" Making Time"

[TrainsRMe1]

Hi My MRXRDER friends, I have a  question, for you, What is the secret of making time to work on your layouts, my schdule is a LONG 10 AND HALF HOUR DAY.  Plus we are remodeling our home,;lplus we have other responsibilities to take care of, it seems like when there is a little time to work on it, something else comes up, I get a little frusrated my wife works almost the same hours as I do and when she gets home she draggin' also, We would like to have a little down time(be relaxed and not OVERLY tired) and make some progess on the layout.      HELP, frusated MRRDER                               Trainsrme1

[selector]

 

Try this thread...same idea, and the sentiment will let you know that you are not alone.

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/862325/ShowPost.aspx

[ranchero]

i made myself a small cart with wheels so i can take my modeling in the living room. that way i can sit down relax, watch a movie or tv and work on a car or a structure kit. even 20 minute a day can yield wonder. doing a 1 sqaure feet area of scenery takes about 20 minute, as does assembling a athearn or accurail kit. weathering a small structure takes about the same time...every little bit count

[tatans]

10.5 hour day ? ? Is this from 1946 Soviet Union Siberian Work Camp???   Does your State not have minimum labor compensation rules? Does safety come into consideration?  I hope I don't meet you on the highway coming home from a grinding 10.5 hour shift. If you aren't very wealthy now or soon going to be, you are wasting your time working so hard for nothing. I would suggest sleeping when you are NOT at work, forget the hobby before you have to.

[Anonymous]

You can set aside 4 hours or so each weekend day cant' cha?

If your schedule is that full, you need to back off the hammer and get out of the Monfort lane before you burn out and lose all desire to do ANYTHING fun.

Work was invented during medival times to occupy the pheasants so that they are too tired to forment revolt against the Monarchy (Just JOKING.... =)

[jbloch]

Tatans:

Sorry to break this to you, but 10.5 hrs./day X 5 days a week = 52.5 hrs. a week.  That's around what I work, and I don't know many people who work the old "40 hour week" -- those days are over for most of us just trying to keep our heads above water.

Jim

[ereimer]

Work was invented during medival times to occupy the pheasants so that they are too tired to forment revolt against the Monarchy (Just JOKING.... =)

pheasants ? that's a small bird , usually served under glass

LOL

[Anonymous]

LOL.

[SOU Fan]

LOL

[CNJ831]

To be very honest and frank, if you have the schedule and concerns you outline and these are all priorities ahead of model railroading, your best bet is simply to drop the hobby as you just plain don't have the time to persue it.

 In life you must set your priorities and goals. You can either set these in the direction of your career or the true enjoyment of your life and living. I have met very few people who can do both successfully (in  spite of some claims). Model railroading is a time and labor intensive hobby, so the relatively few that do really well in it have set their goals in that direction.  

CNJ831  

[MisterBeasley]

You may notice that there are a lot of us who have gotten back into the hobby in our 50's and 60's, often after long absences.  I kept my trains in boxes in the attic for 40 years while I established a career, bought a house, got married, raised a daughter and put an addition on the house so I would have somewhere to build my layout.  I wouldn't necessarily advocate waiting that long, but sometimes you've got to hit the pause button while the rest of your life gets attended to.

And as for the pheasant controversy, I quail at the thought of grousing about such things.

[Adelie]

My secret has been 1) not having children, and 2) having a wife who loves to watch things on TV that I would walk out on from an airplane! 

I'm gone 12.5 hours a day, and if I'm lucky I can squeeze in a couple of hours a week one night while my wife is watching some movie I don't want to be seen watching (translated plot: we'll follow a woman in her successful quest for "it all," despite those demon men).  Otherwise, it is a few hours on the weekend.  Time in the fall and winter is a little more plentiful.

I've also worked on structures while sitting around in the evening not secluded away.  It is not uncommon for me to be working on a track plan in CadRail while I have a ball game playing or listening to music.

Everybody has their priorities.  If you have a family, unless model railroading is a gathering point for some or all of you, it probably isn't high on the list of priorities.  On the other hand, if it is a father/son activity (or father/daughter, or husband/wife or the entire group) you need to make time, not so much for the railroading but for the underlying purpose of having quality time working on something together.

As for me, the hobby is a creative outlet and a way to restore my sanity.  We are hoping to move to North Carolina in the coming months where I will mostly be working from home.  The three+ hours a day savings in just not having a commute back and forth will go to MRR, in part.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes I would be in the Sleeper of the 18 wheeler finishing the Blue Box Kits with a little paint, tools and some glue in warmer areas of the USA.

It wasnt much of a hobby on the road, but it was better than nothing.

[rrebell]

Do like me, spent 20 years collecting parts for a railroad when i could find them for cheap, build a structure or car now and then and now that i am finnishing up my working life i am starting to plan and build my dream layout. Beleive me i could not afford to do so if i hadnt been collecting all these years. Some stuff is just unavaliable even on ebay and if it shows up, sometimes the price is $$$$$. So don't give up on the hobby, if you need to have an layout at this time settle for a time saver, can be built in one evening.

[selector]

You may notice that there are a lot of us who have gotten back into the hobby in our 50's and 60's, often after long absences.  I kept my trains in boxes in the attic for 40 years while I established a career, bought a house, got married, raised a daughter and put an addition on the house so I would have somewhere to build my layout.  I wouldn't necessarily advocate waiting that long, but sometimes you've got to hit the pause button while the rest of your life gets attended to.

And as for the pheasant controversy, I quail at the thought of grousing about such things.

 

Agreed.  Feathering one's nest is more important than going off half-cocked over a hobby.