6 Ways to “Unstick” Your DIY Project
Motivation can be surprisingly fleeting when it comes to DIY projects. The excitement of breaking free the first rusty bolt of the engine swap can dwindle to a full puffy-cheeks exhale as you notice the oil you leaked from pulling the valve covers soaking into the concrete floor. Always buy oil dry at the same time you buy RTV. But I digress.
It doesn’t matter how or why it happens, our projects just get stuck from time to time. For me, it’s the 1988 Honda XR600R restomod I started earlier this year. I look at it every time I go out into the garage, have notes in my phone of what works, what has been done and what the next steps are, along with what parts I need and where to get them. And yet. . .I haven’t done anything on that project in months. If we are being honest, there is no real reason. I’ve spent money that could have gone to this project on other less-pressing items.
So how does one break out of a slump like this? In the past I’ve used a variety of methods, but this group of six have been the most effective. Use, ignore, or adjust at based on your own projects and needs. And share a comment with other tips that have worked for you as well.
Throw a party
It sounds mighty strange, but in reality if you gather a group of your friends around a project there is bound to be enough conversation to put some fresh fuel into the mental project car fire. Hearing other people’s thoughts or opinions about the work you’ve completed and what needs to be done is a fun way to look at the mountain of a project before you and pick your hiking path. Even if you already know your plan, talking it through again with the right group can really bring the drive to pick up tools again.
Get Organized
Sometimes projects grind to a halt because it all gets to feel a little overwhelming. It’s very easy to end up with a bench or floor—sometimes both—covered in greasy, grimy bolts and bits. At times leaving everything just so works, but if the mind gets distracted for just the wrong amount of time, the whole situation quickly becomes a messy game of pick-up-sticks that no one wants to play.
It’s the pits. Rather than trying to pick up where we left off, sometimes it’s best to just take the mental hit and completely reset. Pick up all the nuts and bolts. Clean everything, put away tools, layout the bits and pieces again, this time in the order they’ll go back together. This all effectively re-primes the charge that can propel a project forward again with a big burst. It doesn’t feel like a lot to just clean, but sometimes it helps make decisions.
Sell it
One decision you might make when a project stalls out is to magically turn what is currently your problem into someone else’s problem. Put that way, it’s shocking that this possible solution ever works. Then again, there are a lot of people like me out there who will happily come and pick up whatever old vehicle problem you have, and occasionally pay for the pleasure. There is no shame in admitting that a project has run it’s course for you. We all get different things from project cars and sometimes the lesson to learn is when to call it quits.
Make a list
If that last one scared you a bit, I’ll dial back the suggestion to sell it all and take up golf. Instead, take about the same amount of time it would play the front nine and just take mental stock of your project. Write down what work has been done, what you planned, and what is left, then sort it all out. Use this to chart a course and make your plan to move forward. All projects move at glacial pace at one point or another, having a list is occasionally the only way to visually see progress. Lists can be helpful or overwhelming. Again, chose the right tool for you.
Treat yourself to something nice
If you have the means (or at least the temporary credit limit), sometimes the spark to jump back in can come from buying something you had previously been withholding from yourself, whether for valid or less rational reasons. A slight splurge spend on a new tool can make that rust repair easier, or buying the nicer part or piece for the next task at hand can be a little carrot when the mental stick hasn’t been effective. It’s worth a try. A new tool or part never hurt, right?
Just do something
Screw the plan, throw out reason, pick something about the project you’re excited about doing and do that. This is actually what brought me back to my XR600R recently. I think I just got distracted multiple times in multiple directions, and needed to see and experience a nice jump forward.
The seat cover was just the thing. A good quality gripper cover over new foam is trim work I find fun. The material is pretty forgiving, and just a few staples or a little heat with a heat gun can solve most odd pinches or creases. The whole ordeal was just a few hours even when I needed to clean the seat pan, and the bike’s look completely changed when I slid the seat on. It was one of those moments where, after cleaning the bench, I took a moment to stare at my accomplishment before shutting off the lights for the night.
Spending the rest of the night remembering my plan for the bike has renewed the drive to work on the 600R’s needs. Who’d have thought it would be so simple to unstick this one?
Hire someone to do a job…rebuild a carb, clean a gas tank and seal it, bead blast a body panel, whatever. Ideally a job that can be completed at their shop meaning you will not watch them working on it. Then, when the finished job is back in your hands, you look at it, then the invoice and you say, “I could have done that and for less than half the price.” It gives me the motivation to start on something simple and I feel I’m saving money and the more I do the more I’m saving.
Oh this is interesting… Similar to when I had a plumbing job quoted recently because I just plain didn’t want to do it. I suddenly found motivation (and was happy to pay the tech for their time coming out to quote it and informally advise me on the task)
Excellent point Jim.
PS – I could do it for half the price (and my time), it may not work right when I’m finished, and now I have to fix something again! LOL
No but really – this one needs to be on the list as an option!
