Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So I've been struggling with procrastination for a while. You know what it's like you have a unit to paint and that army to finish but your mates are all playing that new game, oh look Steam Sales! And Oh Netflix released that whole season of that new show you were looking forward to. On top of all of that I seemed to find what free time I could manage, taken up with family stuff or spending time with the other half. The struggle is real!

This has been plaguing me for a while now. As a result, I've been thinking a lot about how I can make myself sit down and focus on a project and get things finished when I do find the time. Instead of having it banished to the steadily growing list of work in progress, unfinished, hall of shame projects that currently occupy the space under the bed, the back of the wardrobe and anywhere else they'll fit.

I also came across this video on procrastination from Tim Urban that really speaks to me and drove the point home.



I ended up taking a few steps and made some changes to my own hobby environment, entertainment and personal schedule. All of which contributed positively and I now seem to be blasting through my hobby progress, although I think the fact I now have a deadline to meet also helps with this. I recently put together an article on battling procrastination but was really looking to find out how other people stay motivated, especially after taking on a project like a large brand new army?

Keep it simple and small. If the task is achievable... it's more likely to happen.

Don't tidy stuff away (no matter how much your other half protests about the mess),

once it's hidden away in a box it's not coming out again especially if you've been struggling to get it done

(Note: the advise is solid, but may result in sleeping on the sofa or the minis ending up in the bin)

I track it all on a spreadsheet.

After completing my impossible tank Once already - i.e. https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/746123.page (completing my lead mountain in its entirety), I basked in a sense of zen and true contentment. I know it is possible to get through it.

However, in the meantime, the damned lead mountain has reared its ugly head again. A small-ish test of honour warband (main box set and expansion mounted samurai, and some extra ashigaru) Dark imperium box set, plus reivers, intercessors and some plague marine to expand my return to 40k have now found their way into my hobby room. I've been digging into them and have most of the death guard done, and about half the marines, and a third of the samurai. This, in addition to me cleaning out/selling some older warmachine/hordes, and maybe infinity stuff means for the first time in a while, means I've been focusing a bit more on the hobby and essentially tidying things up and gearing up for these current projects..

All things considered, my 100% completed achievement has,been reduced to 96% at the moment, with about 50 models to paint up. My, I've been here before. It's only five percent. And I'm gonna get them done before I focus on anything else. And hey, I've done it before. No reason you can't!

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
Don't tidy stuff away (no matter how much your other half protests about the mess),

once it's hidden away in a box it's not coming out again especially if you've been struggling to get it done

(Note: the advise is solid, but may result in sleeping on the sofa or the minis ending up in the bin)

Solid advice! I'll be sure to try that, not sure the Mrs will approve but we shall see


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Deadnight wrote:
I track it all on a spreadsheet.

After completing my impossible tank Once already - i.e. https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/746123.page (completing my lead mountain in its entirety), I basked in a sense of zen and true contentment. I know it is possible to get through it.

However, in the meantime, the damned lead mountain has reared its ugly head again. A small-ish test of honour warband (main box set and expansion mounted samurai, and some extra ashigaru) Dark imperium box set, plus reivers, intercessors and some plague marine to expand my return to 40k have now found their way into my hobby room. I've been digging into them and have most of the death guard done, and about half the marines, and a third of the samurai. This, in addition to me cleaning out/selling some older warmachine/hordes, and maybe infinity stuff means for the first time in a while, means I've been focusing a bit more on the hobby and essentially tidying things up and gearing up for these current projects..

All things considered, my 100% completed achievement has,been reduced to 96% at the moment, with about 50 models to paint up. My, I've been here before. It's only five percent. And I'm gonna get them done before I focus on anything else. And hey, I've done it before. No reason you can't!

I've tried keeping a spreadsheet before, well more a kanban board although the amount of projects on there was scary. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to put EVERYTHING I had on there, as I found it to be just another time sink that took my attention away from doing any hobby progress.

I have thought about trying something like it again to track my progress but haven't got round to documenting anything again yet.

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
Don't tidy stuff away

Kind of related to this, I've found having unfinished models at arm's length when painting to be quite helpful. Get too much paint on the palette? Don't waste it, put a coat on something you've had lying around. It's worked wonders for my productivity, I'm getting tons more done than I expected to

My related thread https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/756425.page



Personally I disagree about the "don't put stuff away" and actually think its a good idea. The key is to find a balancing point.

I think that having a LOT of things on the go all at once is great for many when we've got the focus and the energy, but when that wanes then its time to rein in what we have around. By clearing the work space you remove a lot of visual and metal clutter; by focusing your efforts on a specific selection of models and NOTHING else I think it makes overcoming the backlog more manageable.
You can more easily focus on the 10 models in front of you if you've not got 1000 staring back at you in boxes unfinished.


If you find a means to increasing productivity then it doesn't matter if the models are hidden away because you'll finish what you've got in the open and then go get the rest out of storage (of course if "storage" is inaccessible or hard to access this can backfire).


I know I found it a lot easier to focus on a load of models once I cut down what I was working and looking at to a single box and not having loads of things vying for attention - which just resulted in them all being ignored.

