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What do you do when struggling with enthusiasm?


lo-fi

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Got a couple of projects languishing unfinished... A late 2A 109 6 pot SW and an early 2A 88. Both need major bulkhead surgery, the 88 chassis needs a patch up, the 109 a new chassis. I'm currently slogging through a bulkhead resto thinking "this is utter #£_@#". Its not difficult, it's just needless hard work because it was designed/made so poorly to start with and the repair panels are less than great to say the least. I've had several fits of rage over why you'd go to the trouble of making a lovely press tool for the vent panels, only to produce panels that are designed to be a nasty bodge fit. Anyway... I digress. 

We've all been here with Land Rover projects, I'm sure.... What do you do/have done/are doing to get you over the "Land Rovers are awful and why am I doing this?" doldrums? I'm kind of at the point where I need a second wind or just say sod it, flog the valuable parts and chuck the rest in the scrap. House move coming up in August, and I'm not moving it all as parts again!! 

Sincerely, one very disillusioned Land Rover owner. 

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It’s tough ... 

I have two approaches: 

First one is to take a break, like Badger says. I’m usually telling myself ‘I’m sick of this’ and/or ‘this is supposed to fun’  - and the plan is to wait either until the enthusiasm has returned or (as a minimum) the negative emotion has gone. 
 

I think the downside to this approach is that I have 20 year old projects in the garage 😳

 

The second approach is be disciplined but kee expectations very low. So spend a small of time on a regular frequency - and make sure I never skip.

Even if it’s 15 minutes on two evenings - and no more. Eventually they add up and can reignite your enthusiasm too.

 

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Bulkheads are just horrible. When I rebuild my 90 due to all the fiddly bits plastic trim etc and wiring It seems to take and age and visually you can see very little progress for your hard work so hence is less rewarding. 
 

as others have said just try and do small bits half an hour in the evenings etc. And take breaks I can be fiddling all day and getting fustrated, but take the dog for a walk when I am truely fed up. Then come back and things seem clearer and a different approach has sometimes come into my mind.

 

 

 

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Yes, we've all been there, and not only with Land Rovers. I find if I lose motivation working on cars, I can usually find the energy to do some stuff around the hous (workshop) I'd been putting off. Afterwards I'm always glad to go back to mechanical problems.

Driving also helps. Be it a working example of something less ordinary, or just some boring eurobox or japcrap, it usually makes you realize just why you think it's worth doing all the hard work.

A friend recently explained his strategy of keeping 'to do' projects on a designated shelve, so if you have a bit of time it's easy to pick something up and do some work. Might not work with a bulkhead though... I also try and commit myself to doing some work on one of my own projects/cars each time I'm in the Workshop. Just so I don't forget why I started it in the first place, and it should ensure things keep moving forward.  Taking the dog for a walk also helps, especially when you have a forest nearby and see all those tracks that would be so much fun if only you could finish your latest Landy project. 😉

Keep your spirit up!

Filip

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I think you said part of it yourself the bulkhead work is not difficult its just cut, shut, weld and repeat and going by some of your recent projects not very technically inspiring therefore quite boring it probably does'nt help that you have a new toy to play with and just want to explore its capabilities I have the same problem when I purchase a new to me bit of kit however some days I do get brain drain with certain projects and doing something relatively mundane like a bit of bulkhead fab put's me back on track chin up it will come back regards Stephen

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I agree with Mike, there isn't enough time or money to do everything I would like to. I haven't even managed to paint the back half of my 110 blue like the front. 

If I'm struggling with a particular job, it's probably because I'm not doing something right so I will post a question on here to find out what I should be doing. 

For inspiration, it's good to take a look at other people's Land Rovers to get some ideas. 

Edited by monkie
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Too many projects or too many jobs can get to you, or stuff just being a slog - either do something else for a bit (tidy the shed, tinker with the lathe, polish your spanners, whatever) or break stuff down into small easily done pieces so you feel like you're making progress.

Just pausing and looking at everything and making a big list of all the stuff can help clear your head, I love my workshop whiteboard.

Failing that, watching youtube videos like Project Binky makes me feel like I want to get back out to the shed & bash some metal around.

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I agree with FridgeFreezer, YouTube can be a great source of inspiration for projects. 

My problem is I get an idea for a project and start planning, then something unexpected breaks which takes precident on time and funds! 

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Apart from the above problems I suffer with scope creep. The danger sign is thinking "while I'm doing that" or " while that's in bits". It probably does save some time, but the downside is there is no result until the end, and it is easy to bite off more than you can chew - everyone is optimistic about the time to do something if you can see a way to do it.  I think if you can keep the tasks small even if it's part of something much bigger, you do get some reward by 'finishing' something.

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I find I have to break stuff down into small projects. If I focus too much on the overall thing and getting it finished for a deadline I cut corners on the smaller jobs which ruins the overall finish. You have to treat each job in a project in itself. I also find being able to fit stuff once you've finished it is way more motivating than finishing a part, bubble wrapping it and putting it away in a box, so I try to do things in a sequence that facilitate that. 

