I really like how this emphasizes what you want to do. We only have so much time and when we act on an imagined fear of missing out, we create real "missing out" by not working on the hobbies we actually care about.
I like this insight. FOMO, which is just a fear, causes actual missing out on cool projects because you can't devote time to them, always chasing the latest thing.
the goal of Games Workshop's marketing is to convince us that we are in fact already interested in their new game, not just to tell us why we *should* be interested in it. sometimes we need to take a step back and decide for ourselves if we really genuinely want to commit to the big new army game or if we've just been told that we do
True. If you listen to ex employees, like Peachy (seriously, watch Peachy's channel. He's cool), you see this marketing tactics annoyed even them! He explains how he was annoyed at having to paint and focus on Warcry bands back then, because he was still enthusiastic about the previous thing but was told "nah, you can't speak about the old thing anymore, hype up Warcry now". And this is not a dig at Warcry, in fact Peachy ended up liking it because it's a cool game -- but so was the old thing he was discouraged from discussing!
DANA I LOVE THIS. So funny that you just uploaded a video on this topic when I watched a video about having "too many" interests by a completely unrelated creator the other day and now my algorithm keeps showing me more. And now I get to see an actually helpful one from a creator I already follow :D Your system actually seems somewhat feasible for me. I've tried scheduling/timeboxing out things in the past but it feels way too rigid when my interests shift all the time. I like the idea of the branch system 1) for just cataloging my interests, but also 2) to help me pick what to focus on on a shorter-term basis rather than trying to find time for literally everything. Looking forward to trying this out.
I usually don't watch "opinion" videos (I made an exception with yours) and almost always never comment on them, but I wanted to tell you how useful this particular one was for me. However, when I reached the end of the video, I wanted to tell you something that is even more important for me. The thing is, I'm one of the two lore writers of Warcrow, and I have poured my heart and soul in its world during the last three years. And I'm also an early follower of your work. I started watching your videos since the first "art academy" ones, even if I have never been a Patreon (sorry!). Because of that, seeing you being interested in Warcrow has been an incredibly proud moment for me. Thanks for everything, Dana!
This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I’m constantly drowning in far too many hobbies/projects and it means I end up doing none of them. I’m gonna have to give this a try.
The cool thing about having kids is that they just eat all of your time and money before the hobby companies can. They’ve ironically helped my hobbying a ton because it’s forced me to stay focused on the few things I can afford. 😂
Then they get into the same hobby as you plus other even more expensive hobbies. My youngest is currently into D&D plus Ice Hockey, and hockey in the UK is bloody expensive, he needs to stop growing or he is gonna be wearing junior body armour until hes 18.
It's also important to note that the act of buying is not a hobby, it's a nefarious illusion. It's playing with the promise of time. Many hobbies have buying as part of the deal, but we all buy things that take time, thinking we also buy the time to use them. Hobbies should not create a sense of guilt from the promise of time that was sold by marketers and the consumerism machine. Its sad that we have to use self discipline but we do. I've found a lot more joy and less pressure collaging than doing miniature painting precisely because it doesn't deal with the costs and the buy-proyect model. The same old magazines are waiting for me in a pile and I can produce any kind of work from them with minimal tool and material cost.
@@Defeshh that's some great insight, and sad too. Yes, we buy stuff and think we're also buying the time to use it, which with miniatures kits is a tricky and even treacherous thought. I have more stuff than I'd be able to deal in a decade, and not enough spare time to do anything with it (you know, paternity, day job, obligations...) yet I keep buying more stuff thinking "some day...". But that day never comes.
@@Defeshh there's a hobby group in fb that I like, Super Cheap Wargaming, which is all about making wargaming stuff with... crap you have lying around, or scavenged from other games or household items. You still buy stuff, but it's not FOMO-based.
@@theandf We are are all there, it sucks. Specially as the years pass and the stuff accumulates. We even call it "the pile of shame" Funny enough I had that realisation with books, because the time they take to read is more easily measurable and I have too many of them. I have books to read for like 2 years of intense reading, so about 5 years at the pace I read now, so I stopped buying books altogether. We get some anticipatory pleasure of the shit being done, even before we buy it. its some kind of daydreaming. It takes time but over the last 4 years I got rid of most of my miniature kits. Only leaving the few I really want to get done. Having less options for making also made me get more of it done instead of monkey brained hopping between unfinished stuff. I'm talking too much at this point lmao. My advice would be to very slowly get rid of shit and be nice to yourself, they're playing with our minds to influence our behaviour. Take care
It was MtG that did this for me. WotC have flooded the market with their stuff to the point of bursting, so now I only play Standard sets, it's kinda freeing.
this is such a delightful and enlightening option for approaching hobbytime last weekend I did a new panel at TFcon in my ongoing series, this time focused on maintaining joy in one's hobby, and the notion of Side and Branch Hobbies is imo a huge boon. Especially when trying to keep all hobbies as bullet points of our identities, rather than inadvertently defining our identities by the Main Hobby, which can impact its imperative to be in service of you first and foremost great stuff here, thank you for sharing!!
This was a great video. A couple months ago I actually gave up mini painting to purse other hobbies but stayed as a sub because I know one day I will come back to it. This video is important , it makes me feel less crazy for having these impulses to “buy in” to so many things. Thanks sharing this system I’ll definitely be using it!
OMG! I have been needing something like this for so long! Thankyou!! I do majorly struggle with too many hobbies and impulse buying for them and then not doing anything with them! So this way to manage them but still get to use them is such an easy way for my visual mind to understand and utilise! ❤❤
So relatable. I just bought a new board game I want to paint. I gave myself till Friday to finish as I have some friends coming over. But I have two local game stores I play other games at through the week. I've been painting with every bit of free time I have and havnt been able to play test for the locals. Idk if I'll be done in time, but I'm trying my best 👍
A brilliant Video Dana, talking about an element of modelling and other hobbies which is SO LONG OVERDUE for discussion. The Philosophies that underlie hobbies seem to be gaining prominence as sun=bjects for popular discussion online and this Video is a welcom and clear contribution to this. Many thanks!
