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Hey, I've been suffering from what feels like hobby burnout recently. I'm in the middle of painting/constructing/ list building 5 different 40k armies, 2 warhammer fantasy armies, 1 lotr army, and 1 war of the ring army.

I feel disjointed, I try to focus on one thing but I'm having trouble finding the joy in the hobby, things are going so slowly and I don't feel like I am making progress towards the goal of having a tabletop quality painted army.

to add to the trouble of being pulled in so many directions at once, I have the joy of working at a FLGS, which is GREAT, but means I simply cannot stop hobbying. In fact, I spend more time around the hobby, talking about it, helping others write lists, paint, and do research, that I feel like I play the game almost 100% vicariously through others. I have to keep my enthusiasm for this hobby up extremely high all the time, and for the first time I'm really starting to feel frazzled by it.

My own projects are withering from inattention, and while I spend 40 hours a week immersed in the hobby, I only get to play the game (my favorite part) once or twice a month usually.

If anyone has tips or ideas, I'd love to hear them. It should be noted that I'm actually fairly new to the hobby, especially considering how committed to it I am, I started december 2010.

I'm hoping the collective consciousness of dakkadakka has been in a similar situation and has some advice to give, it's much appreciated.

If this isn't burnout i don't know what is...

With NINE armies on the go at once PLUS handling everyone else who wants help with their armies, it's no wonder you're frazzled.

First I would suggest some variety. Is there anything you enjoy doing or would be interested in starting that DOESN'T involve 'the hobby'? Take a break for a week from your personal stuff, and see how you feel after.

Second, are all your armies in sight on your desk? I would choose ONE army that you really want to work on and put the rest out of sight. If you are constantly looking at how much is there it's like standing at the base of a mountain thinking "yeah too hard...meh" and you'll never cross it. Break it all down to mini speedbumps and you'll eventually have everything sorted (and you'll gain momentum as you see how fast you fly through units/sqds)

Thirdly, if playing the game is your favourite aspect of the hobby, what is stopping you playing more than 1-2 games a month? is it the burnout or just time? Need more info on that to narrow down a more suitable solution...

I'm going through a break myself at the moment. Have a sqd of sanguinary guard sitting on the desk that haven't been touched in over 6 weeks. But the urge is growing stronger...

The bind I find myself in is that my store for playing the game is work, and my work is fairly far away, about 13 miles/30 minutes from my house. While not terrible, spending that much time effort and gas to get to -work- on my day off is really not that appealing.

As is the standard suggestion, I usually take a break from the hobby on my days off. This means I'm refreshed and rested enough to go hobby for 5 days straight, after which I rest 2 days, after which I do 5 more days, after which I rest 2 days.....

I'm stuck in a loop where by avoiding the hobby in my off time I leave myself no time where I'm able to hobby, I just kinda make a passing effort to attempt some stuff, but I'm putting too much pressure on my spare time to accomplish so much. "AUGH! I've been painting for FIVE HOURS! How is all the basecoating for my army not done! I've not devoted this much time to the game in weeks!"

I'm considering the addition of a spray gun and potentially even a moderately priced air compressor to my arsenal, but part of me feels like I have invested so much money and effort into my current arsenal that I'm adding more into something I've still not explored the full reaches of.

I do paint constantly every day at work, but it's all store terrain. While rewarding and fun, I've not built an effective way to paint my own things, and spending a month painting without putting color on a single one of my own models can be just a little depressing.

I will say that tonight I'm finding the online company of other gamers on this forum to be a welcome relief. I stay mostly distant from my local gaming group, while I am very friendly with them, I'm really not one of them, and unlike my co workers I'm not comfortable with being close friends with everyone who hangs out in my store, at least while I'm on the clock.

compounding that issue is the fact that my store's community trends towards the cliquey angry trolls variety, and I've been a spearhead of annoyingly positive optimism to drive that all out, making me few friends in the process.

When I think about one project, I get the itch to work on it, but I can't help feel pulled to another one at the same time, so settling into one is hard. Added to that the fact that when I -do- commit time to a project, my progress is vastly inferior to my vision, and I'm really having trouble.

It's not uncommon for those gamers that work in the hobby as well.

Differentiating the hobby from work.

It's why so many of them stop working in the hobby and just leave it as a hobby.

Learn to focus on one aspect at a time and do that.

It's fine to want all the armies (fine if you have ocd or something ) but at least PACE yourself.

Yeah 5 hrs on the one type of thing could be debilitating...

I wouldn't know what it's like to make the 'hobby' the 'work' as well... my biggest motivation killer is looking at the models and thinking of how sore a back i'll get after a painting session. Have you talked to anyone actually working in the hobby about it? (preferably over a cold beverage)

When I think about one project, I get the itch to work on it, but I can't help feel pulled to another one at the same time, so settling into one is hard. Added to that the fact that when I -do- commit time to a project, my progress is vastly inferior to my vision, and I'm really having trouble.

Perhaps work on 1 thing that grabs your attention first (and make a point not to think of the others) and when it's finished move onto a small section of a completely different army to keep up the variety.

Maybe display your completed squads/units somewhere so you can see that 1 army is close to finishing or needs more work than the others. If space is an issue then take pictures of the army laid out instead and pin it up where it's in sight.

One thing that struck me in your posts (as much as you can tell from just text) is that while you are frustrated, you are generally positive about finding a solution (seems rather rare these days).

