How to stay motivated?

[Gitzdee]

Just wanted to talk about staying motivated. Im having issues at the moment about how much time i want to spend on this hobby. I didnt like 3rd edition all that much. I think the lore regarding Destruction forces has been a major letdown so far. Cherry on top is the removal of my beloved Bonesplitterz and Spiderfang being neglected also doesnt help. I was really hoping for some Qulathis style Kurnothi and that didnt happen. Warcry/ Underworlds warbands getting removed also doesnt sit well with me. Gitmob is in a really weird spot, first they get put into legends, now we only have Snarlfangs with the Gitmob Keyword. The new Ironjawz wave is whats kinda keeping me into AoS as the moment. 

I still want to paint the projects i have invested in but i dont feel motivated to start anything new. I hope 4th edition will be a great rule set and i can get some games in. I hope they release something that will boost my motivation as i do like the hobby itself. Anyone has similar issues or stories? Would u start a new project or get rid of old ones? Dont really know where im going with this but i needed to clear my thoughts. Would not like to lose interrest, but i just dont like getting my models removed every few years. What do u do when u feel burned out on certain aspects of the hobby?

Edit: I think i will focus on building terrain and finishing projects for a while.

Edit: i used to switch to 40k if i was feeljng burned out on AoS. But so far im not feeling either 9th or 10th edition.

Edited April 17 by Gitzdee

[Chikout]

I think there's a lot of consternation about the idea of stepping away from the hobby as of it's some kind of failing.  If the current game isn't doing it for you, do something else and by that I mean something completely different. There's nothing wrong with that and it doesn't mean the move has to be permanent. I stepped away from the hobby completely for almost ten years. Since I've come back I try and keep a better balance between the hobby, video games, other hobbies like cooking and sport I now enjoy the hobby much more than I did as a teenager when it consumed most of my free timem I have a much tighter budget now so I only buy something I'm really excited about and I try not to buy day one. If I miss out on a fomo thing, I don't worry about it. 

As for staying in the hobby, finishing projects can be very satisfying. I just finished painting the whole Dominion box set. It felt great. I try and keep projects manageable for that reason. The idea of buying a whole army at once is insane to me.

If the lore isn't satisfying try writing your own. White Dwarf had a year long campaign focused on destruction. There's no reason you couldn't do something like that in your own games. 

I remember there was a well known Bonesplitterz player on the UK competitive scene whose personal challenge was to kill every monster in the game. They didn't particularly if they won or lost so long as they got to kill a new monster for the first time.

Recently I was listening to Hey woah an AoS streamer. He told an awesome story about playing a Slaanesh player at Adepticon. The Slaanesh player painted,  sold and then repainted the  same Slaanesh army every edition, with the aim of doing it better each time. 

There's a well known converter who does crazy kitbashes and then runs them at Warhammer world events. His latest army is a heavily modified FeC army that he will run with the Ogor Mawtribes rules. GW themselves said its ok for him to run that army. There isn't a single actual Ogor in the army. So taking your Bonesplitterz and running them as some other faction is a completely legitimate option. 

I find these examples inspirational which is a big motivating factor for me. 

The important question you need to ask yourself is what you actually love about the game. If you come up with nothing then it's probably time to step away for a while but if there's an answer to that question for you then double down on it. 

[Gaz Taylor]

Just echo @Chikout but I do want to add that it's a hobby not a job/task.

I struggle with motivation but a large part of that is a combination of work and family life, which has been very hectic for me at the moment.

Want examples?

We've recently had a dog and busy toilet training it at the moment which is a nightmare. It had never been outside and the person we had it from just let it do it's business on the floor (basically it was a 'accident' to their Crufts winning dog and they were doing the bear minimum). And of course we got the stubborn gobby one!

Second example is my wife washed the wireless thermostat for the boiler in the washing machine (don't ask how). So that was a fun couple of hours trying to calm my wife down, hope the thermostat dried out enough to work and then getting the thing to connect correctly. It works at moment....

