seeker589 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 My work schedule changed drastically last fall. I leave the house for work at 6:30pm and am away from the house until about 7am the following day. I do this cycle from Monday evening to Friday morning. It might not sound like a big problem but being away from the house for over twelve hours is a bit taxing. I've grown accustomed to sleeping during the day. Being off from Friday morning to Monday evening might seem to be able to present some building time but motivation (or lack there-of) seems to creap its ugly head into the whole equasion. I really love this forum and have posted a bunch of times in the past - being an Ohana is pretty cool. How do you guys do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 If I were working a "regular job " , something I haven't had since 2000, I would be like you. I'm disabled , and as such I work part time and very irregular hours at jobs , well projects now . I'll shoot a coat of paint , I'll maybe put something in clamps to allow glue to set . During that time , I might make a comment or two. Ed Shaver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scale-Master Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I have always been good at budgeting my time. And I build almost anytime I can. Fortunately work has never been too far from home or the shop... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf15 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Working shifts is really tough ! I've done it all my life so I know where you are coming from . Only advice I can offer to get out of the doldrums ? You literally have to force yourself to sit at the bench and work , make it a form of discipline . Once you start doing this , you will find yourself getting lost in a build again and enjoying it . You are actually suffering from a form of depression , a common malady amongst those who work night turn . You just have to fight through it . Now that I work steady 3 to 11 , I can spend at least 4 hrs a day at the bench without interruptions should I chose to do so . Being divorced with older children does have it's benefits ! Lmao ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad4321 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Some of us just build and never post a thing. I've never posted a single pic of a model I've built. I hate the whole process of getting pics off a camera and onto a computer and blah blah blah. Maybe one day I'll actually show another human what I've built. As far as building, I have marathon days on my days off occasionally. I will build for 12-15 hours straight sometimes. Then days when I work it may be 2, 3, or 0 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cranky Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Like most things, routine is important, practice is important. Experimentation is important. I hold a steady job but when I can't sleep (which is quite often) I am working through the night at the bench. You'd be amazed how much building you'd do if you tried your best to put an hour in every night. It's almost a religious experience for me. I know many of us here worship at the Church of Styrene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Kucaba Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I'm retired at 62. My most important tasks of the day are: shoot pool with the old salts and listen to their stories. play shuffle board with the old salts (and ladies) and listen to their stories. Go to Breaksfast at 7:00 a.m. with the old salts and listen to their stories. I SEEM to have plenty of free time but not really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMc Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Most of my friends who worked 3rds made it a rule to spend a bit of time helpin the wife before work, then out to the garage for a couple of hours of fun...shower and off to BED...you gotta set the time, and everyone is diff...think it through as Donn said...Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I'm retired so I pretty much do whatever I want, whenever I want. I get into modeling "ruts" now and then, but don't we all..?? When I'm not in a "rut" I usually spend at least a couple of hours a day working on a project. I tune in to Speed Channel and Velocity to see if anything good is on that I haven't yet seen (for possible inspiration). I check in on this Forum a couple of times a day, usually mid afternoon and just before bedtime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercman Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Most of my time is weekends. I leave the house Mon morn, at 6:30, and get done sometime Fri. I put in 55-70 hours a week depending on how busy we are. Nice thing now though is I'm home every night, but have a routine that's hard to break. so mainly Sat-Sun building for me. When this summer hits, I move projects down to the lake place, and put in 5-8 hours a day on Sat, and Sun maybe a couple more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heatride Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I used to role over get up and go to work. I'm retired now all I do is roll over I have been out of the hobby for 30 years , asked my wife the other day how did I get all this stuff around the house done when I was working so much . She gave me this crazy look and said honey you didn't I did I'm in the same boat as Rich and Mike , I just have the time now that I didn't when I was working . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High octane Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 How do I budget my building time? Not very well as I could easilly afford two to four hours a day every day to modeling, but NO I'm on this keyboard, doing things around the house, doing a LOT of nothing, etc.. I call it POOR time-management. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to make a few adjustments and spend MORE needed time on the bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niteowl7710 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I'm in the same boat Tim, except that I have to leave my house by 5:30pm to be in for my 6p-6a shift. Usually I get delusions of grandeur of all the work I will get done on project xyz as soon as I get home. But as I've told others my motivation tends to exit my spirit about the same time my front tires hit my driveway. We work a vague 4 days on, 2 days off schedule, but that tends to get thrown out the window on most jobs as things breakdown, or need to be rescheduled. Those 4/2's rotate so there's no defined days off (although we know our "schedule" for a month in advance). What Donn says about "forcing" yourself to hit the bench is true. I try to at least clean-up, paint, or glue SOMETHING every morning when I get home, even if it means I'm only at the bench for 15-20 minutes. Because I know if I pass the hobby area in my basement on the way up to the main floor of the house in the morning, there's a 98% chance I will not go back down. I love and value my sleep, and I like to get 8 hours a "night" (day for you non-vampire folk), so getting up early to work never happens, and if I stay up late (to the ungodly hour of say 11am!!) it's because I'm out of the house running actual errands. The biggest problem I have is getting major components spray painted. We've had a number of "warm enough" days here in PA this winter (looks to be another one today), but I also don't see the sun even on my days off because I am sleeping. Investing in a paint booth would of course fix that to a certain extent, but that involves spending money I don't necessary believe in the entire "shift work disorder" depression thing. I enjoy working nights, I requested to work them in fact. If anything I suffer from exhaustion! There was a span before Christmas where my crew and I worked 19 days straight without a day off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeker589 Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Thank You everyone for your input. I have suspected that I could be going through a form of a creative depression. I'll gather some fight and sling some putty. I'll also try to visit this board a bit more often for inspiration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Well with me i start work at 3:30 am work till about 1 pm when i get home i like to go to the model room for a bit then i'll nap for hour then back downstairs for hours even if i don't do any building i'll read model cars even go through my stash of kits time just flies by when i'm down there now when summer weather gets here i'm usually out side all the time soaking all the good weather i can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaronw Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Watch out for cheap flourescent lights too, particularly working at night. A few years ago I found myself totally unmotivated in the winter. I worked out of the same office year round but during the summer I was outside in the sun for a good chunk of the work day. I saw some Discovery channel thing on winter depression and they mentioned a link to lack of sun, and specifically mentioned flourescent lighting. My office had one tiny window facing a storage shed, so got little direst sun. I swapped out the cheepo govt flourescents for the more expensive daylight bulbs and my can't get anything blahs were dramatically reduced. I nearly doubled my time at the bench after that actually finishing several projects. I know it sounds like some sort of hokum, but I have really found the daylight bulbs help with the layabout blahs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Appetite Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Watch out for cheap flourescent lights too, particularly working at night. A few years ago I found myself totally unmotivated in the winter. I worked out of the same office year round but during the summer I was outside in the sun for a good chunk of the work day. I saw some Discovery channel thing on winter depression and they mentioned a link to lack of sun, and specifically mentioned flourescent lighting. My office had one tiny window facing a storage shed, so got little direst sun. I swapped out the cheepo govt flourescents for the more expensive daylight bulbs and my can't get anything blahs were dramatically reduced. I nearly doubled my time at the bench after that actually finishing several projects. I know it sounds like some sort of hokum, but I have really found the daylight bulbs help with the layabout blahs. It's not hokum...not at all.....many people get depressed during the winter due to lack of sunlight. I'm one of them. and yes winters are the worse..imagine getting into the office just before the sun comes up...and leaving for home at 4:30 after it has already gone down. Not good. I rarely see sunight during the winter. But this helps! A little pricey but... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.