This video really hit with me. As I have gotten older, along with other commitments in life, I just don't know if I will ever get time to finish, or properly engage in some hobbies. I watched a great UA-cam video regarding buying things feel like "signs of happiness" but do not end up becoming fruitful. I have bought EVERYTHING regarding Tomb Kings for Old World, including the GW exclusives, with the full intention of being used and playing games... Months later, it's still in boxes not being touched. I may just have to admit that it's something I will never get to, "get real" so to speak! One of the reasons why Blood Bowl will forever be my favourite GW game! Love the channel and your work. 😊
Very relateable. My hobby of painting miniatures started with playing boaedgames with minis: i already liked to paint, and i preferred the looks of painted minis. It was a natural step. What i didnt expect was how much it helped me to relax. I still only paint minis for games i play... but i spend way more time painting than playing whch is far more solitary than playing the games... which is the beauty of boardgames. So a weird and funny cycle.
That's the crazy thing about people who play GW games: they get swept along on the hype train, they buy all the new shiny things, and that's all they paint or play with until the next batch of shiny things comes out. These poor souls leave a trail of incomplete army projects in their wake / cupboards. I used to be one of them.
Fell for it hard with heresy. Currently trying to sell off my small pile HH minis. Not sure how to get rid of my made to order FW and 3rd party salamanders bits though. Might do kill teams in the future but that's if I can't find a buyer.
@@BrendanPace rare FW bits do tend to go for decent money on eBay, if you don't mind waiting for a buyer to show up. I finally smelt the rat during the HH 2.0 reveal shows on Twitch. Everyone was celebrating the "good value" of the 20 man squads, and the convenience of bundled up special weapons kits, even before the prices were revealed. The HH community were falling for it and I was appalled both at the brazen marketeering, and by the communities readiness to just accept it without question. I sold my unbuilt HH 1.0 kits very soon afterwards, I didn't recoup all my money but I got quite a bit back.
It was incredibly freeing to unburden myself of so many unbuilt models. I do feel a bit bad that judged my fellow 30k enthusiasts so harshly, but I was angry at having realised how badly we'd been treated, and how it had taken me so long to come to that realisation.
I found a job just to buy all the toys I couldn't afford when I was a kid and later a teenager. It's an effective coping mechanism, I swear! I only need to buy a bigger closet. Or house. Maybe I could sell a kidney.
Loved the video and the idea behind it. I struggle with too many hobbies as well, and being a software developer, this kind of focused approach speaks to me. Thanks!
Love this approach Dana!! Especially the modular side branch hobbies. It's like magnetizing your special interests! (Also don't think I didn't notice the Henry vacuum.)
shoutout to the squarespaceperverts great summation of something were all trying to manage, dana. too much choice can be paralyzing, so perspective is so important.
It's funny how helpful it is being told "you can swap out your main hobby". I feel guilty about spending most of my time this summer on gunpla and miniatures instead of my "main hobby" making music, but it's fine to switch which is main and which is a side.
Interesting that buying into a new hobby, actually and eventually will cut down another hobby, but, by having to draw that beforehand makes your visualize it so much better. You have to choose preemptively instead of just finding out after the damage is done. Another great video Dana! Loved it
I have started to paint up a little bit of everything as i need them for TTRPGs. currently i paint 1-3 minis a day and slowly but surely im scaling my tower of ambition. Letting modules i want to run dictate what i paint has been very helpful as army painting can become a chore. variety is the spice of life
I appreciate the approach and found it helpful! I often, when feeling overwhelmed, make a lists of: Have to Do Want to do and Need to do It helps keeps me honest about my actual relaxing interest and what has started to feel like work
Omg, at the beginning of the video I thought I am doomed, but I was relieved towards the end of the video when I discovered the branches are splitting to more and more branches… amazing! I will do my diagrams tonight, thanks
I enjoyed your thought process and method here.. Even if it's not exactly the kind of thing I'd do, I like the examination of where my time and effort might be going, and how to avoid getting overwhelmed
I don’t really do UA-cam comments but I had to for this one. Thank you. This is genuinely the most connected to a hobby video I have felt on this subject yet. I will 100% be giving this a try myself and hoping it helps me too. Thank you for making this I appreciate it. 🤟
Better yet, if you don't have kisd, have one or two or three, then you'll really see about how to manage your free time. But I'm glad you're making a video about this; good discourse.
You system is quite different than mine. I have much more general hobby categories such as reading, exercising, art, socializing, dogs, traveling, gaming. Sometimes I can hit 3 or 4 of these categories in one event. Minis often hits 3 or 4. When I am low on cash, meeting with friends with dogs for a walk at a new park can do this inexpensively. Or on some days I can devote an hour or two for 3 or 4 individually. I am not trying tick boxes off, but when I can do several in a day, I am happy.
I’ve eventually focused down on D&D/Call of Cthulhu for running RPGs and on Warmaster/Legions Imperialis and a few historical miniature Wargames, using 6mm and 10mm scale miniatures. Stepped off the 28/32mm miniature scale GW and Warlord Games consumer treadmill. I feel happier and calmer about my hobby since doing this.
This video has come along at just the right time! 😁 It's not the GW hype cycle I get caught up in (except maybe Blood Bowl 😆) but the tons of new games that look great and peak my interest that keep coming out AND the fomo/lifecycle of said games 😖 In the past I've had the willpower to hold out on diving in too quickly etc, only to find that when I get around to trying it (sometimes only a couple of years later), it has already gone out of production or has soooo much stuff out for it that it is overwhelming 🤦🏻♂️ Will give your way to manage hobbies a try, if only to work out what I actually like to play / work on 😁 Thanks Dana! Also - Brick Wars?! 🤯
Im so into miniature agnostic indie games now. Small concise rulesets, one book and done. Bonus part: i can use all of the minis i collected and painted so it becomes so quick to engage with a game. Read the rules, make a list, place a mat, scenery and pick your generic fantasy/sci fi models and go to town. Plus if you really want a specific model that doesnt exist, kitbash it (but that's a whole new rabbit hole😂)
That's really interesting, i make charts of specific project, like painting an army. But I didn't think about mapping all my hobbies, I'll try, maybe it'll help deciding. But I already made choice by focusing on what bring me the more joy : army painting, elden ring
What I learned to do, especially with large collectible games such as Warhammer, is to type out everything I would like for the game and just look at the end price. What happens is one of two things: 1. You see the end price and ball at collecting anything from that product. 2. You do buy all the things, and then you’re kind of immune from buying bulk products with older stuff in them because you already have plenty.