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I need to do a bulkhead change on the 110. Chassis is okish, but will need doing at some point. The job is already creeping and my enthusiasm waning before i have even bought the chassis! Biggest stumbling block at the moment is choice of chassis manufacturer. For every food review there is a bad one. Enthusiasm wanes further!

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I think that procrastination is a big problem with anything. If you just get on and do it, committing yourself then you can amaze yourself at what you can achieve. 

In terms of chassis choice Richard, I think you need to see some for yourself and see which ones you are happy with. Trouble with reviews are that everyone is measuring quality/value with different yard sticks. 

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Thanks chaps, really appreciate the feedback and encouragement. I'm at about a years break from it before starting again recently, and I do have a working 109 which I kind of enjoy. Other projects... Bought a mill, overhauling a (full size) steam engine, built a winch.

All great suggestions; only thing I haven't tried is getting some help in. I have a few mates that owe me favours, so might call a few in and see if that helps. 

8 minutes ago, monkie said:

I think that procrastination is a big problem with anything. If you just get on and do it, committing yourself then you can amaze yourself at what you can achieve

That's pretty much what I'm doing, but still a long way from enjoying myself. Maybe I'll feel better once I've finally got a bulkhead done. 

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6 hours ago, cackshifter said:

Apart from the above problems I suffer with scope creep. The danger sign is thinking "while I'm doing that" or " while that's in bits". It probably does save some time, but the downside is there is no result until the end, and it is easy to bite off more than you can chew - everyone is optimistic about the time to do something if you can see a way to do it. 

This sums it up for me too. A weekends work turns into an epic …….. again.

If it makes anyone feel better, I took the engine out, and a front wheel off my 90 six years ago to do an engine swap, and I STILL have not 100% decided which way to go with it. Not due entirely to a lack of enthusiasm though, just too many other things to do.

I find what really stymies me is lack of space to do something. You know what I mean, when you bend over something gets knocked over and lost of broken, and nowhere to put stuff safely. Having to work outside because there is no shelter and its dark and/or raining.

Making a list helps ……. even down to putting screws in something. I can see stuff being crossed off the list, and it gives me a real sense of progress, even though there is not much visible happening.

Help from I like minded and trusted mate is good too. One who you don't find yourself having to check what they have done 😆 

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Massive whiteboard with a list, put random things in the list you have already done and meanial things like cup of tea, tidy up that you can multiple tick.

 

I like to list items in achievable increments, if you can only spend 1 hour a day on a job putting that job down as a 7 hour task is demeaning but break it down into 7 1 hour jobs and progress looks much better, a large list also gives an idea of order of jobs and parts/supplies that are needed hopefully saving time.

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I work on the principle of "Do what I'm good at; pay others to do what they're good at".

I'm happy to do electrics/electronics (when you've spent 20 years professionally involved in the IT/communications-industry it sort-of comes naturally) but I run shrieking like a nun harrassed by a drunk if faced with something like the insides of a gearbox: all those springs shims and needle-rollers are my vision of hell! Give me a nice clean predictable TD5 or R322 ECU any day!

So - rather than spend a weekend lying on my back under a car wrestling with some horrid oily assembly, I'll happily *work* that weekend managing someone-else's IT-upgrade, and then spend *half* the profits with Mr. Ashcroft or someone who knows a lot better how to fix a R380 than I ever will. At least his gear comes with a warranty, which I wouldn't have if I reworked a gearbox and put the wrong number of shoms/rollers in somewhere.

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My problem aside, there's some absolute gold in this thread, so thank you all. 

Stuff that's been suggested that I'm not so good at: 

Posting progress here and getting help/mates round.

Working away in isolation really isn't easy. I think the steam engine project has, in a funny way, made the personal projects harder. At the railway, I've got a team of 9 (and growing) volunteers who are desperate to get stuck in and are having a great time doing so in the same fashion I did when I first started that hobby. I still love it, but the challenge is now that I've got to impart the knowledge I've built up over the years to them. It's just not possible to get stuck in the doldrums when you've got people eagerly asking "what do we do next and how?". That kind of energy can carry you through anything, no matter how big a slog it is. At home, it's just me messing about with rotten bits of tin. 

@Tanuki I'm certainly coming round to that way of thinking. Bulkheads are eye wateringly expensive for what you get though, so I found it hard to justify when I can do it well myself, motivation aside. I love getting into a gearbox, though!

Tidy workshop, make lists, do little stuff, take inspiration from other people's successes/projects are all things I'd give a hearty thumbs up to. As is suck it up and "just have at it". Don't get me started on scope creep. That's a killer and can be paralysing. I've managed to be better at avoiding that particular bear trap lately. 

Thanks again to all :)

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I know how you feel lo-fi , having the same feelings/problems myself can’t find the motivation or the direction with my project . My biggest flaw is when I start something I want it done so I can use it , as my thoughts are I’ve repaired it and the longer it sits in the shed it will start rusting again before I use it , and while I’m rebuilding the 90 the 110 suffers and bits don’t get done/finished on that . I’m seriously thinking of selling the 90 as I don’t know whether I can be bothered with it .

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