How do you stay motivated to diy?

Dawn
by Dawn
I often feel overwhelmed by projects and find myself procrastinating and wasting time. I think it is worse because I live alone and have no help. Do you ever feel this way? What do you do to stay motivated?icon

  9 answers
  • Ken Ken on Jan 29, 2018

    Sometimes I just don't feel well. Nothing in particular, just no drive. In that case I do exactly as you describe, not work on projects. A trip to the doctor to make sure everything is okay may be warranted, especially if you have not been to see your physician in a long time.


    Sometimes a project gets stalled because of an issue I don't know how to address. In that case, having more than one project going helps, and I switch over along with spending some Google time looking for solutions.


    For me, a clear vision of the finished project keeps me going. Recently finished building a pass-through cupboard over the toilets between my two bathrooms. Had to develop some new skills to build the frosted glass doors and work out some problems in the basic construction. From the beginning I knew how I wanted the cabinet to look and that vision kept me going. That, and being able to show the non-handy people in my life what I had done. Don't underestimate the praise, even on a project where your craftsmanship may only merit a "C", which is most of mine.

  • I do that, myself. The best thing is to just get started on the project. I find that once I'm working, I have no problem.

  • Just work on one or two projects at a time. I live alone too (no family or nearby friends - my ex hubby is close and helps when I need to do a 2 person job), have limited tools and pay for help on an as needed basis. I have a running lists of things to do - one for home improvements and one for everything else. For me, it is a matter of time, so precious little of it. I hesitate taking on projects that take more than a weekend to complete. My kitchen desperately needs redoing, and even though it is small, too big for me to tackle alone. (Trust me, it is bad!) I am motivated enough, just need more time and a boatload of money! What I really wish for is a DIY buddy so that we could help each other.

  • Joanie Joanie on Jan 29, 2018

    Make a list in order of priority, choose 1 st one and see it thru before starting another.Don't pick the hardest one first.

  • Mogie Mogie on Jan 29, 2018

    One project at a time. Do one step and then move on to the next. But before starting any project make sure you have all the needed items. It is MUCH easier to get what you will need before hand instead of dropping what you are in the middle of doing and running to the store.

  • Eroque022810 Eroque022810 on Jan 29, 2018

    Yes, I don't like being alone even just to scrapbook. It's boring but just like house work put some good music on and get going. Probably the best thing is that you live alone so if you make a mess it's your mess and you work on your schedule, I have people here but all men and even moving furniture you would think I was asking for the world. So I wait until just my husband is here and start on stuff then he usually helps because he doesn't like messes. This year I hope to paint or remove carpet from stairs or get outside going so many projects but I have to pick what my husband would really hate a neighbor of family member might think if they should up and we had a mess. We me it's a total mind game. But music and just starting will get most Pele going,just have a clear plan. That's probably what is the problem. With a clear plan of what you want your achieve you can even break it down to smaller projects and tackle it one at a time. Have all of what you need ready and then go so you don't have to make numerous trips to the store.

  • Dawn Dawn on Jan 29, 2018

    Thanks for your validation and ideas!

  • Crystal Hughes Crystal Hughes on Feb 20, 2018

    Music keeos me motivated. Do you have social media? If so create an album named crafts and get excited to show your friends what you can do

  • Lisa S. Lisa S. on Feb 20, 2018

    Don't say I am going to redo a whole room, just start with cleaning out the closet. Or cutting up new curtains. Break it down into steps. With a goal say for each day. Just get one thing done. Then sometimes I get inspired as I am pleased with how it looks. So that makes the motivation to do more. That is how I work in the garden.. It also helps when I am cleaning things out.