 

So don't get stressed about getting stuff done. Do it when you want to and enjoy it  

[The Lost Sigmarite]

11 hours ago, Gitzdee said:

I still want to paint the projects i have invested in but i dont feel motivated to start anything new. I hope 4th edition will be a great rule set and i can get some games in. I hope they release something that will boost my motivation as i do like the hobby itself. Anyone has similar issues or stories? Would u start a new project or get rid of old ones? Dont really know where im going with this but i needed to clear my thoughts. Would not like to lose interrest, but i just dont like getting my models removed every few years. What do u do when u feel burned out on certain aspects of the hobby?

It's OK to feel hobby burn-out and to take a break from the hobby if you don't feel into Warhammer as long as you don't abandon the hobby and your projects entirely. You can always come back to it later.

[Neil Arthur Hotep]

Personally, I frequently have low-intensity periods of hobbying that last a few months. This is fine, I have other hobbies as well.

During 3rd ed, there was an about a year long gap where I didn't really do anything substantial in terms of hobby, for a few reasons. I had just recently moved, I had a young child, but most importantly, there were just no releases for the armies I played. In the case of Cities, it was even worse, because they were telegraphed to get their update way in advance, which made me shelf my existing Cities project for over a year while I was waiting for their new models and rules.

In that time, I mostly painted terrain and which ever models I felt like painting. Mostly heroes for role playing games and stuff.

There really is not a problem with taking a break from non-stop hobbying if you are just not feeling things for a while.

 

[Gitzdee]

My problem is actually that my hobby time is very limited. Mental challanges and busy family life makes it hard to find any time at all. This also means building an army takes a very long time. Is that GWs problem? I guess not, but it is something that can be expected as many if us arent living the student life. I have been busy gathering orruks for a Big Waaagg army and i already know it will be invalidated by the time ill finish building and painting it all. I will finish it because i already spend precious money and time on it, but it does really dampen my motivation.

[Gaz Taylor]

18 minutes ago, Gitzdee said:

My problem is actually that my hobby time is very limited. Mental challanges and busy family life makes it hard to find any time at all. This also means building an army takes a very long time. Is that GWs problem? I guess not, but it is something that can be expected as many if us arent living the student life. I have been busy gathering orruks for a Big Waaagg army and i already know it will be invalidated by the time ill finish building and painting it all. I will finish it because i already spend precious money and time on it, but it does really dampen my motivation.

I think fit in your hobby time when you can but I'd personally have a break for a while. Sounds like you are demotivated due to the upcoming changes and painting things because you have them. If you are fed up with Orruks, sell them or put them into storage  

[Big Kim Woof-Woof]

19 hours ago, Gaz Taylor said:

Just echo @Chikout but I do want to add that it's a hobby not a job/task.

That's such an important thing to remember. I habitually fall into that trap if I'm not careful... I'll be bingeing a telly show or something, and keep thinking that I should be painting my models. No! Bad thoughts. I should be able to do whatever I want with my free time! 

I'd also add that if you do step away from the hobby, you should be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. I got fed up with it about fifteen years ago, and virtually gave away two full painted armies. I regret that hugely now. 

[Vasshpit]

All great advice here from everyone. 

I'll take the opposite end here for a min and ask if you have any hobby goals?

Motivation and goals are two separate monsters. Do you want to get that ironjawz army done and ready for 4th? Do you want to get a warcry warband ready and available when you do get the chance to play? If this is the case then sometimes you have to approach things with a discipline mindset almost like a workout. Do you always want to get up and run / paint? No. But sometimes just forcing yourself to put on your running shoes and walk out the door/sit down, turn on the lamp and start painting is what a person needs. And you'll find that in 5 mins time you are enjoying yourself and having fun AND getting projects done. 

