Many Projects, Little Time: Managing Burnout and Choice Paralysis

I suffer from choice paralysis. It's probably why I prefer shopping at Trader Joe's, where options are limited (unless I'm looking for something specific like De Cecco pasta). When I go to a diner, 9 times out of 10 I skip the tome they call a menu and order a bacon cheeseburger with fries. This extends to my miniature hobby, often leading to what many call hobby burnout.

Golden Reef Diner, my go-to diner on Long Island.

The thought for this post came to me while on a hobby hangout call with my buddy from Australia, Jackson (Hollowbodies_13). Jackson mentioned he'd been lacking motivation for his hobby lately. I could relate—I often find myself procrastinating until the last couple of weeks (or even the night) before a big event like Under the Dice Fest or Adepticon, pushing hard to finish projects. While this can be satisfying, it also leaves me feeling drained and sometimes reluctant to return to my hobby desk.  

The '28' community has some of the most creative and passionate hobbyists that I've met. Community events frequently pop up with prompts that encourage hobbyists to kitbash, paint, and submit their creations by a deadline. In my experience, the community is relatively tight-knit, and it doesn't take long before your feed is filled with work-in-progress shots and completed projects. This is one of my favorite aspects of the community. I get to see amazing pieces of art and everyone's unique take on the prompt. The enthusiasm is contagious, and soon, I have a pile of bits in front of me, ready to bash up my own take.

However, often, as I'm midway through a project, another community event comes up, then another. Meanwhile, I still have that bag of Battlefleet Gothic ships I wanted to start on, and that Troll from my Mordheim warband has been sitting half-painted for a month now. Before I know it, I'm second-guessing what I should be working on and feeling overwhelmed. At that point I feel like trashing it all.

The reality is, this is all voluntary. No one is forcing me to grab my bits and bash them together. But with so many great ideas floating around, I can't help but feel an unseen hobby pressure—let's call it FOMO—pulling me to get involved. During my discussion with Jackson about hobby burnout, I had shared with him how I navigated out of my slump and motivate myself. I thought it would be helpful to write down some of those reflections to better collect my thoughts and maybe help others who might feel the same way. 

1. A Short Term Win

Do you have a game coming up that you need to finish one last unit for? Are you putting together some models for a demo game for some friends? Is that single model you've had sitting on your desk ready to be primed/already primed? Start there. I am by no means a psychologist, but my proficiency in broscience lends me some credibility when I say that just getting something done releases a nice kick of dopamine. It feels good to show up to a game with painted miniatures. My paint job doesn't need to be amazing; but good enough is always better than undone. The hobby wisdom of  X minutes a day also holds true, but personally setting a goal of, "I'm going to finish this for that" helps. Sometimes it's one short win, sometimes it's a couple. I like to look at it like a ladder. Every win is one rung to help climb out of that slump.

Last month I volunteered for a local game day to run demo games of Flames of Orion. I didn't expect anyone to show up with models ready to play, so I decided to paint up a loaner squad for newcomers. By having this small goal in mind, I stayed focus and after two painting sessions I had 4 mechs painted to a decent standard and ready for play. I got some stuff done, they looked great on the board, and my players had fun. That's a win.

Battletech miniatures painted up for the Flames of Orion demo.

2. Write it Out

I like to think I can keep everything in my head. I can't. Commitments, work, appointments, anniversaries, and grocery lists—these are just a few examples, and I haven't even touched on hobbying yet. Terry from the Hive Scum podcast often talks about writing everything down, from ideas to responsibilities. For a while, I thought, "Yeah, that's a good idea!" and then proceeded not to write anything down. One day, I decided to pick up a red pocket notebook. Why red? Because I wanted a notebook that would stick out. Usually, I buy neutral-colored things, but I thought that if I'm going to make this a habit, it needs to scream that it's right there. Why not use the note app on my phone? Sure you could use that, but I know myself and there are too many distractions on my phone.

Anyway, I started writing things down, and my ability to remember and get things done drastically improved. There's something very satisfying about checking things off a list. Now, you might be wondering how this helps with my choice paralysis? On my hobby desk, I keep a sticky note with three hobby objectives. My criteria usually includes: something easy (as mentioned in point 1), a community event I'm interested in participating in (if one is going on), and something for myself. 

What do I mean by "something for myself"? It's something that I'm excited to do for my own enjoyment. For example, I've recently started on a 10mm Dwarf Warmaster army. I've played a couple of games with a local group and really enjoyed it. Though there's no pressure to complete it by a deadline, I'm excited to paint up a large army of smaller soldiers. Before that, I wanted to kitbash some stuff for an Inquisitor retinue. Don't know when I'll ever play with it, but throughout the whole project I felt that hobby fire and had a lot of fun. So currently, I'm chipping away at a unit of Dwarf Warriors for myself.

 My current sticky list with past and current objectives. Warmaster army to play with a local group. Brothers of Promethium is a recent community event. Battlefleet Gothic ships for myself. 

 The Red notebook that I (try to) take everywhere.

3. Experiment and Try New Things

When I'm feeling stuck or uninspired, one of the best ways to motivate myself is to change things up. I explore new techniques, styles, or entirely different aspects of the hobby. Community events, both past and present, offer great opportunities to try something new. Switching up the themes or genres I'm working on is refreshing. If you've been focused on one game or setting, try creating something from a different one. There are tons to choose from.

For a long while, I was slogging along with painting Orks for 40k. At the time, I was listening to "Rynn's World" by Steve Parker, where Orks are portrayed as brutal and relentless. Parker also depicted the Crimson Fists as tenacious and gritty, despite being heavily outnumbered. Feeling inspired, I decided to paint a spare Space Marine I had lying around as a Crimson Fist. This wasn't a major change like trying a new paint technique or a new product, but it did get me out of the monotony of painting green flesh, scrap metal, and bone bits. It was simple: I had the chance to use different colors on a straightforward model. Within a single painting session, it was done, and I felt motivated to do a couple more greenskins.

4.  Remember Why You're Doing It

On the night before I was supposed to leave for Under the Dice fest, I remember climbing into bed after rushing to finish my warband of Night Goblins for Mordheim. It was well past midnight, and my girlfriend was still awake. I felt burnt out and had put a lot of pressure on myself to finish in time. As I lay there I said to her, "I don't even want to play with these stupid things." Her response, coming from someone with zero interest in the hobby, was straightforward: "Isn't this what you do for fun? Why are you doing it then?"

She was right. I spend money, time, and energy into this hobby. For me, miniatures and the games I play are an escape from the monotony of everyday life and a source of enjoyment. Why was I allowing it to frustrate me? Why was I turning something that's meant to be fun into a chore? I shouldn't. We only get so much time in a day. If its not enjoyable there's nothing wrong with putting things down and stepping away for a bit. You'll get back to it, but never let it become a burden. After that, I went to Under the Dice Fest, made a lot of cool friends, and had a ton of fun. In the end, it all worked out.

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That's how I usually try to get myself out of a hobby slump. It's easy to feel unmotivated or overwhelmed, but I try not to let that get to me. You don't need to create something for every game or event. There is just too much going on. Find a few things that really resonate with you and give it a go. If you're not enjoying it, stop. It's also okay to be adjacent to the hobby. By engaging with hobbyists, asking questions, and keeping up with what's happening you are still part of a community. There's no need to feel like you have to silo yourself to one way of engagement.

I guess I could've spared you this whole write up with "have fun with it" but that would've been too simple. Hopefully some of these tips help with your hobby lull and get you back to doing what you love.

How do you handle hobby burnout? Can you bounce from one project to the next? What is your method for organizing your projects?

Thanks for reading.

- Mike