By now, you may have noticed that the giant remote that controls the world is stuck. The pause button is jammed in place, and no amount of fiddling with a paper clip seems to be able to free it. And no, this is not going to be another one of those “in these times…” musings, because if we never have …
Excellent article.
I'm in the "rut", but only because I can work on the project when it's available for me to work on. But I have been gathering parts, searching out different avenues whether the source of parts, paying for those parts, or hiding of the parts purchased.
Pretty soon it'll be in the have to wait at least 13 weeks before I can work on it again.... Maybe it's time for another project. 
Timely. I was discussing the little bites (30 for 30) everyday approach with a rallyx buddy, and how it's helpful to so many if you can just get started. Hopefully starting a build thread will keep me accountable, too.
It's hard to stay motivated but we are still plugging along. While I haven't touched the G35 in months, the 16" lathe gets a little TLC regularly and Dirtie the B210 got a wiring harness, ECU and fuse box this past weekend. All for a race that may or may not happen come September.
When all else fails, you can always buy another project just to have something to do.
Me, I bought a boat that needs more work than I hoped.
Reads like a bit of my shop philosophy! My project scrap metal 4 post lift is a wonderful example. All the starts and stops, obstacles of slow parts, missing parts, late discovered much needed parts and realizing that I must back up a lot to get it right can test the best of me. Plenty of side projects available get me though the down time.
Motivation is one of my shortcomings. My brother and I kick each others butt and are not slow with the shaming if we get the "not tonights" or "I'm gonna stare at it for a few minutes before finding that piece I need" .
A build post is a terrific motivator. Not only for the original poster but for most who read it too.
I may have overdone it on the motivation last month when I realized that while hammering through my list of end items on my Mustang I neglected reading "Say What" for 3 days!! Usually I read it in the post office parking lot!
Bruce
I decided to build a house and shop in the middle of all this craziness. Supply delays you say? Naaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
My wife got me a Nintendo Switch for my birthday and my project is on temporary hold while Calamity Ganon gets a smack down.
My personal go to to keep projects moving along is don't use it as a desk/table/storage rack. Let it get buried in stuff and the project will get buried too.
When I work on things I make a mess and leave tools out everywhere which makes me lose motivation to work. Then I clean it all up and suddenly I'm motivated to work on things again. It's crazy but it works.
metallitubby said:I decided to build a house and shop in the middle of all this craziness. Supply delays you say? Naaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
I'm still building my house and SWMBO will not let me back off until its's done. scaffolds up next comes paper and lath finally Stucco 
frenchyd said:I'm still building my house and SWMBO will not let me back off until its's done.
I am maybe two months out from my shop and house being complete. I am at the phase of the build where I get angry every time I visit the site.
Item #9 is a killer. It happens only AFTER you think you have crossed the finish line.
During the last part of a project, you often enter into a manic phase where no amount of time or money is too much since the project is worthless until it is done. "Just get it on the road" is what drives you.
After it hits the road comes the other side of the manic swing: It is NOT heaven on wheels. You made bad design moves, you did something wrong and it rattles. Maybe an engine or a gearbox fails. You will notice that you are not moving other cars out of the way to drive the Hot Rod.What works for me is to re-introduce the car as a new project. Treat the flaws as opportunities to do something better based on what you learned.
I will also add another item to the list "What you built is mediocre"
While your original idea might have been brilliant, if what you assembled is a collection of "Good enoughs" traveling in close formation, then the final result is going to be pretty disappointing.
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