The holidays have always been a busy time for me as a musician. While many modelers use the winter weather and holiday breaks to retreat to the modeling room, I had only two days off during December, days I utilized to be around family and friends. Suffice to say the modeling workshop has been gathering dust all season.
Of course, this is the time of year when one traditionally takes a good, long look at their personal and professional life, and prepares a giant laundry list of things to change for the better. I'm certainly doing the same, but experience has taught me that focus on a small amount (or single) goal yields better results.
Returning to a theme I found myself considering last year, two words come to mind:
Simplify.
Focus.
OK, so what? In general, it boils down to applying a minimalist mindset to my personal, professional, and recreational endeavors. Here are a few areas where I'd like to streamline things in the modeling world:
1. Scale Focus: HOn30. It's clear my current focus in my home projects lie in this narrow-gauge scale. My N-scale shelf layout has been functioning as a giant storage shelf for almost a year now; the track, components, and rolling stock could be better purposed on my father's N-scale project, and the wall space it takes up could serve as a swappable shelf area to mount my current projects.
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| My N-scale Junk shelf. It's time to say goodbye... |
2. Project Priority. As many modelers do, I tend to accumulate a lot of projects. Some of them get started and lose momentum mid-stream. Others are still in their boxes. That's fine, and it's part of the creative process; but I feel that my time would be best utilized if I cataloged, organized, and prioritized the projects that will contribute to my current overall goals. Projects that I have clearly lost interest in or otherwise abandoned should be sold off, given away, or trashed.
Finding a clearer understanding of the areas of the hobby that give me the most enjoyment will help me focus on projects that are more fulfilling. My recent work on a wooden truss bridge and a small inglenook sidings layout have re-affirmed my love for scratchbuilding.
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3. Eliminate Clutter. This is the age-old demon in the garage, and it ties into #2 as well. Clutter is off-putting; it demotivates any urge to go out to the garage and work on something, and makes for a difficult time organizing and finding tools and materials mid-stream. I've done a lot of good work creating spaces, drawers and organizers at the workbench to collect and organize my tools and materials; it's a good idea to develop a habit of creating a clean "blank slate" at the end of each work session to keep my enthusiasm and enjoyment in the space moving forward.
I'm looking forward to finding some time to hit the workbench again soon as the holidays come to a close. Hopefully there will be lots more to share here in the coming months.
On another topic:
I'd like to thank Rich Brungard (of Marsh Creek Miniatures) for a nice mention in his blog recently. You can read the post here. In addition to being an enthusiastic supporter of the modeling community and a fantastic modeler himself, Rich and his home-based company produce some really fantastic HOn30 kits and parts which are rapidly filling the "holes" in this fledgling scales' product line and making it easier for modelers to obtain rolling stock, trucks, and more. Rich has been a great cornerstone of support in the HOn30 community and his work continues to inspire me (and others) to head out to the workbench and "build something awesome," as he puts it. Keep up the great work, Rich!