I just keep lists under my main interests and have to dos (work around house, groceries, etc.). I sort my lists every couple of months, putting my highest priorities on top. Then I pick a category for a day and focus on that. I am trying hard to not buy anything until I am ready to do something with it. This is challenging but I need to stop getting things I never use (wastes money and uses up my limited space). For example, last month I needed to focus on fixing up my game room as we got a couple kittens and we put them there for now so it had to be kitten proof. This month I have client work to do so that gets bumped to the top of the list.
My credo: Do one thing in a whole and enjoy looking at others enjoying something else. You'll never make them all, either due to time, money or dedication. Especially with Warhammer the market is flooded to squeeze every last bit of money out of the customer. I turned into painting my boardgame miniatures, where you notice the same: they are releasing new games in a faster and faster pace until the last collector is either broke or runs out of shelf space. Btw: I adore your work and always feel like a toddler with crayons when looking at my minis. 😂 You gave me the courage to paint minis in crazy color schemes. 👍🖌 I wonder, if I should give airbrush a try.
Yeah dude, it's rough. I've scaled down from.. everything, to just Warcry, Kill team and Necromunda. Basically the thing where I can get the easiest a game with a friend in a few hours. This leaves me time for a few niche things on the side. Didn't get Leviathan, won't get Skaventide. Will grab a few separately online tho! Excellent vid.
Amen. So true! I just purchased Skavetide and haven’t even opened Leviathan yet. I’m waiting to receive two kickstarters (Warzone Eternal and Halo). And I’m 72! WTF!!!🙀
I think this idea runs parallel to the benefits of talking to someone about a problem you might be struggling with. It isn't so much that another person can magically tell you the answer. It's about organizing your thoughts so that you can communicate the problem to another person. That act alone can really facilitate your own realization to an answer. Your method seems similar. We're all slaves to our "oooh, shiny" inner child lizard. With so many options bombarding us constantly, it's nearly impossible to sort through all of it. Your flowchart helps you organize your thoughts and keep your focused. As you said, this doesn't preclude you from changing your mind. It's just to help you clarify what you're doing now and near future. In other words, good recommendation. :)
I've got several hobbies. Woodworking, Lego, board games, D&D, miniature printing/painting. Woodworking makes me money and let me get to where I don't need new tools and it also pays for the others - mostly Lego. Resin printing isn't very expensive now that I have the printers, painting is also low cost after the initial paint buy. Boardgames - well I'm not buying new ones since the ones I have don't get enough play. Lego - I get sets when there's something I like. D&D - got the books I need, plenty of dice and the miniature hobby is useful here. Lately mini painting/D&D has been a lot of my hobby time but I do need to build more stuff for the holiday craft fair season.
My problem is I find it hard to identify a main or primary hobby. I also seem to have fallen into the meta-hobby of discovering and researching new hobbies. I’ve learned over time that the impulse to get into something and immediately buy everything needed is a trap. It seems like you reach a point in every hobby where the only question left to answer is how much time you want to devote to it. To the exclusion of other things. Some demand slavish devotion, some can be picked up or put down at will. Organizing a mindmap and a system definitely seems worth doing. Sometimes things get abandoned for no other reason than there’s just too much to do and it’s overwhelming.
I paint GW mini, collect Lego catle and LOTR stuffs, doing book review channel, music. Recently I am just addicted and thinking to collect Cities of Sigmar mini. Your video happen at right time and help me to cool down, thanks!
I've been working through this and downsizing out of much of my stuff. The main mental switch that flicked for me was that by chasing the mainline games of GW, I'm only throwing away money. I've been telling myself 'I have enough' and it's true! I don't need the latest shiny product nor do I need one of every unit for a faction/game.
Iv been tackling this concept for quite a while. I sort of do the same as you but kinda just go with what I feel like doing every week or month. GW minis is my main jam and it branches to many things withing that sphere. I mix it up with Lego, Comics/novel, video games, the Monster Hunter Board game, and the occasional gunpla model kit or scale model kit. Eventually I would like to get into Star Wars Legion and shatter point but I think I need to slim down on my GW stuff or actually finish projects whether thats focusing more on specific game systems, certain armies and warbands/killteams. I think once I can do that I can actually focus a bit more on all of my hobbies
I like this system even if just to clarify where ongoing projects fit, even without any restrictions. As for the "problem" of buying too many things, I think this FOMO is made worse because sometimes you get a deal, or the opportunity is there to buy something you can see a use for in the future, but if you don't act now it may go OOP or get in the hands of scalpers. In particular GW products suffer from this. As an aside, even for solo/skirmish you can trick yourself into believing "I don't care about AoS, but I can use those sweet minis for Frostgrave or whatever!" (I know I do!)
The new transformer series is EXTREMELY GOOD! My favorite comic in recent memory!! Make sure you read the tie in series "Void Rivals" as well, as it's also extremely good (the G.I. Joe tie-ins are cool also, but not essential)
Great video, i will actually try this.. i need some kind of Hobby focus tool to help mee focus on a couple of things instead of everything all at once, more hobbies than days in the week is a struggle.. and hobbie time is a shrinking budget when one have work, family and a house that needs touch ups aswell :D
Honestly I kind of do something similar. I run d&d and like to paint minis, so I ask myself can I use this box for d&d, will I use this box for d&d , or do I really just want to paint this guy right now? So while could use the skaven for d&d, I have no desire for the Sigmar guys, so no skaventide unless it goes on sale or wait for the spear head skaven only box.
