Hobby mojo or how to make the best of our hobby

Something a little different today, I'd like to talk about Hobby Mojo and more generally speaking what we expect from our hobby (or any other hobby for that matter).

Over the past years, I've seen terms like Hobby Mojo, Hobby burn out pop out here and there and I have to say those have always seemed a little odd to me. Why do people feel that and why does it seem odd to others ?

I guess I should start with what a hobby is to me. First, I consider it a big luck to even be able to have one, a hobby is something we don't need to live but only need to feel better and that we want to do because we can afford to spend time/energy/money into it. It's a privilege, being able to spend spare ressources (any of the 3 before) is a privilege, no matter how much you spend.

So that means a hobby is something you don't HAVE to spend anything for but CAN spend whatever you feel like spending for. That's the most important thing to me, at the very core of the idea of a hobby, you don't have any form of obligation whatsoever.

Sure JB,  but in reality it does come with constraints of all kinds, comitments, deadlines, it's not always about pleasure only. Yes of course, but all of those are self imposed and accepted constraints because we allow them to be in the first place.

I'm the first to have way more ideas than time. I'm usually saying yes to any challenge or group project passing nearby. I've been over committing for some time now and I realise I always keep telling to myself I should be focusing more.

But these are all choices I made, and in the end, my output is ever increasing, the painting standard hasn't progressed as much obviously but once again, that's a choice I'm making to get more stuff done to a reasonable standard without having to spend ages. That's a compromise I have found. And by embracing my choices I have come to know my limits and what I can reasonably do or not.

I don't think I have ever felt overwhelmed by any project because at any time I have the choice to decide which are my priorities. Do I have a game planned ? Do I have an entry to submit for a competition or a challenge ? Did I promise something to someone ? 

Deadlines do make happen things that would have take another eternity to complete

If I don't feel like I can squeeze everything in a given time, then I'll just decide the priorities and if and which deadline I'm not going to meet. End of story.
It's a hobby, what happens if I don't meet a deadline ? Worst that can happen is I'll look like an idiot, maybe if I repeatedly fail meeting deadlines I'll start looking a bit unreliable but that will only be because I kept overestimating my abilities or underestimating tasks but in every case, I'll look like a fool because I acted like one. Good thing is, we can learn from mistakes. ^^

I often hear/read people syaing "I don't have time for X or Y", well there are 2 absolute fair truths that tie us all on earth and one is that we all have 24h in a day, same for everyone. Most of the time when saying "I don't have the time" what one should say is "I didn't take the time" and that's perfectly fine. Sometimes you just want to dive into the sofa and watch crap on TV, sometimes you'd rather just go out have a drink with friends or who knows, just enjoy the people living with you ! But that's a choice, you're not the victim and th ehobby can't be blamed for it.

I'm saying this because I really think a hobby should only be seen from a positive angle, if you see it from a negative one, then something is going wrong and that something is most probably how you think about it.

My hobbies (Painting models in this case but it goes for any other hobby I have) give me pleasure, solace, ease my mind, cheer me up, make me feel better inside and outside (for the more sportive hobbies) and they can't be the source of anything else, they will never fill my life or give it a meaning but they will certainly never pull me down.
There will be a time when I paint fewer models than the year before, there might come a time when I don't get to play as much or finish what I meant to but If I see what I can do as bonus and not what I could have done as a regret, then I can't really be losing can I ?

Now on the other hand, you don't get anything if you don't give something so you have to pay upfront and get behind that desk, go to the gym, club or wherever you have to be and you have to BE there, not just present, but active. If it's the hobby you like and not just somethig to kill time you WILL get something from it and that something will be worth the time/energy/money spent.

I can only speak for myself of course but what do I get from this hobby in particular :
- A sense of achievement, every model painted, every game played is tangible, I can see and touch the progress made and it does feel great.

- Interaction with others, I've never enjoyed this hobby as much as I have for the past few years thanks to blogging and interacting on the usual places. This blog helps me set a pace for projects and I did get to meet people I'm really fond of thanks to it, not just "guys I know" although even those are already great to have and share the hobby with.

- It really is a way to have a little creativity out, stupid ideas but they get out and take form. this is good for your brains and hence mental state.

- focusing on this hobby (or the others) is also good to get rid of any stress because the hobby is basically a place where I have complete control, with little to no nuisance from the outside (only exception being if a parcel gets lost, a model gets damaged/stolen or those kind of things

So basically, my whole point is to be positive about it because it's easy to be since it's a hobby. Best thing would be to be positive about everything but we know that's not happening this life right ?


So here are just a few tips that work for me and might work for some of you :

• I never know what I want to do, I sometimes like to just build stuff, or convert, or base, or paint so I have models at every possible stage on the desk at all times, that means I can pick the task I most feel like doing any time I want.

• I have secured a sanctified hobby place. It's not big by all means, just a table in my bedroom but it's my own place and all I have to do to get some hobby time is to sit. This is very important to me, I wouldn't stand havig to get everything out, looking for stuff, having to tidy everything afterwards. I need to have everything at hand right away. I never really stop painting, I just make long pauses... ^^
  Look at the picture above and you'll see that despite the desk being messy, there is still a place for WIPs, based models ready for paint, paints, brushes, raw models needing to be primed.

• I try to vary projects in size and subjects, and I also try to paint the number of models that fits me, not too few, not too much. It really does make a difference.

• When I feel I've worn myself out on a project (and not because the project wore me out, see the difference), then I treat myself with a model I paint just for fun, for no reason, no big plan, just a one shot which won't matter. And you know what ? They're usually the ones I love the most in the end, I set the standards low and they usually end up looking the best.

Doesn't fit if what I usually do, doesn't look like much but it was a fun and refreshing experiment, liberating despite the constraints.

• Don't expect your hobby to make time for itself, take it. My painting has become way more regular and hence more satisfying since I have kids. Having a schedule or routine means by 8:30 PM eveything in the house must have been done which leaves me a whole evening ahead. It's way easier to plan what you can do if you know how much time you have otherwise, we're mostly all the same and we WILL end up spending too much time reading stupid stuff, arguing with trolls on the net, watching crap TV and all sorts of addictive behaviours who were designed to trap us.
  Knowing what time I have in the evening lets me schedule what I want to do and take some time for sport, painting, seeing friends and watching the series I like. It does mean spending a little less time watching lolcats (although I still do spend too much time on pointless stuff).

• And probably the best advice for this hobby the way I see it is to just do stuff, it's always bonus. I wish I was able to port this into real life but at least I got that part working in my hobby :

Obviously, nothing I'm saying here is carved in stone or is in any way an absolute truth, it's just what I've come to notice and think works for me and since I'm no different from most folks, I suspect it might worl for others as well. It's a long journey and there's plenty to learn along th eway... ^^