Now this happens to everyone, and it sucks. It really does, but how do you go about trying to avoid having that burnout? Having gone through a major burnout over the majority of last year, I was ready to throw paintbrushes out the window and just happily play with grey miniatures but alas I soldiered through, took time away and came back fresh and ready. Here is a couple of ways I found reduces the chances of the burnout.
- Take time away - Sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder, if you're on a mission to get a bunch of stuff painted and it's just killing you. Put it all away and take some time out of the painting side of things, sometimes a specific unit/model you're painting just frustrates you to the point of giving up, step away and some time later come back all fresh.
- Short bursts of painting - I would go a minimum of 2 hours painting at a time, and i'd get almost nothing done in that time. I thought if I spent more time painting, more will get done. How wrong I was, i've recently switched up my schedule to paint for just 30 minutes a day and I am seeing major progress! Just short, sharp bursts is helping stay engaged with painting and just want to keep coming back.
- Hobby with friends or like minded people - Sometimes the encouragement of like minded peers is just what you need to crack on getting that last unit finished, just head round a friends house or get a group of you together, head to your local hobby store and crack out some paint. That social aspect is just a good way to keep you going, a bit of encouragement and when I paint on my own, I tend to distract myself. With friends and peers, not so much.
- Don't have too many projects on the go - Try and keep it simple, I know it's hard when every month, something new and shiny comes out and you feel compelled to go, you know I could start a small army of them, or I could get that box game. It's the rabbit hole you inevitably end up further and further down, which leads onto the next point
- Stop buying more models - Like seriously, stop! I had this issue when I was collecting Orks. Started off small, ended up have thousands of points of Orks, only issue was, due to cheap points cost that was ALOT of models, it swamped me man there was no way I was getting out of there alive. Stick to what you have, get it painted and reward yourself with new models, if you must buy something (be it limited run or something that will go) hide it away. Keep it out of sight until you're ready.
- Try something different - Sometimes when you're painting an army, you'll find that one unit be it a rank and file unit or some overly complicated unit the one that will give you the most trouble. Sit them down and move away from them, pick up something else and blast through them, then move back to them. Even if you just get like 5 out of 30 Ork boys done, then move onto a Warboss then head back, you're making progress. Even if it is a little bit at a time, that's still a win!