I once had a boss who preached, “money is not a true motivator”. Of course, he mainly said this when raise-time was rolling around. But I think Jim has hit an important nailhead here. When faced with paying (often overpaying) someone for something we know we can tackle but just lack the will, we of modest means quite often find some “motivation” to get out our tools and do it ourselves. Great point Jim!
As was said, make a list and break it down to manageable segments. I try to do the hard/less pleasant tasks first. Then as you progress there is less chance on getting stuck. Again, know when to admit it’s time to move on/sell it if you find you are in over your head or lose interest. I just completed a restore on a 1975 Honda CB550 4. Planning and patience go a long way to finish a project but once completed is very satisfying to turn trash into treasure.
All very true, though my experiences are the larger the project the more stuck you can become. Basically moving on to a completely different, less daunting aspect of the project tends to work for me
Sometimes all you need is to walk away for a small time, rethink what is going on, maybe buy a tool or two and go back refreshed.
When I restore a car or bike, I work on just one section at a time. I set priorities of where to begin first and what to rebuild next and follow that plan. Perhaps I will rebuild the front end and front brakes. Then I will move to the rear end and rear brakes. Then I continue to the next priority, working on one new section at a time following each one to completion. That way, I have accomplishments to look at and appreciate. In viewing the finished sections with pride, I gain motivation to continue.
I have a good friend of many years who is a much better mechanic than me, but he often quits before finishing projects. He tears into a car or motorcycle and removes too many parts and sections, only to lose focus and motivation. As time passes, he loses some of the parts and forgets how some of the parts go back together.
To maintain motivation and focus, rebuild targeted sections and finish each section before moving on to the next.
The last one is the best advice, and what I use. I work on aspects that I want to work on and don’t try to force myself to continue on one thing that I am currently beating my head against the wall on. That way things actually get done and by the time you get back to it, you will likely have figured out how to proceed. If not, pay someone and get professional help.
Set a meaningful “Done-by” date! Whether it’s world of wheels in your area, a favorite car show, husband/wife/father/daughter/son/mom birthday, anniversary, wedding, etc. in other words a date you don’t control and can say oh well… next week.
I find that at age 78, most of my old wrenching buddies just plain old can’t do the work anymore. Without my lift, not too sure how much longer I’ll be able to. So, throwing a party is no longer an option. It also takes me a lot longer to do stuff than it used to. Hoping to get my three projects finished while I can still safely operate them.
Make a list of everything to be done and do the worst first. The thing you hate/dislike doing, once out of the way will energize you to complete the rest.
If funds are the issue get a paper route
Sometimes it’s best to quit for the day and resume tomorrow. I’ve had times when frustration took over and rather than make a bad judgement or error because I’m tired or things aren’t going right. After a nights sleep and a good rest rest things seem to go better the next day. ☹️☹️😃😃I did it!
My dad used to pull the “let’s stop for lunch” trick on me a lot. Cussing something for an hour, go eat lunch, come back, bingo-bongo, it pops right together. ? Seems to work, though.
To keep my other half happy. I’ll head out to the shop in the morning and try to get my work done by noon or so. Then we can carry on with our day. She gets some quiet time and I get to enjoy my garagemahal. Win win
I won’t go up on the roof or under the sink any more, but gladly pay someone else to. It allows me to spend time on the things I want to rather than have to. Pick you fights – I recently was trying to do a repair on the lower triple clamp of one of my motorcycles. Two bolts broken off below flush. It was easier and cheaper to replace the part. Sometimes you have to ask yourself ‘what is my time (or someone else’s) worth ?
You’re making me realize that “Pay someone else to do it” was an option I very much forgot!
How does “pay someone else to do it” fit into a “DIY Project” article?
One doesn’t have to pay them to do the whole project, just enough to bump start it again and get the excitement flowing. We all work differently.
I have a 1952 Chevrolet Delux, and I need a local mechanic in the Dallas area to change out the motor and transmission. It was cut and clipped to fit a 350 engine, so I am looking for a makeover. I want new rims, tires, shocks.
Have a regular scheduled time to work on the project, like the same night every week.
After a lot of random evenings of garage time with limited progress, a friend and I settled on the same night every week to work. Other friends knew that and could stop by to help or just hang out. If they wanted to work we would give them something from the afore mentioned list. We ended up making excellent progress and garage night is still going 30+ years later.
Look into your local junior or community college, see what classes they offer, and get registered for one. My local is a mix of kids (not enough unfortunately) and what one teacher calls hobbyists (old farts). The trade is dwindling in interest but the schools, shops and resources are in place. I’ve had teachers ask me to sign up just to meet the minimum class requirements, so as not to lose funding. So what if the class doesn’t match your project, you’ll be in the shop, with tools, equipment and space you may not have at home. You either find something to match the class to work on or just do what you want with the teachers permission of course.
I had a project in a bay on a lift for months and worked on it as I pleased, as long as any class was in session I could get in there. Other students helped me sometimes, they also asked questions and learned new things which the teachers were always cool with.
If you’ve taken a particular class too many times to enroll again, call it continuing ed and say your staying current with newer technology and methods.