Short sessions help as well. Life can get busy for sure and idk your schedule but if you can get one hr a day  and juuuust give yourself a little nudge to just get started you'll find that's all you needed and you'll have projects done in no time and you'll see those wins and goals materialize and start stacking. Small steps are still steps. ✊️

However, to echo others, taking a complete break is good to. This is the part you have to figure out. For me when the burnout hits I find staying off the socials helps. Even here I find it turns into mindless small talk and folks essentially just saying what they want over and over again without any real hobby substance from time to time so I take a break and look to things that inspire me via movies, books, music, art. 

As a fellow destro fan I understand your frustration with our current climate. I myself have been thinking about getting into TOW as just from a hobby point it's seems so much more liberating. This is not one of those "just play your faction in TOW" suggestions but just something I'm considering. And I recommend checking out One Page Rules if you haven't as well. Also very liberating from a hobby perspective. 

3rd didn't sit so well with me lorewise either and I also feel destro drew the short straw but I think real world events played into 3rd more than we'll ever know. 

Also our whitest of the fangs keeps liking gitmob related posts so somethings coming and that has me excited. 

Chin up, @Gitzdee. You'll figure it out. Destruction fans are very resilient. 😉🤘✊️

 

[HCMistborn]

I am facing the same issue alongside decision paralysis for AOS, and I have decided to just ignore the problem. I have just making myself paint, even if I am not excited about it. It hasn't helped with my AOS hobby block, but is helping to get my ASOIAF armies painted up! I think finding inspiration is really key, but keeping that excitement going is important too. I have recently been listening to audio books while painting to keep me in the right headspace, even if I am listening to stories from Roshar or Randland or Rohan. 

[Flippy]

1 hour ago, Vasshpit said:

Motivation and goals are two separate monsters. Do you want to get that ironjawz army done and ready for 4th? Do you want to get a warcry warband ready and available when you do get the chance to play? If this is the case then sometimes you have to approach things with a discipline mindset almost like a workout. Do you always want to get up and run / paint? No. But sometimes just forcing yourself to put on your running shoes and walk out the door/sit down, turn on the lamp and start painting is what a person needs. And you'll find that in 5 mins time you are enjoying yourself and having fun AND getting projects done. 

Good point. In a way, this hobby is very akin to gym routine - you need at least moderate consistency if you want to see the effects - and the effects fuel the motivation. 

[EccentricCircle]

Great advice here. The hobby isn't a job, you are not under any obligation. You also don't have to be either 100% committed or 100% quit. 

I remember two times when I just stopped having any motivation, and had no idea whether I'd pick it all up again or not, but both times it turned out that I just needed to wait for my circumstances to change and then I suddenly found myself dusting off the models from a few years earlier and getting really into it all again. ( far more so in fact than before the lull!)

The first lull was when I was a student. I had no proper painting space, nowhere locally to buy models etc (no ordering online in those days, or it was in its infancy at least!) Not to mention not having the most time or money. I ended up basically just painting during Christmas holidays when I got models as gifts and was back home at my old hobby desk. However I then moved to a town with game shops, into a larger student house with more space, and like minded flatmates and we basically turned the lounge into a hobby and gaming room. Suddenly I had all the motivation and finished two whole armies in the space of a year.

But that burst of productivity then fizzled out as I got towards the middle of my PhD project. I had no bandwidth for anything else, and was so burned out that I just abandoned my half painted projects for a couple of years. Again I thought, "maybe this is it", but actually after finishing my thesis write up I ended up with some free time and picked up the paint brush again. I was sort of still burned out on everything verbal or left brain related, but found it really therapeutic to sit and paint, do arty stuff for a bit.

So don't feel bad about putting your models in a draw and not worrying about them. Sooner or later you might find that things have changed and you are motivated again.

[Skreech Verminking]

Currently old word really is keeping me motivated to paint.

But personally If I have to share anything,

videos or pictures of other painting can really get one hyped.

For me it is all those great conversion I have seem for the old world, and well the system itself is a lot of fun to play so, motivation keeps on growing, even after I helped a friend paint 80-100clanrats for the last two days. 
 

[MitGas]

Sometimes a little break is exactly what's best. Do things at your own pace.

