Happy New Year, gamers of the 41st Millenium! It's 2014 and with Warhammer 40,000 6E still going strong with a shiny new Tyranid Codex right around the corner, it’s time to set some yearly hobby goals. While many will vow to paint 120 Termagants before the first local tournament in 4 days, the vast majority will fail miserably within the first day of painting. But you don’t have to be one of those people. If you follow five simple rules for making (and keeping) your New Year’s hobby resolutions, you’ll meet your assembling, converting, painting and basing goals.
1. Make Your Hobby Goals Specific
One of the biggest tips you'll find from the myriad sources of goal-setting on the web is to be specific with your goals. Having a goal such as, “paint more minis,” won’t help you achieve much since if you paint a single mini in a year’s time, then you've technically achieved that goal. A better goal would be, “completely paint a single mini a week,” The difference is the second goal is specific and the first one isn’t. The more specific your goal is, the better you’re able to measure the result.
Similarly, you should specify the level to which you would like to achieve with your painting. Are you going for table-top quality painting or are you looking to win a Golden Daemon? Deciding how detailed you want to be in your painting means you'll have an idea of how much time you'll need to invest per model. Thinking of a specific goal or resolution allows you to plan out your goal and forces you to be more accountable.
Not specific: “I want to paint more minis this year.”
Very specific: “I want to paint 24 Termagants to a table-top standard, complete with bases by February 1st.”
2. Make Your Hobby Goals Realistic
What if you had 72 Genestealers and you told yourself, “You know what? I'm going to have all 72 Genestealers painted to a Golden Daemon standard by next weekend!” While I'd laud you for wanting to spread the Hive Mind’s forces to the stars, you should be honest with yourself: that goal just isn’t realistic (for most hobbyists). The same is true for all your hobby resolutions. If you have 72 Genestealers to paint, don’t try to speed paint all of them in one weekend, and certainly don’t make it your initial goal. A huge painting goal like that can be overwhelming and cause you to get frustrated and give up at the first bump in the road. Instead, set a realistic goal that takes smaller steps toward reaching your ultimate goal.
Not realistic: “I want to paint 72 Genestealers to a table-top standard by next Monday.”
Very realistic: “I want to paint 6 Genestealers to a table-top standard per week for 12 weeks.”
3. Determine Your Hobby Goal Road
Don't think your hobby goals will be reached by only telling yourself you want to achieve them, that’s only dreaming. It’s critical to think about—and more importantly plan out—how you’re going to reach your painting goals. Just like with the hobby goal itself, your hobby road needs to be specific and realistic.
Bad road: “I am going to paint 20 Gargoyles by February 1st by painting more.”
Good road: “I am going to paint 20 Gargoyles to a table-top standard by February 1st by painting 4 miniatures per week instead of painting one a week.”
4. Make Your Hobby Goals Known
Accountability is key if you really want to stick to your New Year’s hobby resolutions. Instead of keeping your goals a secret in a notepad buried under paint palettes and Middenland Tufts, share your goal with your regular opponents, friends, family or coworkers (if they're into miniature wargaming). Post your hobby goals on your Facebook page or blog. Post pictures with updates to the forum on Bell of Lost Souls or a local hobby forum to tap into communities who can help keep you on track, offer advice and cheer you to the finish line. By telling more people, you might find somebody who is attempting to accomplish the same goals you are. If you exchange stories of your struggles and accomplishments you’ll be more likely to see your hobby goals through to the end.
Not accountable: “I told my six-month-old nephew that I wanted to paint 3 Tervigons by the first day of summer.”
Very accountable: “I posted my 3 Tervigons painting goal on Facebook for all my hobbyist friends to see.”
5. Make Your Hobby Goals Rewarding
We 40K enthusiasts have the luxury of taking satisfaction from seeing freshly painted Trygons fielded on the table-top after we’ve painted them. However, just meeting a goal doesn’t always provide sufficient motivation. That's why we're rewarded for many of the things we do. At home your significant other will, likely, let you spend an evening gaming if you've helped out with the dishes. How eager were you to help out at home when you knew you wouldn't have to argue about rolling dice with your buddies instead of watching Downton Abbey? Use a similar tactic with your hobby goals. Create a reward system before you start working towards your goal. A lot of gamers hold to a rule that you can’t buy any new models until you've completed painting an already purchased model, which is incentive to get a new Unit described in the Codex that is coming out soon as well as finishing a model that’s been sitting on the shelf grey for far too long. Once you have come up with your incentive, imagine how great it will feel to get it once you’ve reached your goal, and let that reward be your motivation.
Bad reward: “If I get this Trygon painted by next month I’ll get to see it on the battlefield.”
Good reward: “If I get this Trygon painted to a table-top standard by February 1st, I’m going to field it at the Las Vegas Open.”
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