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I Need Motivation

15K views 88 replies 27 participants last post by  The Hobbyist 
#1 ·
I have two shops, packed with a myriad of tools and machines. I like to work with my hands to create things. Lately, I haven't even been motivated to walk out to the shops to start something. I have a serious lack of motivation I can't seem to overcome.

Christmas is coming, and normally I would be out there creating all sorts of Christmas and holiday decorations to sell or more likely, give away. I spend time on Pinterest.com looking at all of the "eye candy," and pick things I know I can produce, or modify in some manner. Nothing seems challenging.

I have the ability. I just don't have the motivation. :frown:
 
#3 ·
I have a similar issue, too many "projects" filling the shop. Some are tools, parts, pieces and devices still in their shipping boxes that I haven't gotten to. Can't seem to prioritize what to work on. Feel like a hoarder sometimes. I'm using the past two months weather with humidity as the major excuse. I tried a major cleaning, but it only showed there isn't enough room. I go out there and many time get overcome by what isn't getting done.

Best example is that during the summer I went to a swap meet and found a "great" deal on most linear motion parts to build another faster CNC 200+ ipm, but only 2' x 4' cut area. A prior weekend I came up with the 8020 framework. Between the swap meets and dusty inventory, I probably have 70% of the parts, but where to put it if I finished it??? Answer is to get rid of something already taking up space, but that is where the comparison to a hoarder comes in.

My answer to getting started making something happen, is to commit to a sibling or son/daughter for a project. Spouse stuff doesn't work as well since you can get too many day passes. Getting somebody else to work on the "something" with you is also helpful just for keeping you on track.

Steve.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I got an order for a Polish Eagle plaque, and by the time we got done talking the order was up to 9. Had 2 1/2 weeks to get them done for pick up Labor Day week end. That kick started me to get into full shop mode.

Not going to go out of my way for the holidays this year. I'll take what comes in, but not going to go looking for stuff to do.

The deer herd needs some more thinning.

HJ

Nothing wrong with a little libation while creating, especially when the eyes are closed.
 
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#8 ·
Sometimes I find myself not having clarity about what's next. I have a process i have my clients go through that clears this away. Take a loose leaf notebook and, placing only one item per page, write down everything that is passing through your brain. Get it all down on paper. The brain does not have a hard drive, so putting each thought on paper lets you unload the constant mulling over and over.

Fiddle with each page/ideas, and then move that page/idea to the top. That will be the one to take on.

Some of us ARE tool collectors. Those tools get used occasionally, but not a lot. Is there anything wrong with that? Only if you are a puritan. I think some of that acquisition impulse may come from childhoods where we didn't have all that much. Maybe its just making up for those lean times, and doing it because we can. No sin in that unless you're a Puritan at heart.

Or perhaps, its just that we like making something a few times until we get it right, then want to move on?

Take a break, go find a movie, volunteer to make something nice for an organization. I'm thinking of popping for materials to build theatrical flats for the local community theater. One thing you guys pointed to was the power of making a promise to others, kind of putting your @$$ on the line. Once you get making something, all the iffiness disappears, doesn't it?

Or just enjoy the whisky. No one says you have to do anything else. Right?
 
#9 ·
Some of us ARE tool collectors. Those tools get used occasionally, but not a lot. Is there anything wrong with that? Only if you are a puritan. I think some of that acquisition impulse may come from childhoods where we didn't have all that much. Maybe its just making up for those lean times, and doing it because we can. No sin in that unless you're a Puritan at heart.

Or just enjoy the whisky. No one says you have to do anything else. Right?
Probably a lot of truth in that, Tom. I grew up very poor, and am now just poor, so I get what I can when I can, even if I may not use it much, if at all. Never know when you'll need it. Drives my wife nuts.

But, whiskey tastes better with sawdust in it.

HJ
 
#13 ·
All good advice I guess. I am heavily involved in politics. Watching America crumble beneath my feet while being unable to do anything to stop it really irks me. Friends say, "Just ignore it!" Well, that is not in my DNA.