So... To a degree I relate. I am the person who has 2 indomitus, 1 leviathan, etc. Always get it for the "discount" of overpriced games workshop plastic. I saw this, I love the price savings... but. I don't like the sigmarines and never have, and I don't LOVE the rats, so even if I want to partake in spearhead I went the other route of getting a spearhead I actually like with the Gloomspite Gitz
i considered getting skaventide then I looked up in the cupboard and looked at the leviathan box i have up there waiting for me to finish painting the models from it. I also have been using a few episodes on the wh stormbringer mag to gauge interest from my subscribers in aos content compared to my main focuses of wh40k and cosplay
I feel exactly the same. My hobbies are 3d printing, mtg, miniature painting and terrain building / painting. But I guess I havent really painted miniatures for a while. I am mostly interested into terrain building. Sadly 3d printing kinda also mixes with terrain building and mtg to some ways. I have basicly stopped buying mtg and miniatures, as well selling out. It feels my collections just got out of hand. :D
I thought the knew spearhead was a skirmish and there was no need to build a bigger army. I just got the box I have no interest in larger armies or competitive play. Found the video helpful Thanks Dana
This was very important viewing for me. My big problem is as soon as I have an idea I want to go buy everything I'll need for it straight away. Then I might get to it in 6 months. Maybe.
I constantly remind myself that free time is a very limited luxury for me, as is sleep. When a shiny new thing arrives, I do take into account that I could likely afford it, but the more important question is: Do I have the time to actually enjoy it, or will it just end up somewhere and take up a lot of space, without ever being used?
I have ADHD and setting up an actual plan around this is a pretty good idea. Probably going to try to come up with something slightly more...cyclical than this, but thank you for the inspiration!
Thank you for showing me all these cool things I don't own and now want to get!! =P Would you include things like watching TV shows/Movies? Since they can consume a lot of time? For spending money, I'm trying to get myself to only buy things for something I am currently doing and need it for, vs buying something that I will be doing. Works more for tools. For example, oh I'd love a resin printer, and if I get it I'll print tons of miniatures and paint them. But, I'm not playing any games where I need that at the moment, so I won't get a printer UNTIL I start playing games enough where I need to print them. Kinda wait for not owning something becomes a pain, vs buying something the moment it seems cool and something I'd like to be doing...
I only have terrain building, warhammer, a lot of other smaller wargames, dnd, electronics (design/solder), and music as a hobby. so there is space for at least 4 to 8 more hobbies :D
I feel you so hard, I have 8 Kill teams, I have played ONE single game of kill team with ONE of those 8 teams, The other 7 Have seen ZERO tabletop time despite the painting being done on 6 of the teams hahaha
"I'm in this video and don't like it." For real, though, interesting system. I probably won't use it 1:1 like this, but it does give a good way of thinking through things.
I think a flowchart or other tracking system is a good idea but I think the interval for locking it down should be longer than a month. Pick your main hobby and side hobbies, but keep them that way for 3-6 months. If, at the end of that period, you haven’t built, painted, or played with most of the purchases you made during that period, you probably need to re-evaluate your categories and pick things that allow you to focus on participating and not just purchasing. Changing categories every month probably inhibits the ability to see long-term what your real interests are.
Thanks for sharing these thoughts! Good food for thoughts... my hobby may have slidin' into buying and selling stuff instead of actually playing or painting. Whoops
This was a problem I confronted a few years ago when I tallied up my Kickstarter campaigns and did not like the amount I spent and how little I played those games. I stopped worrying about FOMO and started considering the Regret of Getting In. So I ask myself these questions before I dig into any new game: Who will I play the game with? Will the game see enough play to justify the cost in money, storage space, and mental load to learn and remember the rules. Is it just so cool I am doing it anyway. It's helped tamp down impulse buys. So when I see something cool I can splurge on it with less trepidation.
But this is definitely a cool organization system and one I can also use in my day job when my attention gets split between various roles I play at work.
Hahaha well your paint set definitely makes a cameo appearance 🖌️🎨 You'll have to let me know whether you related to my dilemma of too many hobbies or not 😂😂😂
It's like resource management and list building in real life. We have very limited time. And the dopamine satisfaction from buying stuff lasts very short and leaves us craving for the next shot. Just like crack. The companies only feed us more hunger. Once we understand this we get immune to FOMO marketing.
I really like how this emphasizes what you want to do. We only have so much time and when we act on an imagined fear of missing out, we create real "missing out" by not working on the hobbies we actually care about.
I like this insight. FOMO, which is just a fear, causes actual missing out on cool projects because you can't devote time to them, always chasing the latest thing.
I have 1 hobby, miniatures. This hobby requires me to have 10 sub-hobbies.
the goal of Games Workshop's marketing is to convince us that we are in fact already interested in their new game, not just to tell us why we *should* be interested in it. sometimes we need to take a step back and decide for ourselves if we really genuinely want to commit to the big new army game or if we've just been told that we do
True. If you listen to ex employees, like Peachy (seriously, watch Peachy's channel. He's cool), you see this marketing tactics annoyed even them! He explains how he was annoyed at having to paint and focus on Warcry bands back then, because he was still enthusiastic about the previous thing but was told "nah, you can't speak about the old thing anymore, hype up Warcry now". And this is not a dig at Warcry, in fact Peachy ended up liking it because it's a cool game -- but so was the old thing he was discouraged from discussing!
Add to that the way they have to make rules and many models obsolete every 4 years... this is outrageous and should be considered before buying.
DANA I LOVE THIS. So funny that you just uploaded a video on this topic when I watched a video about having "too many" interests by a completely unrelated creator the other day and now my algorithm keeps showing me more. And now I get to see an actually helpful one from a creator I already follow :D Your system actually seems somewhat feasible for me. I've tried scheduling/timeboxing out things in the past but it feels way too rigid when my interests shift all the time. I like the idea of the branch system 1) for just cataloging my interests, but also 2) to help me pick what to focus on on a shorter-term basis rather than trying to find time for literally everything. Looking forward to trying this out.
I usually don't watch "opinion" videos (I made an exception with yours) and almost always never comment on them, but I wanted to tell you how useful this particular one was for me. However, when I reached the end of the video, I wanted to tell you something that is even more important for me. The thing is, I'm one of the two lore writers of Warcrow, and I have poured my heart and soul in its world during the last three years. And I'm also an early follower of your work. I started watching your videos since the first "art academy" ones, even if I have never been a Patreon (sorry!). Because of that, seeing you being interested in Warcrow has been an incredibly proud moment for me. Thanks for everything, Dana!
This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I’m constantly drowning in far too many hobbies/projects and it means I end up doing none of them. I’m gonna have to give this a try.
