Making Progress
We've all got things to do and sometimes it seems that we haven't got the time or the motivation to get them done. I've written articles about this before, and you can read them hereand here. The advice is still good, but I think I have something to add to it about making progress on stubborn projects.

The project that I'm currently having issues with is my Dark Eldar Army. I've been really busy lately, but mostly I've been having a hard time finding motivation to get work done. One of the best ways to get motivated to get something done is to have a deadline. Tournaments are great motivators, I'm pretty sure about 20% of models that get painted are due to tournaments, especially the big ones. Unfortunately, I don't know of any upcoming tournaments. It's been almost a year and a half since I actually played a game of 40k. I'm certain that's one of the big reasons for my lack of motivation. I will definitely have to schedule a time to get in a game again, but I'm not sure yet when I'll be able to do that.

It can be extremely helpful to set a deadline, even if it's just an imaginary one. If you don't have a deadline, you can just put things off until that magical, mystical Someday where you have all the time and energy you want. If you set a deadline for yourself, make sure you tell someone about it. The feeling that someone will be holding you accountable if you don't reach your goal can be very motivating indeed.

I want to get a jumpstart on this, so I am going to set a fairly simple goal. I want to get the army fully painted and ready to play. There are several different color schemes, and I'm not terribly happy with that, but I'll leave them as-is for now and just try to group them together (like squad A gets one color scheme while squad B gets another one.) That means I'll only need to paint up the Venom and a few of the weapons (like those on the Haemonculi and on the Sybarites.) I'll also need to paint the modified Ouroboros (snake eating its own tail) on each model. Aside from that, I have a few head swaps and three to four weapons to manufacture. I should be able to get that done in two weeks. With that in mind, I'll set a firm deadline of September 22nd for having the army ready to play and fully painted (even if not well-painted.)

Motivation
In addition to having some sort of deadline, it can be very motivating to remind yourself what interested you in the project in the first place. With the Dark Eldar, I like some of their fluff and I definitely like the artwork, so I'll be paging through the codex reading stories and looking at the pictures. I won't be reading the rules right now (I know most of the rules I need to know, and I don't want to get distracted from my main goal: getting motivated. Note: don't spend a lot of time looking for motivation. Just get enough of a look to get the images or ideas in your head and get to work. When you are having trouble getting motivated, spending too much time looking for motivation can be another way to avoid working on your project.)

Catalogue
It also helps to list everything that you need to accomplish to finish the project. Not only will this help you avoid skipping steps, but it can help make sure that you complete your tasks in the most efficient order. That can save you time, which is vital when you are trying to get something done.

As mentioned, I need to basecoat and paint weapons on about 8 models plus the Venom. I also need to perform head swaps on about 15 models. In addition, I need to make one or two weapons for my Raiders and paint the little Ouroboros symbol on each of 39 models.

A Journey of 1000 miles
The next step is to figure out your steps. Try to break each part of your project down into the smallest steps possible. The idea here is to make each step the work of just a few minutes. That way you can squeeze a step in here or there whenever you have even 2-3 minutes. Then try to fit those steps in between things. For example, I like hot tea. If my project has steps that are 2-3 minutes, I can fill my mug with water and heat it in the microwave. While I'm waiting for it to heat, I can do a step. When I'm done with the step, I can pull the mug out and put the tea bag in. While I wait for it to steep, I can complete another step. With steps that small, you can get a lot of them accomplished, as long as you have all the tools and things you need on hand. If you have your plan of the complete project at least a rough idea of your tiny steps, you can pack up a little bag or box of whatever you need for the next 5 or 6 steps and keep it nearby. Then if a few minutes crop up somewhere, pull it out and take the next step.

Basecoating 8 weapons will be one step. Painting 8 weapons will be two more steps. Basecoating the Venom will be one step and painting it will be 3 steps. Doing headswaps on 15 models will be about 3 steps. Making a couple of weapons for Raiders will be one step, basecoating and painting them will be 2 more. Finally, painting the Ouroboros symbol on 39 models will be about 8-10 steps.

Finally, do it. You can do it spontaneously, but if you have been having a hard time getting motivated, it'll be easier if you make it a habit. It is easiest to form a habit if you do something at the same time every day. It is even easier if you tie it to something that you already do. For example, you might plan to do a step right after eating breakfast each morning. After the first few times, every time you eat breakfast, you'll find yourself thinking about doing the next step! Some easy times are right after getting up in the morning, breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime. Even if you find no time at all during the entire rest of the day, if you do a step at each of those times, that's 5 steps per day you'll accomplish. That's only 10-15 minutes of work, but all those minutes add up. A full week would net you between an hour and an hour and a half of work on your project. The key here is consistency. You can add in extra steps here and there when you find the time, but try very, very hard to avoid skipping one, because each one you skip gets you further behind and makes it all too easy to skip another one.

I am busy and I will remain so over the next two weeks. Immediately after that time period, I'm going on a cruise with my wife and when I come back, there will be a huge Taekwondo tournament that I need to go to. I'm sure I'll be able to fit in small steps after breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. I might be able to get in 5 or more like I suggested above, but I don't think I could stick to it with my current schedule.

Celebrate
When your steps add up to something being accomplished (1 squad, fully painted!) take a minute to celebrate. Even if it is a small accomplishment, it is still an accomplishment and you can use it to help keep up your motivation. Take a picture, post it on Facebook, do a little dance, whatever.

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