"New procrastination killing ideas 2015" Topic

I know this has been up again and again, but has anyone found new ways to get motivated? Surely some great psychologist has solved this dreadful problem by now. I'm trying to start a new dialog not collect links from ten years ago, thanks :)

Well, one idea I have used a couple of times to good effect, is to stand firm:

"I will NOT buy ANY new miniatures, until I paint (set your goal here, mine is ussually 50-100 minis, but can be a regiment, skirmish warband, etc.) miniatures from the lead mountain".

But you really need to stand firm to that conviction.

But then, the idea is to ONLY buy a 10% of the minis you painted as your goal, and set a new goal for another 10% new minis purchase.

With so many new and shiny miniatures being released every month, this is a real motivator to paint your goal number ASAP.

Hope that helps.

Select a period to paint that no one else in your group has armies for, then do masses of intensive work on developing a campaign for it and set a deadline for the first game – and tell your group.

Sign up to run a game at a convention. That usually motivates me to get my stuff done for it.

Several authors and composers talk of sitting down at their desk at the same time every day,for X number of hours, and putting something down on paper. Even if it is crap, doing it everyday improves their craft, and soon they have work finished.

Try this with painting. Sit at your paint desk every night at 7 pm (or whatever time you have) and paint for 1 hour. If you are bored by it, you stop after an hour. If you are engrossed with it, you might paint for 2 or 3 hours. But at the minimum, you paint 7 hours a week.

I think the important aspect is to do it every night for a set amount of time. Don't have a figure finished requirement, if you dawdle on one mini that's fine, because on another night you may finish 10.

Watch a couple movies about the period you want to paint. If you are painting early WWII US troops,then watch The Story of Dr. Wassel, and Wake Island, and Task Force. It will help to inspire you to recreate those scenes in miniature.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

For me, it is harder because I'm a solo gamer and am unable to attend cons and no local hobby shops of any kind. So no real socialization anymore for the past several years. I too am in a major slump. I'm sick of looking at the same unfinished projects sitting in tge closet for the past several years, yet fear buying new figures. My wife already thinks I've wasted too much money. So I am also in the same boat.

I haven't found new ways but here's what has helped me.

1. Joined The Pledge. (keeps the focus each month)
2. Have a place set up all the time.
3. Paint a limited number of figures at a time(12 – 20)
4. Start with one item or color,coat,flesh,pants,black,rifle strap, and commit to that if I'm not in the mood I stop if I am I keep going.
5. Set a goal for the project and break it down into smaller pieces. Ex. WWII German platoon broken down and painted by squad plus a support unit (HMG,Panzer faust, Flamethrower)
6. Don't get too stressed out by it. It's supposed to be fun and relaxing. If I miss a goal I see it as being ahaed for the next month :-)
7. Game with what you have. As you paint more you can add to the size of the game.

Get your work space and living space tidy, if it isn't already. Mess = stress. Then pick one project and a few choice bits from a second project. Put everything else away out of sight.

Work on the project you have chosen and allow yourself to dabble at the second project for variety. Get at least a couple of units of the main project done before re-assessing. You might be bored of the main project so pack it all away and pick another project to be your main focus but don't buy anything new for a while.

Read and watch films around your period and talk about it here or with friends. Makes some plans for games that you can do now and as your collection increases.

This works for me.

Some of these have already been mentioned but here are my tricks for "getting things done."

1. Commit yourself to simply painting two colors a day. I have a little insomnia so I usually paint two colors early in the morning. If you are stuck on some painting issue (color of backpack straps?), then there is always something else that can be painted on the figures while your brain works on the issue.

2. Never prime more figures than you are going to immediately start painting. Otherwise, it feels like the never ending burden.

3. Never prime additional figures until you have completed those on the table.

4. Never have more than one unit on the painting table at a time.

5. Keep track of your painting progress publicly, on a blog for example. I make a commitment to painting for the following year in an annual January post on my blog. Then, I track the figures completed each month. This year, I have committed to only 144 28mm figures.

6. Keep the workspace tidy.

With this method, I find that the figures sort of paint themselves and they get finished without me agonizing about it.

Greg C.

Books often get me hopped up to do a period I was never even interested in. Plus, since they can take a while to read and are often a series of books, it will sustain your interest as you progress on your project.

Lots of great tips, thanks much.

Mr. Tibbles we are in the same place, the closet of horrors. Probably at least ten different eras or creatures and we want then all done at once. But they take so long to paint.

I guess we need to really search our souls and decide what we really want to see done. I am torn between D&D types and modern zombies. I am also starting to look at those 40k skitarrii :(

I forgot to mention this is my full time job. Needless to say the last couple of years have been very lean and destructive to the savings account. But the tips still work.

I tend to get bored with a project and find the need to change a shinier one. I do have to force myself to finish at least part of a project before moving onto another one.

Depending on how your mind works you can either grind thru a whole project or throw out a bunch of stuff on the table.
Having a bunch of stuff out can save on paint as you can use that special mixed OD green on several different figs even on soe of your zombies or fantasy figs. It tends to take longer though. I try both and am not sure which is better but mixing too much stuff will take forever to get one set done.

Start with something small and quick: ex: objectives ie pigs, rocks, boxes, or depending on scale cannons etc. Not a lot of colors to deal with, easy to knock out, and even though not "essential" for the army, it still looks good on the table. Then build up from there. I also second genwinter's approach.

Do something random. Do something radically different.

Strength of will and just power through the slough of despond.

All that I have been able to think of over the years. Skulldragging is just that. It just has to be done sometimes.

(1) Volunteer for an event where accountability for meeting deadlines are critical -- such as to run a game at a convention. If this will cause to much stress for you, then don't.

(2) Although outside of my comfort level, you might consider creating a blog.

(3) Create a hobby money envelope for the price you paid for that set of miniatures you are trying to paint. Once you have completed that goal, reward yourself with the hobby money. It's like putting down a deposit and you would reduce the amount of slush fund you have -- reduce unpainted accumulations. Harsh, but effective.

You're statistically 70% more likely to achieve a goal if you write a list and plan for it. I was able to paint a 1500 point Warhammer Empire army in 5 weeks by using an excel spreadsheet to plan what I was doing, checking off boxes as I completed stages.

Now, this got results, but it may seem a bit much for what is meant to be a hobby and a pass-time. I wouldn't recommend doing this all the time, but if you're feeling unmotivated, this approach might kick you back into gear. Just try it for one month!

I find that changing my priority helps. If I have lost interest in 6mm Vikings I make some terrain. Or research details for a different project. I might not be painting but I am still productive.