The cool thing about having kids is that they just eat all of your time and money before the hobby companies can. They’ve ironically helped my hobbying a ton because it’s forced me to stay focused on the few things I can afford. 😂
Then they get into the same hobby as you plus other even more expensive hobbies. My youngest is currently into D&D plus Ice Hockey, and hockey in the UK is bloody expensive, he needs to stop growing or he is gonna be wearing junior body armour until hes 18.
It's also important to note that the act of buying is not a hobby, it's a nefarious illusion.
It's playing with the promise of time. Many hobbies have buying as part of the deal, but we all buy things that take time, thinking we also buy the time to use them.
Hobbies should not create a sense of guilt from the promise of time that was sold by marketers and the consumerism machine.
Its sad that we have to use self discipline but we do. I've found a lot more joy and less pressure collaging than doing miniature painting precisely because it doesn't deal with the costs and the buy-proyect model. The same old magazines are waiting for me in a pile and I can produce any kind of work from them with minimal tool and material cost.
@@Defeshh that's some great insight, and sad too. Yes, we buy stuff and think we're also buying the time to use it, which with miniatures kits is a tricky and even treacherous thought. I have more stuff than I'd be able to deal in a decade, and not enough spare time to do anything with it (you know, paternity, day job, obligations...) yet I keep buying more stuff thinking "some day...". But that day never comes.
@@Defeshh there's a hobby group in fb that I like, Super Cheap Wargaming, which is all about making wargaming stuff with... crap you have lying around, or scavenged from other games or household items. You still buy stuff, but it's not FOMO-based.
@@theandf We are are all there, it sucks. Specially as the years pass and the stuff accumulates. We even call it "the pile of shame"
Funny enough I had that realisation with books, because the time they take to read is more easily measurable and I have too many of them. I have books to read for like 2 years of intense reading, so about 5 years at the pace I read now, so I stopped buying books altogether.
We get some anticipatory pleasure of the shit being done, even before we buy it. its some kind of daydreaming.
It takes time but over the last 4 years I got rid of most of my miniature kits. Only leaving the few I really want to get done. Having less options for making also made me get more of it done instead of monkey brained hopping between unfinished stuff.
I'm talking too much at this point lmao. My advice would be to very slowly get rid of shit and be nice to yourself, they're playing with our minds to influence our behaviour. Take care
Interestingly, Seneca said the exact same thing about books "people buy them, thinking they are buying the time to read them" 2000 years ago :)
@@anonymityrequested I've read a lot of Seneca, so it doesn't surprise me that i quoted him without realising.
Cheers
This resonates with me so much 🙃 I always have to write lists to keep my chaos somewhat contained, but a flow chart!? What a great idea 💡
Thank you Bella! Glad you like it!!! (and i just subscribed to your channel, you got some cool videos!!!)
It was MtG that did this for me. WotC have flooded the market with their stuff to the point of bursting, so now I only play Standard sets, it's kinda freeing.
Thanks for the Snak28 shout out ❤🎉 really cool system organizing strategy
Thanks Fiver!!! I'll add a proper link to the game in this video's description once it's out!!!
@DanaHowl I appreciate that. It'll launch August 1st if all goes well :)
this is such a delightful and enlightening option for approaching hobbytime
last weekend I did a new panel at TFcon in my ongoing series, this time focused on maintaining joy in one's hobby, and the notion of Side and Branch Hobbies is imo a huge boon. Especially when trying to keep all hobbies as bullet points of our identities, rather than inadvertently defining our identities by the Main Hobby, which can impact its imperative to be in service of you first and foremost
great stuff here, thank you for sharing!!
This was a great video. A couple months ago I actually gave up mini painting to purse other hobbies but stayed as a sub because I know one day I will come back to it. This video is important , it makes me feel less crazy for having these impulses to “buy in” to so many things. Thanks sharing this system I’ll definitely be using it!
OMG! I have been needing something like this for so long!
Thankyou!! I do majorly struggle with too many hobbies and impulse buying for them and then not doing anything with them!
So this way to manage them but still get to use them is such an easy way for my visual mind to understand and utilise! ❤❤
This is a very valuable tool, especially for neurospicy folk who struggle with impulse purchases ((looking at you, my fellow ADHD brains))
my thoughts exactly!!! it's something I struggle with a lot and I've found I really benefit from systems and frameworks like this!!!
@@DanaHowl I'm pretty sure my main hobby is listing, organizing, and planning my other hobbies. So many flowcharts, so many spreadsheets.
So relatable. I just bought a new board game I want to paint. I gave myself till Friday to finish as I have some friends coming over. But I have two local game stores I play other games at through the week. I've been painting with every bit of free time I have and havnt been able to play test for the locals. Idk if I'll be done in time, but I'm trying my best 👍
A brilliant Video Dana, talking about an element of modelling and other hobbies which is SO LONG OVERDUE for discussion. The Philosophies that underlie hobbies seem to be gaining prominence as sun=bjects for popular discussion online and this Video is a welcom and clear contribution to this. Many thanks!
This video really hit with me. As I have gotten older, along with other commitments in life, I just don't know if I will ever get time to finish, or properly engage in some hobbies.
I watched a great UA-cam video regarding buying things feel like "signs of happiness" but do not end up becoming fruitful.
I have bought EVERYTHING regarding Tomb Kings for Old World, including the GW exclusives, with the full intention of being used and playing games... Months later, it's still in boxes not being touched. I may just have to admit that it's something I will never get to, "get real" so to speak! One of the reasons why Blood Bowl will forever be my favourite GW game!
Love the channel and your work. 😊
Very relateable. My hobby of painting miniatures started with playing boaedgames with minis: i already liked to paint, and i preferred the looks of painted minis. It was a natural step. What i didnt expect was how much it helped me to relax. I still only paint minis for games i play... but i spend way more time painting than playing whch is far more solitary than playing the games... which is the beauty of boardgames. So a weird and funny cycle.
This vid hit a very specific spot in my brain. Love a good organization method.
That's the crazy thing about people who play GW games: they get swept along on the hype train, they buy all the new shiny things, and that's all they paint or play with until the next batch of shiny things comes out.
These poor souls leave a trail of incomplete army projects in their wake / cupboards.
