Project fatigue

[bletchmonster]

As ajelectronics says, go out and do one thing.
And don't even try to work out which thing that should be. Just start tinkering with something that takes your interest.
I even do this with large/complex work jobs when I'm struggling to get my head around the big picture.

 

[marlinspike]

Like eating an elephant ….. bit at a time, keep at it, give it to a specialist to finish & you will look back & regret it.

Yes, you might be right. I was gutted when we had to get an auto electrician out because we couldn't get to the bottom of a fault. Apart from the bill I was disappointed because we'd done everything else ourselves, from masses of welding to the clutch and interior.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I understand your predicament completely, being without a workshop or garage makes the job much less appealing - especially when it's dark and/or the weather's playing up.

 

[Onoff]

Imagine you have a double garage. Two cars in there and chock full of gear. Useable floor area was around 1m2. Now less. You disconnected the old fuseboard back when it was warm. Now if you venture in there it's with a head torch. Whilst in there you occasionally knock over a box / tub of something, you hear it fall and it ends up God knows where.

I don't have to imagine

 

[Ton-up]

I have a half built hot rod that I started in 1994. I haven’t touched it for over 10 years.

 

[Pete.]

Imagine you have a double garage. Two cars in there and chock full of gear. Useable floor area was around 1m2. Now less. You disconnected the old fuseboard back when it was warm. Now if you venture in there it's with a head torch. Whilst in there you occasionally knock over a box / tub of something, you hear it fall and it ends up God knows where.

I don't have to imagine

Sell the capri on eBay, get a skip in. Scrap, scrap, skip, skip, keep, give away.

There, problem solved

 

[Onoff]

capri

Plural.

 

[Pete.]

Plural.

Sell your Ford Plural too. Nobody likes them anyway

 

[Onoff]

Sell your Ford Plural too. Nobody likes them anyway

Blasphemy!

That's it, you're dead to me.

 

[Smallfry]

Take the time to make a big list of everything, even putting a couple of screws in the two speed mudflaps.

Once you see things getting crossed off, I find it helps a lot, as without it , if feels like you are not getting anywhere.

I have also sold a couple of unfinished projects, after I had admitted to myself I was not really interested any more, and didnt have the time. I have never regretted it, in fact quite the opposite. Was a weight lifted off my shoulders, by not having to think about it any more, and the freeing up of space.

Something else will ALWAYS come along

 

[RichardM]

I vote for make a list too, big things split into the smaller sub - categories too. White boards are good as it's there, easily seen and you can write new bits or where you are up to on separate items, ie waiting/ need to order bearings / seals.

Spend a few hours going through it all, noting which still needs doing.

As above, if you have really lost all interest in it sell it as an ongoing project. Takes a weight of your mind and creates some space.

 

[angellonewolf]

Had my classic car for nearly 10 years now. Drove it for a bit then realised it was far rustler than we realised. Thanks to life in general and project creep here it is still unfinished. All the welding is done, lots of bits replaced, but every time we are nearly there with it being mot ready something else crops up.

I've saved a lot by not paying others and buying spares on deals but I'm wondering whether to pack it off to a local specialist to finish the stuff it needs for the mot.

What do you guys do when you've lost your mojo and started falling out of love with a project?

Weather not helping. Might feel different in the spring.

just make a list of all your jobs left to do and any big jobs split them down to a few mins jobs 10 min jobs 15 min jobs

when you got 5 mins look at the list and do one when you got 10 do one of those

had a strugle quite a few years ago on a big project and just left and left it then tryed this its helps you see your doing somthing every few days after a few weeks you see progess and it gives you a push just then keep at it

eg if its just lets say do a head gasket takes a bit of time but break it down to remove bolts remove x change z clean head a possable 2 hour job broken to 12 jobs jobs (ps dont have a go at the times im putting in nevr done a head gasket just for eg )

 

[OJCar]

If you have stalled on one project,
start another.
When you stall on that project,
start another.
When you...
Rinse and repeat as many times as necessary !


Works for me ( & OnOff & quite a few on here I suspect )


Seriously eat the elephant one mouthful at a time.
Soon there will be no elephant.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

With the landy I’ve found that now I’m on to smaller stuff there’s less payoff when I’m done. Previously it’s been very obvious I achieved something, now less so, so I have to concentrate on one thing and complete it to have any sense of accomplish

 

[AVI_8]

With the landy I’ve found that now I’m on to smaller stuff there’s less payoff when I’m done. Previously it’s been very obvious I achieved something, now less so, so I have to concentrate on one thing and complete it to have any sense of accomplish

It’s the collective of small jobs at the end of a project which just seem to take ages, small jobs that just were not considered when you started.
At least with them it’s easier to cross them off one at a time.

 

[marlinspike]

I do make lists of stuff to do but I think you guys are right when you say to break each job down into smaller tasks rather than being outfaced. I need to get past the idea that I have to do the whole job at once or it's not worth starting. It's particularly frustrating at the moment as we're at the diagnostic stage with a couple of things and I find that bit quite tedious.

I'm going to cheer myself up by ordering some Bilt Hamber stuff and look through my parts stash for 'easy' jobs.

 

[badabec]

My Citroen DS Safari is entering its seventh year. i try to do two hours a day. In this weather usually simple stuff like cleaning nuts and bolts. But, if I make a balls of the first thing I do, I down tools and go back into the warm.
Sometimes I spend an hour or two working out the sequence of events that I have to follow. I can't do A until I've done B and C. I can't do C until I've done D,E and F etc. For example, before the engine can go in, the grommet has to be fitted to the throttle pedal spindle first. Forget to fit that and you are in a world of pain needing a four year old child with a vice like grip.

 

[Roger440]

Its supposed to be enjoyable. A hobby.

When its not, time for a break

I had this when doing my charger, which was 12 years in the end.

After i painted the shell, and loused it up, i was rather fed up. Closed the doors and left it there for 2 years.

I see no point in forcing yourself to do it. If the desire isnt there, it isnt there.

I also ran into issues during re-assembly due to the elasped time and spending more time working out how to put it together than actually doing it.

Like you, i pondered sending it to a specialist to finish. Struggling to find one i trusted, and the sheer cost made me wary. In the end, a couple of guys off the forum said they would help me do it in my garage, for, what was, basically buttons.

Lifesavers. Came up for a day every couple of weekends. Progress was remarkable. And they usually left me with a list of stuff to sort out be the next visit. I shall be forever in their debt.

 

[ajlelectronics]

The other thing is to keep a mental picture of the finished job, because when it is a pile of bits, it is easy to lose motivation because nothing seems to be getting better.

 

[waddycall]

I sold an unfinished long term project to someone who wanted to take it on. I had completely lost interest. They keep me updated with pictures of the progress. It’s great seeing the ground work I did being turned into a fantastic finished thing. I get a lot of satisfaction from it even though it’s not mine anymore.