Burn out. We've all been there, several times in some cases. The 2nd half of 2014 has had me burned out on life for a while now- combined uni, work and just day-to-day living eventually snowball and drain you physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. With little to no downtime/relaxation and erratic work hours (bye bye circadian rhythms) I say this as I've lost the 'spark' for most of my hobbies and interests and haven't found it for a while. Granted, there are days where I feel great and could (key word here) tackle a whole bunch of stuff. However, hardly anything gets done before hobby fatigue creeps in (hence why not a lot has happened for me).
Right now, I'm holding out for my rec leave- I put it in for exams, but it turns out my last one is on the 7th Nov and my rec leave begins the next day (continuing up to Nov 30). So that's my first No-work, No-uni HOLIDAY in almost three years. This is due to usually putting in for 2 weeks of rec leave during exam period so there's time to study. I have no clue as to what I'm going to do in that time period but I hope I'll be painting stuffs. At the very least, some 20 days of downtime will enable me to get my headspace back on track and de-stress a year's worth of stuff. Hopefully I'll paint stuffs.
Speaking of, I still want to downsize more of my stuff- I've trimmed some fat, now to slice off some more as I've accumulated too much stuff hobby-wise and that could easily be resold for some cash. Let's face it, one does not need all dem SPEHSS MEHRENS, etc. Especially when there's mold line removal, assembling, priming and painting to be done for multiple armies. No, to cut down on the miniatures is to cut down on future time doing all that. Plus, if I'm honest, I'm a fantasy guy at heart. Also, if I can sell my most beloved miniature project (WHFB dwarfs) that was my first army, then I have no reason to ultimately spare stuff. I've "stillmania'd" my Tau, and have eyes on downsizing some guard models (metal catachans and possibly mordians) and a bit of Eldar. Just not enough time these days for hardcore hobbying (see 'work and uni balance') as life.
Hell, there's not even enough time to try other things- haven't drawn any random stuff lately, nor have I tried to teach myself the keyboard (truth be told, I probs need a teacher) nor have I gamed much aside from Nintendo hand-held escapism. Oh boy, do I love me some escapism because downtime.
Ha, this is a bit of a rant but it's mostly getting stuff off my chest. Burnout is insidious, just like anxiety and depression only nowhere near as severe (though burnout can trigger one or both of those two). I should cobble together some kind of action plan regarding hobby stuff and so on, so one can fit them in around a hectic work/uni/life schedule. That and probably put the hobby stuff completely away (after downsizing) and not delve into it for a year or so, concentrating spare time into other pursuits- such as boardgames or video gaming. Both of those take up less time than miniature wargaming, cheaper (usually, I do kinda need/want to upgrade to a PS3/4 >.>) and I can set aside a small time for them and Get. Shit. Done. within them.
I realise some of my projects aren't going to come to fruition for some time (gameboards, fully painted armies, etc) but taking it slow should be the best way if I don't burnout on things. Doing my degree part-time whilst concurrently working part-time means I won't graduate until I'm 26, but hey- I'll have graduated right? Ha, damnit brain!
Okay, for those reading in the UK/USA/Oz/Other countries, I type my thoughts out as they appear. Generally I tidy things up as I go along for continuity's sake but sometimes I end up having thoughts that make a large section of stuff already typed irrelevant.
I just realised I can refer to most of my hobby stuff as Long-Term Hobby Goals (LTHG). This and randomly I feel the need to shed/dump a whole lot of electrons and temporarily be Mr. Positive. So there's that and this post is kinda long, but eh- long posts are hard for me, so let's go on together and see where it finishes. I'll probably be 30-something by the time these are done, but I guess that's what's life is about- long term stuff.
I guess I'll whack the LTHG (Long-Term Hobby Goals) into this post, aptly changing the title. In no particular order:
LONG TERM HOBBY GOALS:
- To fully assemble and paint every army for every system I have. ALL OF THEM.
- To build at least two 6' by 4' gameboards (one for 40k, one for WHFB)
- To eventually create enough terrain to fill said gameboards (I haz hirst arts ^_^)
- To build a goddamn dalek for supanova (was gonna build it this year, but family drama got in the way, leading to the move-out and here-we-are-today)
- Lern 2 n00b da keyboard
- lern 2 n00b some art stuff sometime
Ha, until the next time (also, thanks for bearing with me in a god-awful long post :D longest one yet)
The Warlock