I disconnected my DirecTV over a year ago because they offered 500 channels of nothing worth watching. The news networks are nothing but sock puppets spreading pure propaganda, and it takes everything I have to walk away when some fool starts gushing over the thought of a Hillary presidency. I wish I could turn it off, but I can't. I am finding it difficult to plan even four hours into the future, because it seems that it will all be for naught.

I was going to mow the lawn today. I guess it can wait until tomorrow morning. So much to do, and absolutely zero desire to do any of it.


.
 
#14 ·
You are not alone, Joe. I have many friends in the same boat. Ignoring what’s happening politically may not be in your DNA but your friends who say “Just ignore it,” recognize that being so intensely focused on it isn’t healthy.

In college I discovered the writings of the Greek philosopher Epictetus and his words have guided me many times. He said, “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will. We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.”

Maybe that’s just another way of saying “Just ignore it.”

Personally, I don’t watch news programs because they just raise my blood pressure. I watch Turner Classic Movies if I watch TV, but I’m better off in the shop where I can get away from the world for a while to a happy place where wood and sawdust are in my control and I can fix all problems. It’s a groovy place to be.
 
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#15 ·
The thing that's getting me this election season is how stupid all my grandchildren are, believing the propaganda being delivered by so-called news people. It's as if every generation has to make the same stupid errors. Oh well. I went out to start a new frame and skipped the news tonight.
 
#16 ·
For me, getting a new tool is a form of motivation for getting me back in the shop. Also, in the past year, I've taken classes on how to make dovetails, how to make spoons, and how to make knives. Inspiration to get back into hand tools and I swear projects are more rewarding when you shape things using hand tools.
 
#17 ·
I believe we all go through these lean times when we just don't feel like doing anything. When I find my self in that situation. I go out and clean my shop. Just start at one end and go through the whole thing. While doing that, I always find some little project that I need to make my shop better, more organized. I will stop and build a needed shelf or a devise that I just realized I need. Some times I end up just looking at a magazine of shop jigs. You can always use another jig. Sandra will usually come to my rescue with a request for some thing to be built. She complained that since I have not finished the deck around the new back porch, it is too tall for her to comfortably step down, so she ask for some thing temporary. Only took a few minutes but while doing that I found something else that needed to be done. and off we go.
 
#18 ·
I know this sounds funny but if I eat too much bread (gluten) I have no motivation. I'd rather sit around and do nothing. I went in to see the MD a few years ago because I was tired all three time, I was 35 and in good shape but it was a drag to get off the couch. She suggested the gluten allergy (it was the fad at the time I guess). She said she could run some blood tests for about $250 or I could just cut it out of my diet. So I saved the money and cut it out. My energy level and motivation came back. Now if I cheat and eat a bite of bread i can tell.
I love pizza so I make sure to only eat it when I know I can be a sloth for a couple days.
 
#19 ·
Oh and another vote for cleaning. My shop has been a mess for a few months and I just can't get out there to work on any projects.
It started with piles of scrap cedar from the doors I built in the spring. Then things pile up over the summer. Oh and it's been really hot.
After working all day/week in the sun residing a house I just don't have the energy to clean or build.
 
#22 ·
For me, I've just finished 64- big projects and now there's a lot of "office work" yet to be done. The temps have exceeded 90F for everyday for a couple of months, now. When younger, I could handle the hot weather; but now - not so well. Here where I am on the map, we have some high humidity and (to me) that makes those hot temps seem even worse. Never can I find much inspiration for woodworking in hot temps - cool or cold is much more to my liking when working with wood is concerned.

I am developing a new product for my Pocket Form Isolator product line and that is being done with an upgraded software program from what I was familiar with prior to this last endeavor. The enhancements to the software are amazing and to top that off, I'll be working with a new mold-maker (we use injection-molded parts for this product line) with some newer strategies - most of which I find appreciation for.

