Too many projects and hobbies!

[chops1sc]

SO much going on... It has been almost 2 years since I have finished a model. Just cant get the Mojo going! I did try painting my first bust earlier this year and while I enjoyed it, it has not sparked any further creativity. The main issue that I fight every year is the fact that I have too many hobbies. Until the pandemic hit I would balance my attention between 3 hobbies; Modeling, RC trucks, and Auto detailing. Well, when the SHTF last year I decided to exercise my 2nd Amendment right as an American and started buying guns and ammo. So now I have added another hobby to the list along with all the stuff my wife has added to the ever-growing honey-do list, LOL! Our latest major project is a complete tear-out of our Camper (or caravan if you will). If you want to follow along we are putting this adventure on the YouTubes. Camper Restoration

Hopefully I can get some better time management skills soon. I really want to get back to modeling.

[Donkeywalloper]

Sometimes a break from one or more hobbies is a blessing not a curse.
Mojo goes up and down like stocks and the proverbial Kangaroo, and a break from any hobby gives time to reflect and enjoy other things in life.
Nothing wrong with a break, good for the soul.
DW

[chops1sc]

Sometimes a break from one or more hobbies is a blessing not a curse.
Mojo goes up and down like stocks and the proverbial Kangaroo, and a break from any hobby gives time to reflect and enjoy other things in life.
Nothing wrong with a break, good for the soul.
DW

It usually happens in cycles for me. Winter - modeling, Spring - RC, Summer - Detailing, Fall - Back to RC & Modeling again.

[NoelSmith]

Chops, too many hobbies will always be a distraction.
Trouble is it makes us Butterfly minded, flitting from one thing to another and not achieving much. Jack of all trades and master of none comes to mind as not enough time can be devoted to any interest to really pursue it as well as we perhaps might.
You mentioned that you have now taken up yet another interest in guns and ammo, so your available time will now also be stretched in another direction.
It is in the nature of many of us to have just one main interest and stick with it, whilst many others like to dabble in different things. It's just the way we are I guess.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Indeed, same boat here.
I agree with the seasonal thing in my hobbies, though they cross over quite a bit

The Jack of all trades master of none thing has daunted me for ages including in my professional career.
I get bored fast with only doing one thing and certainly never attain mastery in any field of interest.
But the real quote is as follows and was shown to me by Adam Savage from MythBusters this year in one of his videos.

from Google:
The complete saying was originally
“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
Formerly intended as a compliment, the phrase means that a person is a generalist rather than a specialist, versatile and adept at many things.This is the problem with our habit of shortening things. We don’t understand their original intention anymore. We shouldn’t ignore the old adage but the new one (in this case, at least).

So in dentistry we have specialists who look down on generalists as they cannot master one thing and are bad at many
But I would hate to be a specialist, bored doing the same thing over and over and having a screwed view of dental cases…ie they only see the bad/hard/ disaster cases.
Anyhow back to hobbies; I have a lot and love them all and am always trying to get better at them and attain some degree of competence if not mastery.

[digger303]

I have maybe 4 interests, guns and computer games which I have a lesser interest in now. The guns are just a tool now more than anything and the computer games caused me some neck and headache problems so I gave them away although I might start again as a minor time filler.
Then I have modeling and some hack carpentry interest. Usually modeling is top of the list and every few months I will crank up the saw and start lubing the tape measure.

[aur0ra145]

I'm in the same boat. I have two major hobbies, modelling and shooting. Modelling is self explanatory and I do it pretty regularly. Shooting flows and ebbs a lot. I compete in service rifle matches here in the US and love it. Though, with the shortage of gunpowder, some of the more interesting service rifles I can't reload for as of currently, the gunpowder just isn't available, or at an incredible mark up. With some of these calibers there are no producers of ammunition to buy off the shelf, not even surplus. Or, the reloading data is only tribal knowledge and lends itself to significant load development to not be dangerous. Which is fine, if you have the gunpowder available. Thankfully many years ago I stock piled a lot of .30 cal projectiles and primers. So my limiting factors are gunpowder and brass. Though, for non-weird cartridges, I do have a decent stock of gunpowder.

The other factor is the rifle ranges around here aren't all that great. We only have one outdoor range and it only goes to 300 yards. Which isn't that long when I used to be shooting at 500+ every weekend, generally shooting at 1000yds when I was competing in F-class. There are also no 2-gun action matches in the area. So that isn't fun. If I want to shoot in service rifle matches it's a 3+ hour drive to the range. They do have IPSC or IDPA matches, but I'm not much of a pistol guy.

[Kevthemodeller]

Yep me too, modelling, motorcycles and diving

Add in work and it's a balancing act I often lose

[Stokesy44]

Model kits are probably my only 'hobby' as per the accepted definition.

A fascination with modern military history that expresses itself through books and films could possible be considered a hobby too. This interest also shapes my modelling in terms of subject matter. I am also a writer with one book on Amazon and a second in its very early stages. This is also connected to my interest in military history so you could say everything I do as a hobby / interest comes from that. A good history book or historical novel will see me away for hours if I let it, especially if I am lying on a sunbed wondering where the next cold beer is coming from!

I live in the UK so guns are not an issue for me. We have no tradition of ownership with my family history not being connected to the strata of society where gun ownership is a heritage thing (hunting, land management and farming etc). I have views on guns but they're not for here.