I suggest anyone posting ideas should throw whatever they have on the table, no matter how stupid, as the OP does not seem like the type of person who is going to take it as a waste of time. You only need one key to unlock the floodgates to creativity!!

I'll quote an excellent post, posted by Daedalus in this thread that matches your current predicament:

daedalus wrote:
Let me tell you a story. I have these two friends. One is a guy I've known for about the last six years and went to school with, and the other guy is my roommate, whom I've known for about three years.

Guy 1 likes playing games. Video games, board games, war games, tabletop RPGS, you name it. He has at least 5 PS3 games and 2 Xbox 360 games he's never unwrapped, about $200 in unpainted FW models, four 40k armies in total, bookshelves full of board games that get played once a month, and at least 5 RPG systems I can think of that he and I have gone through reading and working out the nuances of the systems, but have never actually played.

Guy 2 likes playing games. He occasionally plays computer/xbox games with me, enjoys Dung...err, Pathfinder, and plays 40k. He is adamant against starting any other wargames, because he recognizes that there's only so much time in the day and 40k takes up enough of that time as is. Any more dedication to wargaming would detract from the other elements in his life.

Guess which guy, at the end of the day, feels more fulfilled by his hobby?

Ignus wrote:I'm in the middle of painting/constructing/ list building 5 different 40k armies, 2 warhammer fantasy armies, 1 lotr army, and 1 war of the ring army.

I think this is your problem. If you think it's slow going getting one finished army, try not to paint nine at the same time. It's really quite obvious when you think about it.

You have too much crap going on at once, simple as that. Stick to two armies; one to paint regularly and the other to paint when you feel like taking a break from the first one. Put the other stuff away where it's out of your direct view and just focus on a few things at a time. You've just overwhelmed yourself with crap to do, simple as that.

Man, I feel burned out just reading your post... Yeah, I would have a firesale, clear out most of the stuff and just keep a little bit of what you like most. Don't buy anything else until you have everything you own fully painted and modeled (no matter how much you may really want to) and even then wait a month or two after you're done to give yourself some breathing time.

It may also help to see if you can't get a couple days off from work and do something other than hobbying (I.E. don't even look or think about the hobby).

I've been suffering from burnout for years nows, and its not improved because I hardly ever get time away from the hobby... don't be like me...

That is a pretty sucky situation you have there!
You say you paint at work? Have you tried bringing your own models to work? Maybe you can paint one up as a display or 'intro' army?
If you can get one or maybe two done at work then maybe you won't feel so crappy when you get home and think 'oh great, 9 forces on the go and no end in sight'

I realise that burnout is a factor here, but if you can combine your personal projects with work then you are killing two birds with one stone.

This would mean when you get home you can effectively 'turn off' from the hobby and relax some other way. T.V, or music or maybe play some video games (if you have a console?).
This way you can work the reverse that alot of us do, by working with your own projects you can get them done and start fresh.....

Dunno if that made any sense, but I'm coming to the end of a twelve hour shift at work and it's been like 30c today here.... Feeling a little frazzled......

I formerly was attempting to attend GT"s in WFB, 40K, steamrollers in Privateer Press, new married, working full time, fixing a house, and trying to stay active with flag football. You know what i learned?

There is just not enough time in the day. I noticed i was stayiing up late finishing all those armies to try and play, that I was feeling strained when I finally got to do the enjoyable part... play.

I cut back. I actually haven't been to a WFB GT in a year. I cut back to 1 escalation league in 40K, focusing on painting only my escalation league army. I goto 1 steam roller a month. I stuck with running and flag football, because staying in shape keeps me health. I actually found what I loved about 40K again. I'm super excited the week before the escalation league. My escalation league army is fully painted every week. I'm amp'd up because i'm ahead for next month so i'm going to make a display board.

Simplify your gaming life. Pick 1 army, not 2. Focus on that. Nothing stops you from playing the others. But only paint 1. Pick an event you want to goto in a few months, paint that army. Then do everything else in life that's non gaming related. Life becomes more enjoyable. Easier, and you'll find something in gaming you really like again.

Sounds to me like what you need is another army...

WAIT! Stop running! Let me explain...

Seriously, trying to work on that many armies all at once is definitely mind numbing (sayeth the man with 5 Chaos Marine Legions, Eldar, Traitor Guard, 6 Warhammer armies, 20 Blood Bowl teams, and multiple forces for other TTGs). What I found works for me, though, is focusing on one force (right now, that's Skaven) and having a smaller force of something that can be completed in a small amount of time. Are there any skirmish games being played at the store that you find you have a passing interest in? Warmachine, Malifaux, Infinity, Pulp City? With Crews of roughly 6 to 12 models, you'll find you can purchase a playable force, have it painted over a weekend, and feel fulfilled that you have a fully painted, playable "army." Then keep plugging away at the bigger force of your choice (myself, I paint in blocks of 5 to 10 grunts, and have a command or special model or two for a nice break between colors).

I found that this keeps me still enjoying the painting... I can see my Skaven slowly growing, and my Malifaux forces grow quickly more colorful.

-Vilegrimm

Thank you all for your thoughtful posts. On my iPhone right now so I'll be breif. I think I'm going to focus on painting my grey knights force, since it requires the fewest painted models and I do really like them thematically. I'll also really get cracking on my badab war escalation campaign army. Thanks again, more comments and concerns are of course welcome, I'm always open to new ideas

Great idea! Focusing on the smaller army lets you get a finished product relatively quickly, which will keep your enthusiasm and attention high. How many models does it contain?

My grey knights force is about 20 models and a vehicle