Finally, after a long time of very hot weather; and the obligatory construction economic slowdown that happens during election years - I was able to do a wood-working project on Saturday and it was a "doozey". It was a free-standing, three-sided and cantilevered shelving unit for my reptile room. It sits above the quite large cage that I built for my Asian Water Monitor. My wife calls that cage the "Taj-ma-Lizard", due to its complexity and costs. Whenever one builds reptile cages, there needs to be consideration for some things that ordinary furniture often doesn't need: things like access to controls, access to serviceability, water-tightness, ventilation and air circulation, visibility, etc. This new shelving looks simple, yet governs access to numerous controls and variables.

Interestingly, said Asian Water Monitor had worn-out her welcome at the age of three years. I traded her out to the same guy that got her for me and her value had doubled in those three years - but she never became the tame and calm lizard that I was hoping for. When you have a lizard that grows that fast and eats that much and can do so much damage to someone in a matter of seconds - it quits being fun! Not wanting the "Taj-ma-Lizard" to be a wasted expense, I traded her out for one highly desirable lizard and 5- new snakes. The new lizard is an Argentine (Giant) Tegu and appears to be a female. Currently, she is 42" long and has a weight of about 12 pounds. She is as tame as a puppy and is now very good friends with Jericho (our Belgian Malinois). This type of lizard is thought by many to be the most intelligent of any reptiles and has a potential lifespan of 15-20 years. It is omnivorous, whereas the monitor was strictly carnivorous.

My 14'-3" work desk and overhead two-story cabinets have proven to be exceptionally ideal for my design work and has even given me room to teach some of my employees how to produce 3d drawings in AutoCAD. I placed individual switches for circuits of lighting inside and below the entirety of the two-story cabinets, which has also proven to be perfect. I am yet to build the doors for the fronts of the cabinets, but with all of said cabinets open (and lighted when necessary) it is helping me to remember where all of the stored items are. Similar to the fronts of my built-in snake cages and the Taj-ma-Lizard, the doors will be removable individually. The top tier of cabinets is 34" from front-to-back and I must use a step-stool to access it. There will be 3- 4' wide doors across the front of the top tier. The top tier cantilevers over the lower tier - which is 23" front-to-back (that 11" "step-back" saves my forehead) and will require 6- 2' wide doors, also removable individually. Both levels of doors will be supported via "French Cleats" for ease of removal. Completely removable doors provides (IMO) the best possible access - with no door folded up, down or to the side to possibly get in the way. My snake cages have been this way for almost 10- years, now and I really like it A LOT!

Whenever I'm not actually building things, I am designing things - EVEN IN MY SLEEP!...and as someone who has been a SUCCESSFUL INVENTOR for many years now, let me tell you this: I HAVE PROBABLY FAILED 10-15 TIMES FOR EVERY SUCCESS, BUT I KNOW THAT THE BEST WAY FOR ME TO LEARN THINGS IS TO GIVE THEM A TRY. When I decide to take-on a project, I DO NOT HAVE AN EXPECTATION of initial success, because my projects are, for the most part; original, unique and high-tech. There's no book on "How to build something that's never been made yet"! But when I fail, I simply chalk-it-up to a lesson learned. This is why my KEY EMPLOYEES are so VALUABLE to me. Their lips are sealed and they are extremely smart and creative! By the way, I DO NOT DRINK.

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia
 
#23 ·
Motivation



Why not find a children's home or orphanage locally. Get in touch and commit to making some toys for Christmas. Make the promise and then get on with it, can't let them down. And you will feel a whole lot better. Most can be made from your scrap stock so little outlay.
Cheers
 
#24 ·
I have the luxury of living in Canada, where we don't have to suffer through a continual barrage of political mumbo-jumbo on a never ending basis.

Perhaps that's one reason I never watch TV. Whatever minimal "news" I hear about comes from other sources.

So, you've had a ton of suggestions as to what to do...here's what I do.

Every day I make a point of doing something, regardless of how big or small it is. Today, for example, the missus' car needed looking at for an overheating problem. Turned out that BOTH the electric fans on her car, one for the a/c condenser and the other for the radiator were shot. The local Honda dealer only wanted a mere $1.064.88 for the two motors. Nada, I dinna think so laddie.