I used to be one of them.
I am one of them, but I'm changing that. All the mainline games do is waste my money.
And that is, the entire business model...
Fell for it hard with heresy. Currently trying to sell off my small pile HH minis. Not sure how to get rid of my made to order FW and 3rd party salamanders bits though. Might do kill teams in the future but that's if I can't find a buyer.
@@BrendanPace rare FW bits do tend to go for decent money on eBay, if you don't mind waiting for a buyer to show up.
I finally smelt the rat during the HH 2.0 reveal shows on Twitch. Everyone was celebrating the "good value" of the 20 man squads, and the convenience of bundled up special weapons kits, even before the prices were revealed. The HH community were falling for it and I was appalled both at the brazen marketeering, and by the communities readiness to just accept it without question.
I sold my unbuilt HH 1.0 kits very soon afterwards, I didn't recoup all my money but I got quite a bit back.
It was incredibly freeing to unburden myself of so many unbuilt models.
I do feel a bit bad that judged my fellow 30k enthusiasts so harshly, but I was angry at having realised how badly we'd been treated, and how it had taken me so long to come to that realisation.
I found a job just to buy all the toys I couldn't afford when I was a kid and later a teenager. It's an effective coping mechanism, I swear! I only need to buy a bigger closet. Or house. Maybe I could sell a kidney.
that coping mechanism is so relatable
Yeah, and now that we can buy the things we couldn't as kids... we got this friggin job sucking our time and life away.
This is why I had kids... More kidneys.
@@B4MBI72 smart!
Loved the video and the idea behind it. I struggle with too many hobbies as well, and being a software developer, this kind of focused approach speaks to me. Thanks!
Babe wake up, Dana said i can buy all the things.
only if you make an overcomplicated chart first!!!
I’ve literally been thinking about this all month, thanks for helpful model!
Love this approach Dana!! Especially the modular side branch hobbies. It's like magnetizing your special interests! (Also don't think I didn't notice the Henry vacuum.)
Hahaha yes!!!! Glad you liked it Jamie!!! Magnetizing special interests is definitely a good way to put it 😂😂😂
I've been fighting with myself over this for a while now. This video really helped. Thanks
shoutout to the squarespaceperverts
great summation of something were all trying to manage, dana. too much choice can be paralyzing, so perspective is so important.
It's funny how helpful it is being told "you can swap out your main hobby". I feel guilty about spending most of my time this summer on gunpla and miniatures instead of my "main hobby" making music, but it's fine to switch which is main and which is a side.
Interesting that buying into a new hobby, actually and eventually will cut down another hobby, but, by having to draw that beforehand makes your visualize it so much better. You have to choose preemptively instead of just finding out after the damage is done. Another great video Dana! Loved it
I have started to paint up a little bit of everything as i need them for TTRPGs. currently i paint 1-3 minis a day and slowly but surely im scaling my tower of ambition. Letting modules i want to run dictate what i paint has been very helpful as army painting can become a chore. variety is the spice of life
I appreciate the approach and found it helpful!
I often, when feeling overwhelmed, make a lists of: Have to Do Want to do and Need to do
It helps keeps me honest about my actual relaxing interest and what has started to feel like work
3:48 Oh, oh oh, I have that TL Audio valve channel strip!
I use it in one of the other hobbies I don't do: audio production.
Sounds very familiar
Omg, at the beginning of the video I thought I am doomed, but I was relieved towards the end of the video when I discovered the branches are splitting to more and more branches… amazing! I will do my diagrams tonight, thanks
I enjoyed your thought process and method here.. Even if it's not exactly the kind of thing I'd do, I like the examination of where my time and effort might be going, and how to avoid getting overwhelmed
"Tell me you have ADHD without telling me you have ADHD"
Tell me you don't know anything about ADHD without telling me you don't knowing anything about ADHD ;)
They are taking the hobbies to Isengard.
@@f.g.5967 Tell me, what is FOMO? For I much desire to buy more stuff.
You got me 😂
I don’t really do UA-cam comments but I had to for this one. Thank you. This is genuinely the most connected to a hobby video I have felt on this subject yet. I will 100% be giving this a try myself and hoping it helps me too. Thank you for making this I appreciate it. 🤟
Time is really our only currency....spend it wisely. Excellent video, Dana. And good for you to be so disciplined.
This is a useful way to focus yourself and remind yourself what is important. I don't know if it will work for me, but it is worth a shot!
I might buy a couple models from this set on ebay. But to paint this entire box set would take around 300 hours
Better yet, if you don't have kisd, have one or two or three, then you'll really see about how to manage your free time.
But I'm glad you're making a video about this; good discourse.
Great idea, easy system to use, but really helps to focus/ discourage those impulse buys, thanks !
You system is quite different than mine. I have much more general hobby categories such as reading, exercising, art, socializing, dogs, traveling, gaming. Sometimes I can hit 3 or 4 of these categories in one event. Minis often hits 3 or 4. When I am low on cash, meeting with friends with dogs for a walk at a new park can do this inexpensively. Or on some days I can devote an hour or two for 3 or 4 individually. I am not trying tick boxes off, but when I can do several in a day, I am happy.
I’ve eventually focused down on D&D/Call of Cthulhu for running RPGs and on Warmaster/Legions Imperialis and a few historical miniature Wargames, using 6mm and 10mm scale miniatures. Stepped off the 28/32mm miniature scale GW and Warlord Games consumer treadmill. I feel happier and calmer about my hobby since doing this.
I’ve done this exercise before with iThoughts mind mapping! (abandonware sadly-RIP)
Great video, really helpful for organizing my hobby thinking!
This video has come along at just the right time! 😁
It's not the GW hype cycle I get caught up in (except maybe Blood Bowl 😆) but the tons of new games that look great and peak my interest that keep coming out AND the fomo/lifecycle of said games 😖
In the past I've had the willpower to hold out on diving in too quickly etc, only to find that when I get around to trying it (sometimes only a couple of years later), it has already gone out of production or has soooo much stuff out for it that it is overwhelming 🤦🏻♂️
Will give your way to manage hobbies a try, if only to work out what I actually like to play / work on 😁 Thanks Dana!