 

I agree that 3rd ed kinda sucked, I'm having high hopes for 4th though but I understand the bad feeling you have going into that after losing Bonesplitterz and who knows what will happen with Spiderfang.

 

Terrain building/painting, painting something unrelated or enjoying other hobbies a bit more for some time are all decent options. I know nobody that doesn't take a bit time off of the hobby. I think that while it's fun, building an army is work in a way, it's not an "easy" hobby like playing video games or watching Netflix. If someone plays an instrument or paints in his spare time, they also sometimes neglect that hobby only to come back to it, there's always a certain thrive in people that pick artistic hobbies. Don't stress yourself, Warhammer has a habit of pulling people back in anyways, sometimes after 10+ years but they almost all return. 👌 From my personal experience I can just say that working on things where you don't have to challenge yourself too hard, like painting terrain pieces or simple units OR painting something you don't feel ready for yet like your favorite minis and then putting in even more work has worked for me personally.

[Son Of Morghur]

I am feeling just the same. I have a LOT of other armies I could still continue (Sylvaneth, Idoneth, Seraphon).

I chose and felt the best with the BoC, even though it is my most recent project, it really was the first that REALLY vibed with me (apart from maybe Idoneth), since the end of Warhammer Fantasy. I really want to get into competitive play, and I was happy to have found a versatile army which I also liked playing (the former not being checked by Idoneth and Seraphon, Idoneth because of the lack of models, not because I do not like their playstyle, they just lack variety because of the relatively few models they have). I am now sitting here just asking myself what to do? Invest into a new army? Could do it, but I do not have THAT MUCH money either, so it would take some time for sure. If yes, which one? I was looking through all the armies (as if I didn't knew them already eh....) and none really catches my attention apart from the ones I already have and collect. Also it feels weird just buying GW stuff after they just squatted huge parts of their game (and I am still in for boycotting GW for a year)...

 

Pause aos and get back into 40k? I could do that, but we didn't get any games of 9th Ed. through with my friends and, even tho I collect Nids and I was really hyped about the new models (I got the tyranids half of the leviathan box), I do not feel like playing 40k.....

[HCMistborn]

This is my struggle too, I am building my dream Dark Angels army right now. I never thought I would have gorgeous Deathwing Knights and the Lion, but I am also using the Deathwing Knights and regular terminator arms to make Deathwing Terminators with robes. But I have zero interest in 10th edition 40k. I am loving all the rules we see in 4th Ed AOS, but I want a classic fantasy style army, and I can't seem to find the inspiration in AOS for that.

[Greyshadow]

I might have mentioned this but my trick is that I have to paint at least 40 minutes per week. That way I am always making progress but never feel bad or burnt out if I can’t manage more than that. I am stupidly busy with work and family but I find the time spent painting calms me and I really enjoy it.

Edited April 23 by Greyshadow

[Big Kim Woof-Woof]

43 minutes ago, Greyshadow said:

I might have mentioned this but my trick is that I have to paint at least 40 min per week. 

Min.... miniatures or minutes? 

[Greyshadow]

Haha, think I made that error of clarity last time I mentioned this! Fixed my post @Big Kim Woof-Woof. 😄

[Big Kim Woof-Woof]

47 minutes ago, Greyshadow said:

Haha, think I made that error of clarity last time I mentioned this! Fixed my post @Big Kim Woof-Woof. 😄

I was gonna say.... if you're painting 40 miniatures a week you've clearly got motivation by the bucketload! 

[Koala]

A lot of good advice here. tga at its best! 

 

I feel like the motivation vs goal distinction is both really helpful and not: 

Our hobby has SO many options the motivations and goals of people might differ by a lot. 

When your goal is to have some quiet time while painting your only "needs motivation" steps are buying and building. 

If, one the other hand, you want to have a full army with a theme/design of your choosing... 

suddenly there is not just more of everything but also kitbashing and painting on the list. And probably also "learn to kitbash/paint" as well. It can feel quite overwhelming. And if you procastinate from doing stuff you do not want to do by going into hobby forums... lets just say its usually leading into a negative spiral.

