Keep Your Hobby Mojo

In this hobby our collections can expand and grow in the blink of an eye. Your modest army can turn into a massive force and become overwhelming. If you’re not careful you can get what some refer to as “hobby burn out” or a “hobby block”. Over the years, I have found some pretty easy and simple fixes to help you get back that momentum and rekindle that “Hobby Mojo”. Let’s take a closer look at my Top 5.

Plan it Out. This one is a pretty straight forward concept. Have a plan. Work on your army in blocks or chunks. The most common way to do this is to work on 1 unit at a time. This could be a squad of soldiers, a hero, or vehicle. You can always take this to the next level and work on a larger portion of the force. Whatever you feel is manageable, and realistic. This leads into my next point.

Set Goals/Deadlines. I love to use the S.M.A.R.T. method of goal setting. Make them: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Based goals. If you look at the big picture of having a fully painted army on the table, and then break it up into a few smaller steps, you could easily make this work in no time at all. 

Break it Up. This is something that I found out later on my hobby path. We all see those shiny new models and can suffer from “New Army Fever”. This leads us to buy models well before our last ones were finished. That creates a backlog, and the pile of unopened kits starts to accumulate. This can be a blessing in disguise if you use it right. If you find yourself getting bogged down and losing your forward progress, you can use one of these new kits to turn it around. By working on a totally different kit, with new colours, new design features, it breathes a breath of fresh air into your hobby. Then you can get back to your larger goals with new energy.

Recharge Your Battery. This may sound odd, but literally step away from the project and take a break from the hobby. This can be as easy as reading a book, playing video games, picking up another hobby you enjoy, taking the time you would have spent on your painting and going for a walk, etc. You will be surprised at how doing this little thing can help you to really enjoy your hobby for many many years without feeling like you have had enough.

Have Fun. I cannot stress this point enough. This is a hobby, which as all hobbies are supposed to do, create joy for the participant. If for any reason, you find yourself not having fun anymore you can only do one of two things: Stop your hobby, or find a way to start having fun again. I am always a firm believer that if you are not having fun with it, find a way to get that fun back. Afterall, we started this journey out of sheer joy. These are toy soldiers, and we play a game with them. Read that last sentence again. It’s a game, and should always be fun for everyone involved. I’ll be looking at this concept in more detail in a later article.

I have had a wonderful and exciting hobby journey for the last 25 years by keeping these 5 simple points in mind. I am sure if you take them and apply them to your projects, no matter how big or small, fantastical or historical, you can have a rich and fulfilling hobby too.