out if you don't have the time. That said, pushing yourself a bit can help you to better manage your time and provide a source of satisfaction, resulting in improved mood and effectively increasing energy. Different strokes, and all that.

StasisNid95 wrote:Most of the time I have, is done doing assignments and studying for my exams, this leaves me approximately 3 hours to myself, possibly to play a game or 2 of league of legends or just sit down and...sleep! What's frustrating is that there's a strong urge to continue painting those minis on your WIP shelf, but you're pretty out of energy and won't feel like doing anything. I also want to continue my necron blog, it's really being neglected

Anyways, have you ever or are currently in this situation?

Yes, its called being a grownup who is married and has kids.

I rarely have free time (even on weekends) and when I do I often would rather take a nap...

I can totally relate. In my case, I work 6 days a week and this includes teaching university classes at night beyond my regular 9-5 job and my Saturday job. Beyond that, I have a lovely girlfriend and all of the associated time constraints that brings. Despite the lack of hours available, I am in the process of completing a 2000+ point Dark Eldar army. Here's how:

1) Work smarter/plan ahead. I was the kind of painter who liked to lavish each infanty model with 6+ hours of painting (at heart I still am). Unfortunately, this really isn't conducive to finishing a project, which in your case is your necron army and blog. I find that any steps you can take to cut time down are worthwhile. Airbushes are a godsend. There are many brush painting techniques that can also save time. Furthermore, paint groups of models in stages rather than one model at a time. For example, I just completed a full unit of wyches by painting in stages. All the wych suits, then all the armor plates, then all the weapon arms, then all the heads, etc. Planning ahead is huge. If you have a plan or structure to your painting and modelling hours you can get through any project. Planning for completion is a skill that is vital to the efficient hobbyist.

2) Getting in the mood/motivation. Find what gets your juices flowing, so to speak. I have tried various things over my 15+ years as a hobbyist. My top 4 in order from most effective to least.

1) Listen to audiobooks while painting. If a story is really good you can use the excitement that comes with wanting to hear what happens next. Normally, this would cause you to pick up a book to find out. That same impulse can help you pick up a brush, if you tie the two acts together. Do not allow yourself to listen to the book away from your hobby desk! Also, if you like studying languages (Japanese, Italian here) you can use this in the same manner.

2) Use the work of great painters. I can only browse galleries for about 10 to 15 minutes before the urge to get painting becomes too strong to ignore.

3) Let your hobby/game buddies push you. Just get into a routine of asking about what they have worked on that day/week and get used to talking about your own progress.

4) Start a blog. It is a mixed motivator as it creates additional work. However, peoples comments and making people happy can be positive reinforcement.

Trust me, once you eliminate the disease that is hobbius lethergitus, you'll really start seeing your vision come to life.

I still haven't had kids yet so I have more time than a lot of other posters. I am between the college years and the baby years. I have a wife and stuff we do but I get a few hours a day for video games or for painting. Lately its been painting at the expense of any other hobbies. Now that I am done painting my army up I think video games will get a lot more time now. I really hope to get a few games in the coming weeks as well.

malfred wrote:

StasisNid95 wrote:Most of the time I have, is done doing assignments and studying for my exams, this leaves me approximately 3 hours to myself, possibly to play a game or 2 of league of legends or just sit down and...sleep! What's frustrating is that there's a strong urge to continue painting those minis on your WIP shelf, but you're pretty out of energy and won't feel like doing anything. I also want to continue my necron blog, it's really being neglected

Anyways, have you ever or are currently in this situation?

The time put into schooling should net you time and/or money later on. You
just have to wait or learn how to paint in the hours between study and
exhaustion.

Dead on, I just finished my finals so I'm using the Christmas break to catch up on my painting before the new semester starts.

This is why I have no objection to playing against unpainted or proxied models. When my friends and I have an opportunity to play a game, we'd much rather play.

Tronzor wrote:I can probably field 1500 points max painted, and that's just basic table top quality.

I think this attitude is the main reason I see so many unpainted armies. No offense intended at all, I just see the comment of 'it's only tabletop quality' as if that was somehow bad. It's mostly a symptom of GW not showing things like studio members armies or the general publics army unless they look absolutely awesome.

There's nothing at all wrong with having a bunch of stuff painted to 'tabletop' quality. There's nothing at all wrong with not trying to emulate Eavy Metals painting style. Some people can do it, and do it quite quickly. Good for them. But fnd your own painting style that you can get a model to a level you like in a decent amount of time. You might get the odd donkey-cave who makes a comment about how your army doesn't look great at the LGS, but that's probably going to be someone who hasn't painted theirs at all.

If it's done to a 'tabletop' quality level, consistently across the army, it'll look great. Spend time on your characters, not your rank and file. Make your time count when painting.

I havent painted or built anything since early September. We are staying with family pending a long distance move in Feb, and all my stuff is packed away.

However, I still have been picking up minis and bits, I just cant build or paint them.

Im kinda jonesing for some mini action...so I may at least break out the glue and such and get some things built even if I have t wait to paint them.

Fortunate enough to work from home. Most of my painting gts done between the hours of 12 am and 4 am. Sleep until 11 am or so, and get up and get to work.

Since I have free time available I have started to make sure I get in at least 4 nights a week painting, even if only for an hour or two.

I feel your pain of not feeling like you have time to paint. I'm a stay at home dad now, which is alot of work, but I keep a small painting tray at the table and while my son eats his meals, I paint.

Alot of it comes down to priorities. For you it looks like a choice between video games or painting. For me, when my son was born I quit my band, cut down on the amount of LEGO I was doing and concentrated on wargaming and painting (it helped that I have a good wargaming group).

I will probably go back to some of those activities later, knowing that my painting will suffer, but the reality that many people fail to admit is that there just isn't time to do all the things they would lke to do. Now I know that I just don't have time right now to do it all, so I pick an activity and stick with it.