 

Its easy to look at the "i just wanna paint in peace" guy and be jealous of his motivation. 

He is not motivated. He just does what he wanted to do in the first place. 

 

There is no shame in reevaluating a project and realising its not worth the effort to you any more (again: hobby, not job!). 

There are also good reasons to stick to some of the advises here, like a Hobby/socialmedia/whatever hiatus, small iterations, scedule, etc. They can all work wonders.

But without an honest analysis of "whats the joy? what is not?" there is no way to decide what to do.

[HCMistborn]

Koala, this is great advice. I always try to tell myself that the miniatures don't go bad, they don't expire. I can always paint them in ten years, or a few months. Projects should follow inspiration and not purchase timing, at least within reason.

[Draznak]

Thanks for this topic and his nice common-sense contributions !

In addition to the aspects discussed here, there's one factor that particularly affects me and that someone briefly mentioned above :  decision-making paralysis.

It may seem trivial, even superficial, but it's ruining my hobby at the moment because I'm unable to make up my mind and settle on a single army to follow and develop. You could tell me : "collect and paint what you like, army will come over time". Except that, to get to heart of the matter here, my time dedicated to the hobby has fallen drastically with a baby arrival. Paradoxically I've never felt so much like PLAYING with AoS 4th, even though I've been mainly a painter/collector for 25 years. I'm sick of not getting the most out of my slowly painted minis, so I want to play with them for real and on a regular basis !

But i have to admit that I'm the worst player in the world to make up my mind... Every time there's a little something wrong : such and such a mini/unit is too old/doesn't appeal to me, such and such an army is difficult to play (I'm absolutely not a strategist...), such and such an army is difficult to paint but I like minis... Again and again. And to top it all off, I'm super slow at painting ! 😅

So at the moment, I'm torn between 4 armies to settle on 4th (but I could add more of course)... I'm not looking for miracle advice/solutions but just to share another type of mental problem that can be encountered in the hobby. This one is supposed to bring pleasure, relaxation and joy but we can tend to forget that, caught up in it as we can be.

[Son Of Morghur]

1 hour ago, Draznak said:

decision-making paralysis

You just nailed it! I am in exactly the same situation!

I do not have time for 1000 different projects. I absolutely want to to play a lot too and I have 4 different choices I could make. Sylvanth, Idoneth, Seraphon, Beasts.

This is how it goes:

I want to paint and think about the hobby. My heart yells  "BEASTS!", but then, I sit down to paint, and I am unsure to even start because I don't know if I should dare invest so much time and energy in an army that will get the axe in around a year (I am a slow painter, I take my time, even for units and simpler minis), even if that was my initial plan. I tried to settle down on Idoneth, but again, I am not confident in GW releasing the second wave in the coming year. So I either could go with Sylvaneth (which I am not 100% convinced of, I have now been waiting for Kurnothi-like elves for 10 years now.....)  or Seraphon (which I love, but I do not like their playstyle that much, especially since their magic got changed quite a lot, but maybe I should wait for 4th, since Seraphon has always been kind of tricky to balance?). Aaand stuck in the spiral I am, and instead of painting and enjoying the hobby, I am just overthinking it again.

The fact that there is also still a little spark there, hoping that we might get something closer to beasts or maybe event could see BoC get an overhaul in case they bring Morghur back into the setting or expand over it, does not make anything easier.....

I legitimately stopped painting yesterday because I got frustrated. It is really annoying.

 

But yes, thank you for all the answers and for the post, it's good to see that we all have our struggle sometimes and can help each other overcome these!

Edited April 23 by Son Of Morghur

[Flippy]

I understand you very well! For me, the answer (or at least a temporary solution) is: smaller games. A Warcry band is much more manageable than a full army and still lets you taste the faction. For WH40k I recently agreed with a friend that we should try Combat Patrol - a single box is, again, something I can reasonably plan for. Could such projects grow into „proper” armies? Maybe, but I try not to pressure myself.