Is organizing your hobby its own hobby?
Is organizing your hobby its own hobby?
My personal preference is to work in small room. Right now, my home office and hobby zone are in a walk-in closet. I have spent over four years tweaking the storage and layout of my room to be right for me. My space is not only for my day job and hobby, but it is also a curated display of my knickknacks. I tend to collect a lot more than just paint and minis. I collect neat-looking glass jars that I use to hold my basing materials. I collect coffee mugs, fossils, figurines and celebrity autographs just to name a few. Everything is carefully curated in my space. Items that do not fit are stored. I believe that it was Judge John Hodgman who said a collection is not a hoard if it is displayed (Ep 194). Similarly, Adam Savage on Tested says it is only a collection if it is curated.
Maintaining my workspace is its own hobby. I spend time organizing what I have, picking out new things to add, orchestrating an aesthetic. That is not to mention the actual organization of my hobby space in my office. Where I have spent real money on organization kits such as the Hobby Zone paint racks. My workspace is also something that I tweak every time I start and end a hobby session. Put a brush here move a paint there clean out a drawer. I think about my space when I am at Ikea or browsing GWs hobby page for new and better ways to organize myself. Recently, I added the GW brand miniature holders. They then, of course, needed a home on my desk.
I do not know if my level of organization is true for everyone. Anyone who builds and paints needs some surface, a cup and a brush, but I do not know if everyone organizes as much as I do. The internet would have you think so, but I am sure that people like me tend to post their workspaces more than people who are not like me. This begs the question: is it helpful?
Overall, I think spending time on my space is helpful to my hobby craft. It makes me more efficient when I am working because I know where everything is. It also gives a sense of accomplishment when I am stuck on a project, but I work on my space instead. It also makes me feel good about being in my space and being in my space leads to me work on more projects. Yes, there are days when I just sit and stare blankly at my Necrons and then wind up fiddling with a drawer full of bits for two hours and leave without really getting anything done, but overall when I compare my hobby output before I had a thoughtfully-designed space, I get way more done now. I would love to hear your thoughts and see your spaces. Share them on the CoolGuysWhositatHome Facebook.
Three things you can do to take your hobby space to next level.
1. Do not keep to many things out. Store items you do not use often or that you don’t have space for.
2. Work on your organization when you are stuck and don’t feel like hobbying. Being in your space and doing something is half the battle.
3. Have a plan for your space based off how you work, don’t be afraid to change things if they are not working.
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