Motivation

It's pretty hard to get motivated with a hobby some days. I'm not going to lie to you, but this is often the case when it comes to hobbies where you make stuff. Much of this de-motivation comes from finishing projects. As odd as that sounds, there is a period after finishing a project where the next project isn't an option. When you are working on a project, you have a goal.

When that project has ended, you no longer have a goal to work toward. It's the in-between stage from the last project to the next that is the de-motivational part. It's this stage that can sap your wish to continue.

How do you get through this stage? I am finding that having a series of projects lined up the best way. Sure, there will be projects that crop up while current projects are progressing. But there is the need for thinking about the next project before the end of the first.

The key is to get from the first project to the next as soon as possible. Any lag will get that rotting feeling set in. There doesn't have to be a relation to woodworking though. I often find creating plans motivational, as much as having the plans and getting ready to make something. I know that soon those plans will become a reality.

Other projects could be to create physical models of stuff in my head. I then create the plans from those models. And when I say models I mean the real thing. I know, I know, it's a completely reversed way of doing things but it's often how my brain works.

Real-life kind of sucks as well. Taking most of our time there's often precious little left for our hobbies. Making time is easier said than done.

No matter how you motivate yourself, the key is to do. As hard as it can be at times doing increases that motivation. Ask any woodworker about their half-finished projects. Every one of them will tell you they need to find the motivation to finish. Meanwhile, they've completed several projects since. We all have our "Eleanors". Those projects that break us. These will de-motivate us but there's no feeling greater than completing them.

That all said and done though, putting the time into our hobbies rewards us. Woodworking is one of those hobbies where even the hoariest project rewards us. We completed it. We learned from it. We MADE it. It took me a while but I learned this. I'm happy with the time that I've invested in my hobby. I look forward to the time I can spend. As much as I'd like to spend more time I try to make use of the time I do get to spend.

All in all, you do what you can.