Also - Brick Wars?! 🤯
Im so into miniature agnostic indie games now. Small concise rulesets, one book and done. Bonus part: i can use all of the minis i collected and painted so it becomes so quick to engage with a game. Read the rules, make a list, place a mat, scenery and pick your generic fantasy/sci fi models and go to town. Plus if you really want a specific model that doesnt exist, kitbash it (but that's a whole new rabbit hole😂)
Leaving a comment before watching just to say I love your videos :)
Appreciate the time you took to make this thoughtful video - happy hobbying!
That's really interesting, i make charts of specific project, like painting an army. But I didn't think about mapping all my hobbies, I'll try, maybe it'll help deciding. But I already made choice by focusing on what bring me the more joy : army painting, elden ring
What I learned to do, especially with large collectible games such as Warhammer, is to type out everything I would like for the game and just look at the end price.
What happens is one of two things: 1. You see the end price and ball at collecting anything from that product. 2. You do buy all the things, and then you’re kind of immune from buying bulk products with older stuff in them because you already have plenty.
I just keep lists under my main interests and have to dos (work around house, groceries, etc.). I sort my lists every couple of months, putting my highest priorities on top. Then I pick a category for a day and focus on that. I am trying hard to not buy anything until I am ready to do something with it. This is challenging but I need to stop getting things I never use (wastes money and uses up my limited space). For example, last month I needed to focus on fixing up my game room as we got a couple kittens and we put them there for now so it had to be kitten proof. This month I have client work to do so that gets bumped to the top of the list.
My credo: Do one thing in a whole and enjoy looking at others enjoying something else.
You'll never make them all, either due to time, money or dedication.
Especially with Warhammer the market is flooded to squeeze every last bit of money out of the customer.
I turned into painting my boardgame miniatures, where you notice the same: they are releasing new games in a faster and faster pace until the last collector is either broke or runs out of shelf space.
Btw: I adore your work and always feel like a toddler with crayons when looking at my minis. 😂 You gave me the courage to paint minis in crazy color schemes.
👍🖌
I wonder, if I should give airbrush a try.
Yeah dude, it's rough. I've scaled down from.. everything, to just Warcry, Kill team and Necromunda. Basically the thing where I can get the easiest a game with a friend in a few hours. This leaves me time for a few niche things on the side. Didn't get Leviathan, won't get Skaventide. Will grab a few separately online tho!
Excellent vid.
Avoiding overspending is a big part of what I decide to buy or not buy....Maybe adding target maximum expenditure to the bubbles would be useful.
Amen. So true! I just purchased Skavetide and haven’t even opened Leviathan yet. I’m waiting to receive two kickstarters (Warzone Eternal and Halo). And I’m 72! WTF!!!🙀
I think this idea runs parallel to the benefits of talking to someone about a problem you might be struggling with. It isn't so much that another person can magically tell you the answer. It's about organizing your thoughts so that you can communicate the problem to another person. That act alone can really facilitate your own realization to an answer. Your method seems similar. We're all slaves to our "oooh, shiny" inner child lizard. With so many options bombarding us constantly, it's nearly impossible to sort through all of it. Your flowchart helps you organize your thoughts and keep your focused. As you said, this doesn't preclude you from changing your mind. It's just to help you clarify what you're doing now and near future. In other words, good recommendation. :)
I've got several hobbies. Woodworking, Lego, board games, D&D, miniature printing/painting. Woodworking makes me money and let me get to where I don't need new tools and it also pays for the others - mostly Lego. Resin printing isn't very expensive now that I have the printers, painting is also low cost after the initial paint buy. Boardgames - well I'm not buying new ones since the ones I have don't get enough play. Lego - I get sets when there's something I like. D&D - got the books I need, plenty of dice and the miniature hobby is useful here. Lately mini painting/D&D has been a lot of my hobby time but I do need to build more stuff for the holiday craft fair season.
If you like solo games you need to try 5 leauges from the boarderlands or the sci-fi 5 parsects from home
My problem is I find it hard to identify a main or primary hobby. I also seem to have fallen into the meta-hobby of discovering and researching new hobbies.
I’ve learned over time that the impulse to get into something and immediately buy everything needed is a trap. It seems like you reach a point in every hobby where the only question left to answer is how much time you want to devote to it. To the exclusion of other things. Some demand slavish devotion, some can be picked up or put down at will.
Organizing a mindmap and a system definitely seems worth doing. Sometimes things get abandoned for no other reason than there’s just too much to do and it’s overwhelming.
Identifying hobby priorities, and re-evaluating them on occasion, has been super healthy for me.
I paint GW mini, collect Lego catle and LOTR stuffs, doing book review channel, music. Recently I am just addicted and thinking to collect Cities of Sigmar mini.
Your video happen at right time and help me to cool down, thanks!
I've been working through this and downsizing out of much of my stuff. The main mental switch that flicked for me was that by chasing the mainline games of GW, I'm only throwing away money. I've been telling myself 'I have enough' and it's true! I don't need the latest shiny product nor do I need one of every unit for a faction/game.
Iv been tackling this concept for quite a while. I sort of do the same as you but kinda just go with what I feel like doing every week or month. GW minis is my main jam and it branches to many things withing that sphere. I mix it up with Lego, Comics/novel, video games, the Monster Hunter Board game, and the occasional gunpla model kit or scale model kit. Eventually I would like to get into Star Wars Legion and shatter point but I think I need to slim down on my GW stuff or actually finish projects whether thats focusing more on specific game systems, certain armies and warbands/killteams. I think once I can do that I can actually focus a bit more on all of my hobbies
I like this system even if just to clarify where ongoing projects fit, even without any restrictions. As for the "problem" of buying too many things, I think this FOMO is made worse because sometimes you get a deal, or the opportunity is there to buy something you can see a use for in the future, but if you don't act now it may go OOP or get in the hands of scalpers. In particular GW products suffer from this. As an aside, even for solo/skirmish you can trick yourself into believing "I don't care about AoS, but I can use those sweet minis for Frostgrave or whatever!" (I know I do!)
Oooh, I just noticed the new transformers TPB. I took have that, and have yet to read it, for reasons outlined in the lovely video above!
The new transformer series is EXTREMELY GOOD! My favorite comic in recent memory!!