My method is to have a few different projects on the go at once, and flick between them - my most recent models have been Orlock gangers, a Kitbashed Mechanicus gang (which was more for scratching my conversion itch than actually gaming with), and some Vargheists.

I find it helps to have different types of models to go to - sometimes, if I'm tired of painting muted tones and high detail fiddly bits (I'm talking about LOTR minis, mostly), I'll paint a bright-coloured space marine, or do some terrain, which doesn't (always) require as much fine detail. And Vice versa, of course.

I do think it's handy to have a few bits and pieces around your painting area that might inspire you to take another swing at them. The Vargheists I mentioned had been sitting there 80% finished for a good 3 months before inspiration hit and I finally bit the bullet,completely re-doing them in a scheme that was easier to do, and looked better. So that worked out well, I suppose.

But sometimes, having an unfinished model looking at you can feel like when you had homework due but you were procrastinating - a sort of creeping guilt.
I have a Van Saar gang sitting around which I really can't face at the moment, and they were actively discouraging me to paint, so they went into a box. I'll probably dig them out in a few months and end up completely re-doing them too!

So, TLDR, if having stuff out is inspiring you, keep it out, if it's making you feel bad, or it's hard to get the motivation to start on your pile of unpainted - I find putting some stuff into the shoebox of shame can help make the mountain look more like a molehill.

My solution is simple - I adjusted my mindset. No more "pile of shame", no more "wasted time". I enjoy making models, sculpting stuff, converting stuff - so what if a project gets put in a box on a shelf for a year or more before I get back to it? I had fun working on it, ergo nothing was wasted and I have no reason to feel ashamed of it.

Lets be real, most of us had more than enough "finished" things to play several different game systems within the first couple of years of starting into wargaming. Unless you're doing your first army for a system, you don't need to finish it or any part of it on anybody's timescale but your own, so if you enjoy doing the work then just enjoy it.

If you really really don't enjoy it that's a different issue, but honestly when I run into folk who genuinely dislike assembling or painting or converting, I always wonder; why not take on a few extra hours of work if you can or reduce your spend on actual models a bit and just pay someone to do those parts for you? The work will get done, probably to a higher standard than if you force yourself to do it yourself when you dislike it, and you can use the time you bought to focus on the bits of the hobby you do enjoy.

I agree with this approach. I hate assembly, so I have switched to mostly single piece minis. I like my minis as pretty game markers, so I am not as worried about absolutely fantastic paint jobs, just "good enough" that I think they look nice on the table.

For a long time I worried about painting stuff, wanting to "do it justice". Now I have realized if I just crack on with it, I will generally be happy with the result if I just give some thought to the colours beforehand.

My motivation problems usually stem from when things go off the rails and it seems like I have no control of whatever seems to be keeping me from enjoying the hobby.

Like for instance just tonight, after a dozen Gaslands vehicles painted, through which I am having a high old time and which wonderfully got me out of my last hobby slump of nearly a year, the primer absolutely refuses to cure on my largest and most labor-intensive vehicle of the bunch so far.

So I'm thinking, 'great, it's the exact same gremlin that shut everything down a year ago'. I went through four cans of various primers, from three different companies, wasting days and days priming, stripping, and priming again to no avail, and all that wasted time made me lose all motivation when I spend weeks with no progress to show.

 Da Boss wrote:
I agree with this approach. I hate assembly, so I have switched to mostly single piece minis. I like my minis as pretty game markers, so I am not as worried about absolutely fantastic paint jobs, just "good enough" that I think they look nice on the table.

For a long time I worried about painting stuff, wanting to "do it justice". Now I have realized if I just crack on with it, I will generally be happy with the result if I just give some thought to the colours beforehand.

As long as the paint is applied neatly, it will look better than an unpainted model. Paint the base colours and give the whole model a black or brown wash and it'll look fine.

Personally, I don't worry about "procrastination". I do this for fun. If I find myself not having fun doing it, then what's wrong with setting it aside and doing something I do find fun?

 Overread wrote:
My related thread https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/756425.page



Personally I disagree about the "don't put stuff away" and actually think its a good idea. The key is to find a balancing point.

I think that having a LOT of things on the go all at once is great for many when we've got the focus and the energy, but when that wanes then its time to rein in what we have around. By clearing the work space you remove a lot of visual and metal clutter; by focusing your efforts on a specific selection of models and NOTHING else I think it makes overcoming the backlog more manageable.
You can more easily focus on the 10 models in front of you if you've not got 1000 staring back at you in boxes unfinished.


If you find a means to increasing productivity then it doesn't matter if the models are hidden away because you'll finish what you've got in the open and then go get the rest out of storage (of course if "storage" is inaccessible or hard to access this can backfire).


I know I found it a lot easier to focus on a load of models once I cut down what I was working and looking at to a single box and not having loads of things vying for attention - which just resulted in them all being ignored.

I agree with this. The more I have on my desk the less likely I am to get anything done, because I will instead spend time deciding what to do.
Likewise if I have all my paints out because I have five unrelated projects on the go it takes far longer to find the right paint pot.

