How do you keep motivated to finish?

I starting to loss motivation on my 56 moredoor. Been sanding on the damn things for what like weeks. Filling and sanding, filling and sanding.

 

Sometimes I just walk away. I haven't been out in the shop in about a month. Sometimes it just takes focusing on something else to give your brain a rest before starting back up again. Works for me anyway.

 

I need motivation to work on my motivation!

 

hell if I was motivated, I would be in the garage, and not being a lazy ass, LOL

 

You want to drive it?
Don't try to make it perfect.
Sometimes good enough is good enough.
Prime it and move on to the next step.

 

Heck,,your only 24 years old,,walk away and do something else for a while.

I have always made a list of things I need to do on the car,,pick something on the list and scratch it off when finished.

I had a note book full of things that needed to be done and the scratched off marks were random.

Set some sort of realistic goal,,a show or a trip you want to take in the car.

We have all experienced being burnt out,,some more than others,,but for me I have never had any other hobby's than fooling around with cars so my lack of attention and motivation is often short.

It works for me,,results may vary with others. HRP

 

I'm having trouble with this part. Every time I start working on something I see three more things that I "might as well" do while I have her down. I started off with the intention of doing a new interior and fresh paint. Now after a year and a half (maybe two by now) I'm finally ready to mount the body back on the frame. Lol
It's easy to get overwhelmed and loose motivation if you create more work for yourself every time you work on it.

 

What the hell are you filling ? And what are you filling it with?
Strip that thing down to bare metel, tap down the high spots, and have at it.

Going in circles gets old,

 

don't be the guy at cruise night talking 'bout the ride he has been working on but he will never turn a tire on the road

 

For me, it's the vision of seeing it finished. Besides, I have too much money invested right now to give up.

 

I've been trying to find one of those How do you eat an elephant posters. I'm 67 and don't have time to waste.

 

I take breaks....then being away... brings me back and ready to go......

 

Gas, grass or ass. NOBODY RIDES FOR FREE!
first you have this assbackwards . ass / grass or gas .

 

Try working on a different part of the car. Instead of sanding the body go work on the frame for awhile or the interior. Try welding some stuff up. If your really sick of it then walk away for awhile. I guess the point is there is always something else to do. If you get sick of working on one part go and try a differrent part or area.

 

Go to a good car show while listening to Eye of the Tiger.

 

when you find out let me know!

 

Listen, take a break, go read some mags and get some insperation. And get back at it. Nothing feels better than that first ride out of the garage. Also the car will never be finished !!!!

 

A friend of mine & I are each building a vehicle at our houses. We'll work one or two days on mine then on his. Kind of breaks it up and by the time I get back to mine, I'm psyched to get something done.

 

We have to keep remembering this is a hobby and we do it for fun. When it stops being fun it is time to walk away for a while and then go back when the desire returns. I am at that point with my current rpu project, there is so much I could be doing but I haven't touched it in weeks or more.

The same logic helps when you run into setbacks, like a newly installed transmission won't work. Just keep reminding yourself this is not a car you depend on to get to work every day, and if you just walk away for a while you will be able to fix the problem when you feel better about it.

But another thing that happens is that we look at all the things that still need done and it overwhelms us. Sometimes if you just take one small task and wipe that out (like maybe sanding just one door), it helps.


Keep repeating, "This is fun, this is fun, this is fun..........."

Don

 

I get motivated by a variety of things. Usually a good way to get motivated is to look up pictures of stuff that looks like what you want to build, it sounds dumb, but it works for me, sometimes. Realistically, you just have to go out there even when you don't want to. The hardest part is just getting out there. I find, once I'm in the garage, it's a lot easier to get started.

 

Agree with many of the posts. Take a break, work on different part, good enough, dont be the guy with the car at home. I set a deadline and move to different parts on my latest to keep it progressing. Good Luck, and crank up some eye of the tiger!

 

browse the HAMB is a good motivator!! Lol but I already knew that

 

Almost forgot......make your garage a cheerful place, bright, warm, music or tv, signs, posters, whatever that it takes to make it the place you would rather be.

 

I hear you,,I'm just a few years behind,, HRP

 

^^^ditto^^^
I just re-read the "modifieds only" thread, that gets the juices running

 

I'm 68 now and I'm also dealing with Winter. My motivation is to make whatever part I'm working on the most important part of my build. So if I have a whole car to do body work on I pick a part and make that my focus. What's helped me in the past, and I know professional painters will turn up their noses at this, is that I'll paint parts of the car as they are ready, I've never had a problem with paint matching.

 

X2, works every time.

 

Lots of this

 

I haven't seen the inside of my shop in months. I'm trying to motivate myself by selling off projects that I don't love, and buying one that I really want. It better work....


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The way I've been building my dragster is by putting away $30-40 a week for the last two years . . . when I get a new part in, it gives me motivation. Gotten to the point now when I see a box by the front door

Watching videos online helps a lot. Plenty of cackle/fed stuff on youtube or wherever.

NHRA chassis inspection is March 23rd for me, so I've got that marked on both my calendar at work and at home.

Friend of mine is putting on a car show in April he wants me to be at . . . trying to make it to the Gear Jam and Steel in Motion show as well . . . those dates are marked and circled as well.

Also, I don't work on the car everyday. I think that helps a little . . . I've been planning on finishing the shortblock tomorrow for about a week and a half now