My 2016 hobby goals

January invariably brings out the blues in me, especially concerning my work/life balance in relation to my hobby. I never know how it starts, whether I just feel a little older, or just a bit defeatist that there's too many projects & not enough time to commit to completing them all.

My job in particular is high pressure & very stressful, which actually makes having such an immersive pastime invaluable to my sanity.

I can't say I'm a commited (or decent) painter, not do I often get round to building or converting anything from the pile of sprues at my disposal, or religiously getting games in at regular times in the week. At a recent event, one guy I met summed up the real state of my hobby commitment when he said: "it's the most bizarre hobby really in that you spend a lot more time buying or even planning to buy models without ever actually  painting or gaming with them!

- it's like my hobby is to shop for new toys, constantly!"

 He was right. I'm always buying something. Or thinking about that missing unit. Or new unit/character synergies. Or that awesome conversion I pinched online. Or that fluffy theme I've always wanted to bring to life. 

January always shatters this. I will annually find myself in Hammerer HQ (aka the converted loft) staring at a variety of unfinished, or realistically, unstarted projects & emotionally torture myself with the same questions:

Am I too old for this? Will I ever get round to finishing these projects? Do I even have time to play?

This Fateweaver-style mono-conversation often ends with a good spring clean & sort out, purge & packaging stuff off through eBay ready to make way for next months' new year, new army rebound mood. Some projects of course, are too sentimental to part with & often in their same untouched - but still beloved - starting position regardless of the seasons or my moods.

At an event earlier this year, one of my fellow Hammerers said they were finding less & less time in their busy life to wargame, & was conscious of the value they were receiving from the hobby. It is, like all hobbies, very expensive to not be doing regularly.

At this point, I told my friend that he was right; this is an expensive hobby, & therefore it's up to us to make sure we get as much value for our time & money as possible. You have to commit to what you can achieve. Set realistic hobby goals & stick to them, supporting each other to make sure we all get the opportunity to enjoy & share in the hobby together.

Ask yourself: When can I play? How often? When can I commit time to painting?

Its never easy to take your own advice, or even realise that you are inadvertently preaching to the mirror, talking yourself into making changes to well-embedded habits.

So this year I made a decision. 2016 will be a commited & invested year in my hobby, making sure that I'm getting as much value as possible from a passtime I have loved for so long.

At a time when the new Age of Sigmar is in its infancy, & there are thousands of places to explore & story-rich opportunities to enjoy, the Hammerers will strive to be involved in this new world as much as possible. No matter the pressures of work or anything else the real world can throw at us, we aim to grow within what is already becoming an exciting new wargaming community.

So I need a measure. Evidence to look back on in 2017 & reflect on an awesome year of hobby, complete with finished projects & a host of wonderful new friends & memories made along the way.

2016 Target - To attend at least 1 Hobby related tournament/ campaign weekend/ competition every month for a year.

The Rules:

• Every event attended must have a different army/faction created.
• I will only use models from my existing collection until all current projects are completed. 
• Even if only for the Hammerers ourselves, I will commit to creating & running an event within the year.

The key to success will be from  approaching event date deadlines forcing me into a routine to ensure each new project is fully painted, based & practiced in time to attend.

Today is the 29th February, & I'm already 2/2.

  
This has been largely helped by the GW team putting 30/60 model count recommendations on their events, as well as the recently released South Coast Grand Tournament pool system. - At the very least, supporting me to create core armies from current projects to steadily grow my collection of AoS minis.

I cannot wait to join the rest of the Hammerers in supporting a fantastic new game & community.

We hope you'll join us in creating an awesome year for the hobby full of epic battles & tales of legend within the mortal realms. I also hope I'll be able to look back at the end of 2016 with some fantastic model collections to use for games of AoS.

Why not let us know about your hobby goals for 2016- we'd love to hear from you. @HantsHammerers
Embrace the madness
J