But the best cure for procrastination is . . . just do it.
Sit at the desk for an hour/half hour/two hours/whatever every day and just paint.

 Denny wrote:

 Overread wrote:
My related thread https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/756425.page



Personally I disagree about the "don't put stuff away" and actually think its a good idea. The key is to find a balancing point.

I think that having a LOT of things on the go all at once is great for many when we've got the focus and the energy, but when that wanes then its time to rein in what we have around. By clearing the work space you remove a lot of visual and metal clutter; by focusing your efforts on a specific selection of models and NOTHING else I think it makes overcoming the backlog more manageable.
You can more easily focus on the 10 models in front of you if you've not got 1000 staring back at you in boxes unfinished.


If you find a means to increasing productivity then it doesn't matter if the models are hidden away because you'll finish what you've got in the open and then go get the rest out of storage (of course if "storage" is inaccessible or hard to access this can backfire).


I know I found it a lot easier to focus on a load of models once I cut down what I was working and looking at to a single box and not having loads of things vying for attention - which just resulted in them all being ignored.

I agree with this. The more I have on my desk the less likely I am to get anything done, because I will instead spend time deciding what to do.
Likewise if I have all my paints out because I have five unrelated projects on the go it takes far longer to find the right paint pot.

But the best cure for procrastination is . . . just do it.
Sit at the desk for an hour/half hour/two hours/whatever every day and just paint.

I'd have to agree as well, although having some other models at arms length can help me to get some paint on them, lots of clutter on my work surface tends to really slow down my productivity.

I'm a fan of having multiple, varied models on the go at once. I've found I really don't enjoy painting stuff bigger than a Primaris Aggressor. I have a few bigger models on the shelf part done, and I just add a little paint here and there when the motivation catches up with me while i'm in a painting session doing other bits. I've got a Sororitas Exorcist that's probably 75-80% done, but has been there for months. Same with my Imperial Knight (although I've since got 4 more since IK:R, and Christ knows when I'll finish them all), it's getting there slowly but surely.

I also don't beat myself up if I just take some time away from painting. It's been really warm here the last few weeks and I've not felt like painting, so I've just not done it. It's not stopped me buying a few more models though.

I just put Netflix on and paint I watched most of DS9 over a few weeks while painting 10 deathsworn, 10 breachers, 10 seekers and 20 veteran tactical marines an iron warrior preator and a thousand sons contemptor.

That was an hour to two hours in the evening over three weeks.

I've never understood why people need to make excuses, just do a little each day and it's soon finished.

I used to be really strict in trying to finish a project before starting a new one. What this often wound up doing was having a WIP on the desk forever and never doing any hobbying because I didn't "feel it" for that piece at some time.

Happened to watch a video from Tabletop Minions, where Uncle Atom talked about "productive procrastination." The idea is that you dedicate the time on a regular basis to do "hobby stuff." Whatever that happens to be; you could paint something you've been working on, build some new stuff, whatever, so long as you're doing some hobby thing. The hope is that by doing that, you'll actually get some things done, rather than being stalled indefinitely. If you still don't feel like hobbying, then "go do some yard work, then you'll think 'this sucks' and go back and play with models."

Hard work pays off, but procrastination pays off RIGHT NOW!



I have battled hobby procrastination the same way you battle writer's block. YOu start writing and worry about what you put to page later. In other words, just starting doing stuff.

I've found that committing to a schedule on Twitch is helping me get stuff done - I'm online for ten hours a week, over three sessions, and I kinda have to be painting while I'm on there.

YTD it has meant that I've painted 207 (I think) models, which is pretty decent progress...

Also, accepting that things can be #finishednotperfect is important - yes, you could spend another ten hours touching things up here or there, or adding thirteen more layers/glazes/etc, but it we're talking models to game with, getting them to a level that you are happy with, and then calling them done is important.

I wonder if this might help too
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/760442.page#10064704

I find that having a deadline is so useful for getting down and finishing a project.

Guildball is my main game at the moment,and I know that if I hadn't had the incentive of upcoming tournaments none of my three painted teams would be painted.

If there is nothing to aim for, I tend to barely start painting projects, and take forever to finish them, but when there is a deadline I do a lot of painting in a very short space of time, and end up with models that I take pride in. (despite the fact they're nothing fancy beyond reasonable tabletop standard)

Unfortunately there is no single solution, everyone is different and require different motivations to get them out of this rut.

To me this is kind of procrastination, you are delaying it by talking about it. What works for me is doing batches that are attainable, not too big that it wears you out; set the rest to do list out of the way/ out of mind/ keep away from collecting dust.

Once the batch is done, based and everything, take pics, then use some form of photoshop to clean the image, document it(in case you want to sell it)and admire it(seeing your progress and look for mishaps so you can redo/retouch them).

While painting, make sure you are comfortable and take many breaks, 15 min every hr or so. I too like to play games, when I play, I play for a week or 2 straight, put the painting on hold. Watching shows the same way, binge over a weekend, or a episode during a painting break.