Ordered them from Rock Auto in the U.S. for a saving of just $941.72. That's the saved part! Cost was $123.

So you see, sometimes just getting something done might save you an otherwise unavoidable expense.

If I were you, I would start with cleaning up 25% of the shop. No point in doing it all in one go. That can wait until tomorrow. :smile:
 
#26 ·
I forced myself to get out to mow the lawn today. It is a moderate task, at over two acres. I should have done it Friday, or Saturday, or Sunday, and certainly by Monday. The sad thing about procrastinating on a task that GROWS is that the longer you put it off, the harder it becomes. Gotta get out there tomorrow (or the next day ) with my Cyclone Rake and vacuum up the dried grass, toss it into a pile and burn it. Setting things on fire always cheers me up!
 
#27 · (Edited)
I guess I should go get a pile of 10 ga. sheet metal and just start cutting lifesize silhouettes. you know ... the cowgirl leaning on the fence post, the cowboy sitting on the fence rail, the children chasing a ball ... Maybe after I prop up a few of them, I'll get inspired.

Halloween is coming. Now where did I put that file with all of the walking zombies? Funny thing is, you can use silhouettes of people dancing, and with just a slight modification, you get fantastic 'Walking Dead' figures! The 70's style dance silhouettes work best. We had the moves!

70s Dance Silhouettes



.
 
#31 ·
@Rainman Rick:

My "method" of inventing is actually VERY SIMPLE! SO SIMPLE, in fact; that many people don't believe me - but it is true!

Think of something that is a "Pain-in-the-Butt". It will need to be in a field in which you (whomever wishes to be an inventor) is knowledgeable. There can be any number of motivating factors, but initially don't be thinking about getting rich - because very often THAT DOES NOT EVER HAPPEN! Very true in the business of product development, IT TAKES MONEY TO MAKE MONEY...and that's just the tip of the financial iceberg...don't risk money that you cannot afford to lose. Even if you have a "financial partner" (angel, backer, whatever) DON'T WASTE THEIR MONEY!

Once the "Pain-in-the-Butt" in a field where you are expertly knowledgeable is determined, RESEARCH to find a solution to the P.I.T.B., if there seems to be no product or method solution to said P.I.T.B., try to solve it with a METHOD - this METHOD can use imaginary products! Those imaginary parts might be something that you could invent, but be realistic.

If there's a huge market potential for your idea - you may be on to something good. If you and only two other people on the planet will appreciate it for what it does - you're wasting your time. Warning: SECRECY MUST BE MAINTAINED! IF YOU MAKE DRAWINGS, DO NOT SHOW THEM TO ANYONE, BE SELF-CRITICAL TO THE POINT OF REFINEMENT - BUT DON'T GIVE-UP! DO NOT SHARE THE IDEA WITH ANYONE! COMPANIES THAT OFFER TO PAY FOR YOUR IDEAS ARE A SCAM - THEY WILL TAKE YOUR MONEY and SELL YOUR IDEA TO THE HIGHEST BIDDERS...I HAD A TERRIBLE AND EXPENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN THIS AREA MANY YEARS AGO ON TWO OF MY INVENTIONS. NAIVELY, MY BROTHER AND I GAVE SERIOUS MONEY AND AN AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURER BOUGHT MY IDEA FROM THE COMPANY WE PAID.

I'm involved in 54 patents currently - with several others pending or in various stages of development and I cannot emphasize this enough...be secretive. The Patent Office needs to know if you have shared the idea, and if so to how many and you need to be prepared to give FULL DISCLOSURE of every person and every conversation. If there are more than what they consider reasonable, they may throw-out your patent application! The problem is: I tell person "J", he tells person "K" and "L", then "K" tells "M" and "N" and "O" and "P", etc. Before long, the entire world has heard about it and eventually one or more of them will take it to the patent office and swear that it's their original idea! I've helped countless people with inventions and this happens so often it is MIND BOGGLING!

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia
 
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