Make sure you read the tie in series "Void Rivals" as well, as it's also extremely good (the G.I. Joe tie-ins are cool also, but not essential)
@@DanaHowl Thanks, I'll check it out ... Eventually! Haha! The IDW More than meets the eye run is also very good if you've not read those.
Great video, i will actually try this.. i need some kind of Hobby focus tool to help mee focus on a couple of things instead of everything all at once, more hobbies than days in the week is a struggle.. and hobbie time is a shrinking budget when one have work, family and a house that needs touch ups aswell :D
Good video. You could also use a whiteboard to create flowcharts if space permits.
i really needed to hear this
Honestly I kind of do something similar. I run d&d and like to paint minis, so I ask myself can I use this box for d&d, will I use this box for d&d , or do I really just want to paint this guy right now?
So while could use the skaven for d&d, I have no desire for the Sigmar guys, so no skaventide unless it goes on sale or wait for the spear head skaven only box.
Good video. Quite an important subject.
Hard agree Henry Hoover is a top hobby product
thank you, good food for thought
love this!
So... To a degree I relate. I am the person who has 2 indomitus, 1 leviathan, etc. Always get it for the "discount" of overpriced games workshop plastic. I saw this, I love the price savings... but. I don't like the sigmarines and never have, and I don't LOVE the rats, so even if I want to partake in spearhead I went the other route of getting a spearhead I actually like with the Gloomspite Gitz
i considered getting skaventide then I looked up in the cupboard and looked at the leviathan box i have up there waiting for me to finish painting the models from it. I also have been using a few episodes on the wh stormbringer mag to gauge interest from my subscribers in aos content compared to my main focuses of wh40k and cosplay
I feel exactly the same. My hobbies are 3d printing, mtg, miniature painting and terrain building / painting. But I guess I havent really painted miniatures for a while. I am mostly interested into terrain building. Sadly 3d printing kinda also mixes with terrain building and mtg to some ways.
I have basicly stopped buying mtg and miniatures, as well selling out. It feels my collections just got out of hand. :D
I thought the knew spearhead was a skirmish and there was no need to build a bigger army. I just got the box I have no interest in larger armies or competitive play. Found the video helpful Thanks Dana
It is a skirmish version of AoS…
"edit Ravenloft Actual play" -> Yessssssssss !!! cannot wait XD
Dive back into lego nostalgia and watch channels like r.r. Slugger. Me too sister, me too
Slugger is the best channel hahaha
Thank you for sharing the link for Acolyte. I had not heard about it. Will you be kitbashing a squad?
This was very important viewing for me. My big problem is as soon as I have an idea I want to go buy everything I'll need for it straight away. Then I might get to it in 6 months. Maybe.
Congratz, you have better downtime rules than D&D ;)
Ive been wanting to get back into mtg because of bloomburrow so this video was super helpful to organize my hobbies
There's also Mobile Frame Zero, a skirmish game that uses mechs made of lego.
I constantly remind myself that free time is a very limited luxury for me, as is sleep. When a shiny new thing arrives, I do take into account that I could likely afford it, but the more important question is: Do I have the time to actually enjoy it, or will it just end up somewhere and take up a lot of space, without ever being used?
I have ADHD and setting up an actual plan around this is a pretty good idea.
Probably going to try to come up with something slightly more...cyclical than this, but thank you for the inspiration!
How fortuitous! I was literally googling this question a couple days ago.
That's a really nice system, I know it works cause I kinda do the same mental math when I'm looking at all the new releases.
Thank you for showing me all these cool things I don't own and now want to get!! =P
Would you include things like watching TV shows/Movies? Since they can consume a lot of time?
For spending money, I'm trying to get myself to only buy things for something I am currently doing and need it for, vs buying something that I will be doing. Works more for tools. For example, oh I'd love a resin printer, and if I get it I'll print tons of miniatures and paint them. But, I'm not playing any games where I need that at the moment, so I won't get a printer UNTIL I start playing games enough where I need to print them. Kinda wait for not owning something becomes a pain, vs buying something the moment it seems cool and something I'd like to be doing...
I only have terrain building, warhammer, a lot of other smaller wargames, dnd, electronics (design/solder), and music as a hobby. so there is space for at least 4 to 8 more hobbies :D
I feel you so hard, I have 8 Kill teams, I have played ONE single game of kill team with ONE of those 8 teams, The other 7 Have seen ZERO tabletop time despite the painting being done on 6 of the teams hahaha
Thank you!
"I'm in this video and don't like it."
For real, though, interesting system. I probably won't use it 1:1 like this, but it does give a good way of thinking through things.
I think a flowchart or other tracking system is a good idea but I think the interval for locking it down should be longer than a month.
Pick your main hobby and side hobbies, but keep them that way for 3-6 months. If, at the end of that period, you haven’t built, painted, or played with most of the purchases you made during that period, you probably need to re-evaluate your categories and pick things that allow you to focus on participating and not just purchasing.
Changing categories every month probably inhibits the ability to see long-term what your real interests are.
Thanks for sharing these thoughts! Good food for thoughts... my hobby may have slidin' into buying and selling stuff instead of actually playing or painting. Whoops
This was a problem I confronted a few years ago when I tallied up my Kickstarter campaigns and did not like the amount I spent and how little I played those games.
I stopped worrying about FOMO and started considering the Regret of Getting In. So I ask myself these questions before I dig into any new game:
Who will I play the game with?
Will the game see enough play to justify the cost in money, storage space, and mental load to learn and remember the rules.
Is it just so cool I am doing it anyway.
It's helped tamp down impulse buys. So when I see something cool I can splurge on it with less trepidation.
But this is definitely a cool organization system and one I can also use in my day job when my attention gets split between various roles I play at work.
Oh no this video is specifically about me I know it 😭🤣
Hahaha well your paint set definitely makes a cameo appearance 🖌️🎨 You'll have to let me know whether you related to my dilemma of too many hobbies or not 😂😂😂
It's like resource management and list building in real life. We have very limited time. And the dopamine satisfaction from buying stuff lasts very short and leaves us craving for the next shot. Just like crack. The companies only feed us more hunger.
Once we understand this we get immune to FOMO marketing.