I'm an avid rugby and cricket fan. That reduces my modelling time, particularly at weekends, but that's purely down to choice. As a single man I don't have any SWIMBO or Honey Do List issues impacting my time so, arguably, I get to decide myself how I waste my time. if making a decision is the toughest thing I come up against then I can't really complain now can I?

[RangerNeil]

Interesting topic.
I'm in a similar boat to many with multiple hobbies. Summer months normally see me away weekends at Living History - either Cold War British Army, Cold War Soviet Army or 12th C Templars. Along with this we have Classic Vehicles - currently got a a 1973 109" Landrover Series 3 FFR plus a Sankey trailer and I'm saving the pennies for either a P6 Rover or a Citroen DS. Couple this with working for Amazon 4 days a week which involves a 2 hour commute each way with a 10.5 hour shift in the middle and time vanishes quickly. Also have commitments to Regimental Associations a few weekends each year - for example over the 13th/14th Nov I will be up at the Cenotaph for the Remembrance day event which now means I have to travel up on Sat and overnight in a hotel to get to Horse Guards by 09:00. And once or twice in summer there are shooting events at the clubhouse, Bisley (probably the only place in the UK anyone civilian can shoot an Автомат as well as Enfields, Martini-Henrys and Tower Muskets).
This year is further complicated by the Great Upheaval - but hopefully we are now coming out of that.!!

[DRUMS01]

I might as well chime in too, and like most of you there are multiple hobbies. Prior to listing them I should also mention that being the guardian / parent / and care taker of my special needs son along with care for my 92 year old mom takes considerable time. When time permits and I do not have "honey-do" projects, I like to tinker around with the following:

- Scale Modeling: I used to be a strict car guy but the group builds and branching out into new subjects has really peaked my interests. Of course, modeling for me includes time consuming research, scratch building, after-market parts, modifications, etc. I believe the intrigue with this hobby is learning about the history or facts around the 1:1 real thing and the challenges with replicating the real item in scale while learning new techniques from people like you.

- Music Composition (Percussion / Drums): I played drums since around 1969. Since them I was educated in music from 1970 through 1978 (school) taught at a music store, played in a few bands over they years (mostly rock, country, jazz, pop music). I never made the commitment of quitting my real job and going into music full time though I had three different opportunities to do so. I have no regrets as I am blessed with four wonderful children (41, 40, 38, and 23), and a beautiful and understanding wife. At 62 years old I no longer have any desire to play professionally (full time), but I still really enjoy a few hours a week pounding the skins alone, with Jarrod (my 23 special needs son), or at church.

- Motorcycling: I've been motorcycling since around 13 years old, starting in dirt bike racing. I did not own a street bike until 1986 but have owned one of some type ever since. Currently I have a 2003 Yamaha FZ1 with a custom engineered side car for Jarrod so he can ride with me. I also own a one up 2017 Harley Davidson custom Dynaglide. Being a fair weather rider now that I'm older, they do not get the riding time they used to get, but are still a constant when time allows.

- Firearms / Shooting: My affection with guns started when I was around 6 (then a BB/pellet gun). Growing up on a farm, hunting was part of life. I joined the military right after graduating high school and weapons knowledge and proficiency was a requirement; and one I enjoyed very much. Since the 80's I kind of split the hobby into two parts; shooting and collecting. I enjoy shooting small caliber bench rest rifle; steel target pistol unsupported shooting (out to 100 yards); trap and sheet shooting (shotgun); large caliber pin shooting (bowling pin), and some limited IDPA pistol competition. My carry gun of choice is a F&N FNX45. While not the smallest, it fits me and offers some of the best stopping power and capacity. As for collecting I enjoy military firearms or civilian (semi-automatic) equivalent. I do not have any class 3, fully automatic weapons, but fired many rounds from them in the military.

Outside of these hobbies I regularly attend church and I'm involved in several groups there such as the facilities team which takes care of playground equipment, bathrooms, walls and ceilings, carpets, etc.

Not that all of that is already enough, I like to take care of our yard and flower beds during the spring / summer months. Recently I purchase some 4/8' rigid insulation sheets that I cut to shape and bonded to the inside of my two car garage door. This made a very noticeable change (improvement) to the temperature of both the garage and the rooms adjacent to it. The ceiling and walls of the garage were already insulated, all that was needed was a insulated garage door, so I can check this off my list.

Another small thing I am almost done with is the complete tear out and rebuild of one of the common bathrooms in our house. You may have noticed that I haven't posted much to the Yamato build lately. Thats because I tore out a one piece bath and shower enclosure and replaced it with an ADA compliant handicapped roll-in shower (for my son). This also required the tear out removal of the vanity, medicine cabinet, commode, and movement of the plumbing to accommodate the larger space for the shower. The toilet was replaced with a new ADA raised model, the vanity with a new / smaller one to fit the revised area after the move of the toilet, and a matching medicine cabinet was recessed this time in the wall. To match the renovation I also repaired the holes and scars in the walls and painted them to compliment the color of the new vinyl plank waterproof floor. Last is the new light fixture and hardware for towel racks, toilet paper holder, etc. At this point I am 90% done with this project.

Now if I can only make each day last 48 hours instead of 24 I would be able to find more stuff to occupy my time.

Ben