Episode 93: Breaking out of a 40K Hobby Slump
In this episode, we talk about breaking out of a 40K hobby slump. No matter how much you love the hobby of 40K, there will be times when you lose your motivation to build and paint models, to play games, or to engage with the 40K community. Sometimes you might just be tired of one part of the hobby, others you might just feel like you need a break completely. It happens to all of us eventually and this episode is about what you can do to become inspired by the 40k hobby again.
Introduction
Life does happen, we all get busy or distracted, and there are times when 40K has to take a back seat to other priorities. It’s a hobby after all, its meant to be enjoyable. What we mean by a slump is when you have the time and you just don’t feel like spending it with 40K.
Special guests: Brian from the Splintermind Podcast and Jody from The Independent Characters
What were you tired of doing?
When did you realize you were not having fun?
Painting
Sometimes you just get tired of painting, especially if it’s for something like an event. Having a goal helps to keep you focused, but it can feel like a job or a chore to complete rather than something fun to do.
Some things to break out of a painting slump
- Learn a new technique
- Paint a miniature for fun rather than having a specific plan for it.
- Set it aside for a while, put a pause on your goal
- Be inspired by other painted models
- Trust the process; slow and steady often works better than a mad rush, or conversely a rush to paint a batch in time for an event might provide the spark you need.
Playing Games (especially competitive)
“Chasing the beast” is constantly trying to keep up with the current “meta” by building better and more refined lists.
Grinding out games to get better and try new combinations and worrying about certain match ups can be exhausting.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed with rules changes.
Some things to break out of a gaming slump
- Play for fun!
- Start a new army, or play casual
- Start a new game, Colin and Mark’s experience with AOS.
The Community
Sometimes the community can be exhausting, on forums and social media.
Vocal minority has a larger voice with social media.
Mob mentality looking for cheating, instances of GW being a bad guy, etc.
All of this is an opinion and almost entirely subjective. When you find yourself arguing a point online, often its because you and the other person is coming from two different experiences. Remember; it’s a diverse hobby with many different people
When you get tired of the community:
- Remember that your opinion of 40K should first and foremost reflect YOUR local experience, not what you see online.
- Find media content that is informative rather than based on an opinion
- Unplug from social media
All of 40K
The game is a diverse hobby that really can occupy a lot of your time and headspace if you let it. The good thing is that there is a lot to consume and participate in. But… sometimes you might overdo it and get bored or tired with it.
Its OK to step back from it for a bit, literally set models on the shelf or pick up a new hobby or distraction.
Don’t be hasty about selling your collection and getting out completely!
Credits
Patreon Page: The Battlehosts
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great! haha made my day seeing another episode being released today. Can i place a request for a Harlequin Breakdown? After listening to the Drukhari and Craftworld two parters I think it just makes sense to finish off the Aeldari factions right? 😉
Keep up the great work, I love the podcasts and they help me get through the work day.
Thanks for the kind works Matthew! We have a lot of faction breakdowns left and we will get to Harlequins, we promise!
Fantastic to hear! Just became a patreon for the discord access and look forward to joining the community.
Good podcast! One thing you guys touch on a lot is that generally motivation comes AFTER you do something, rather than before. As you all discussed, keeping momentum and painting SOMETHING (anything) helps maintain momentum rather than the hoping for the magical motivational pill that we all look for.
So definitely, just putting some paint on a brush can often times be enough to get out of a slump rather than obsessing over some end goal which seems so daunting at the time. But once you get going, you realize the progress is fun and motivating and you’re more likely to continue going forward.
Great points! Looking back at what you have done is often really beneficial to keep forward progress going.