Hi JD!

Congratulations on the Ph.D. Never got one, not willing to work that
hard or organized enuf to get it done.

But you have driven yourself and made the goal! Hats off.

I'll bet you shop if full of stuff that you set aside to get the work
done, half done stuff that says "finish me." And being goal directed,
you listen.

Ok, here's my take. Go to the shop, put on your ear protectors and
IGNORE all the stuff that says HAVE TO! Just go on out there, and
PUTTER. Sweep the floor, reorganize the clutter drawer. Wash the
windows. Put tools away, or clean them, or whatever. Whatever little
thing you WANT to do. Having some music there would help. When you
are done for the day look around, and see how much better the place
looks for your efforts.

Repeat as necessary, until you discover you are going out to the shop
not because you SHOULD, but because you WANNA.

After that, sort all those HAVE TO's into a box. Set them aside.
Then when you feel an urge to start something else, do it. Or maybe
you look at one of those old projects and get a mental picture of what
it will look like finished, and get eager to see it done.

YOU'RE CURED.

This works for me every time.

Have happy holidays in your shop.

Old Guy


On Nov 26, 7:42*am, JD wrote:
Hey all, been a while since I checked in on you. I've not been able to
get into the shop lately because I FINALLY finished my Ph. D. and that
required a lot of my time.

Since completing my degree, I have found I'm not as motivated to go to
the shop as I was before. I'm a bit disturbed by this, because I
really do like making piles and piles of sawdust. However, now I'm
wandering if my bowl turning was enjoyable only because I was avoiding
working on my dissertation.

I'm not planning on ever working on another dissertation (the Good
Lord only knows why I worked on the first one), but I would like to
find myself in the shop again. Finding the motivation to go to the
shop, build a warm fire, and begin slinging sawdust and shavings
everywhere has been hard to find.

For instance, this morning I have spent the past 3 hours looking at
various things here on the web. That is 3 hours I could have been
creating, inventing, and learning in the shop. At least I would have
had something to show for my time, instead of sore knuckles and
blurring eyesight from staring at this blasted screen.

The wife is at work, the kids are behaving themselves, the university
is closed for Thanksgiving Break (so I have no obligations), and yet I
can't find any reason to head into the shop. I suppose I'm looking to
borrow someone else's motivation. As a curiosity, I'll ask the
following question: What motivation do you use to go out into the
frigid temps to build a fire and work in the shop (Mac, you can
substitute hot for frigid if you prefer)?

Regards, safe turning, and happy Thanksgiving to all,

JD (Kentucky)