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Tips: Motivation and Productivity

T

taloft

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Hey guys and gals. I'm looking for more ideas to increase my motivation and spend more time building.

One thing that helped me: Putting a TV in the shop. I don't really pay attention to it, but for some reason, I'm willing to spend more time out there deburring and such.

I've also found that watching Youtube first flight videos gives me a temporary boost.

Any other ideas?

Sometimes the goal just seems so far away, you know?
 
these things always make me want to work on my project

Go flying in a rental.

Hang out at the airport.

Get a ride in a finished RV.

Help the owner of a finished RV do some maintenence.

Go to Oshkosh.

Go to an EAA meeting.
 
First-flight videos really help me. Also, the TV in my shop gives me something to listen to while I deburr or do other tasks that don't require much thought. I do have to shut off the TV when I'm figuring out next steps on the project or doing some critical drilling/other work.

Also, planning future cross-country flights with the wife... helps me keep an eye on the eventual benefits. :)
 
Two suggestions,

1. If you have an old computer and an internet connection, you can put on www.pandora.com . Its a free internet radio station that is quite nice, any kind of music you can dream up..you can listen to it on there.

2. Try and find some local RV guys and tag along for breakfast/lunch if they have an extra seat or hang out at the hangar when time permits. This definitely helps me to see a 'finished' RV so you remember why you're building. :)
 
Go flying in a rental.
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This is a huge one for me. I hate flying that C172. I used to enjoy the katana, but dealing the ottawa control zone sure eats away at your flying time, which at 125/hr is precious!
 
RV7Ron said:
1. If you have an old computer and an internet connection, you can put on www.pandora.com . Its a free internet radio station that is quite nice, any kind of music you can dream up..you can listen to it on there.
Click to expand...

Heck, if you have signal, you can stream Pandora onto a cell phone, and listen to your music IN the plane. Once it's flying, of course. ;) More seriously, it's replaced almost all my music listening at home and in the car.

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Seeing progress

For me, working on the plane nearly every day, even if just a little bit, kept me motivated. I guess I was lucky in that I became obsessed with building. Sure there were specific jobs that were discouraging but the final goal always kept me motivated.

My challenge was tearing myself away from the plane long enough to do the other things I needed to do in my life (i.e. my day job, family time, etc). I'm also one of those weird people that would much rather have silence then listening to a radio or TV while working on plane.
 
How about a glider ride?

I agree with the folks who have weighed in in favor of flying, but a 172? Really?

Go get some dual in an old and slow taildragger in your area. Better yet, hop in a glider. It's good for polishing up on your rudder skills, and offers a level of fun and engagement that's hard to match.

Even in the peak of the flying season, a good flight in a glider is a big boost and really reminds me of why I find so much satisfaction in being a pilot. Motivation guaranteed!

M
 
I did put a TV in my garage/shop.. It really made the mundane but very necessary tasks like deburring go by very quickly.
 
Better yet, hop in a glider
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Absolutely. It's been 17 years since I did any glider flying, but I loved it and I do miss it. A friend of mine is a professional military Griffon Helicopter pilot, as well as a Fixed and Rotary wing and a glider pilot (he and I learned to fly gliders the same summer when we were kids), and he's now talking about wanting to get back into gliding.
 
Productivity Tips

You spend a lot of project time edge-smoothing which is tedious and time-consuming. It's not so bad if you can do it while sitting in an comfortable chair watching TV though. Even better if you're TV is hooked up to a DVR so you can fast forward through the commericials or watch a DVD.
 
taloft said:
Hey guys and gals. I'm looking for more ideas to increase my motivation and spend more time building.

One thing that helped me: Putting a TV in the shop. I don't really pay attention to it, but for some reason, I'm willing to spend more time out there deburring and such.

I've also found that watching Youtube first flight videos gives me a temporary boost.

Any other ideas?

Sometimes the goal just seems so far away, you know?
Click to expand...

If problems with motivation are related to time management, maybe this article will provide food for thought:

http://thervjournal.com/smart.html

Press on! :)
 
XM Radio. I had an especially good time when they turned one channel into Woodstock for 3 days on the 40th anniversary. The shop was rockin'!

Back in July, NASA replayed in "real time" the Apollo 11 air-ground communications, from something like L-2 days until splashdown, for the 40th anniversary...I had it playing in the garage/shop the whole time. It was like being there all over again!

I do turn any distractions like music OFF when working on anything that needs concentration. There's a discussion on this (music in the shop vs. quality) in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance LOL!
 
Vladyspassky said:
Thanks for the link Ron. Good stuff for the shop.
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you bet, enjoy.

You will find the free version has a monthly 40 hr limit (and very limited commercials), at which time you can pay $1 to continue listening unlimited for the rest of the month. They also have a $36 annual fee version that is commercial free. I just stick with the free version. I like XM too, but this is much cheaper...
 
i've done some things wrong on certain parts, and i wanted to replace them- so I order the replacement part and because i'm frustrated that i "ruined" something i look ahead in the plans for something that has a high reward to effort- for me something like cutting the control tubes and working on them is really rewarding- you get to get rid of this big ungainly tube (by cutting it in half) and you use up a fair bit of hardware. the blind rivets on the larger tube are also pretty easy to get just right, about the only thing tricky are the solid rivets on the smaller tubes.

or get other assemblies laid out, like if you are waiting to prime flap parts get out the aileron parts to start deburring and fitting (or vice versa)

same with the empennage, if you are stuck on the HS start on the rudder parts. the stiffeners could be cut out when commercials are on while watching tv, i've done them that way.
 
TV/Radio are good.

But if you have climate control (Heating/Air conditioning), You'll be more motivated when the weather is not your friend. For heat you can add a small space heater, and if you need to stay cool, a window air conditioning can be installed, by cutting a hole in a wall.

Space heaters at walmart $8-30
Window AC unit $50-400 Home Depot
 
A good building partner

The best motivation that I can imagine is a building partner you love to share time with. Even better if that person is knowledgable and skilled, helping to get past the rough spots.

But, even if the person isn't a building guru or your best friend, having a compatible someone else expecting you to show up and put the hours in can help get you on task even when you want to veg in front of the TV. (That's partly why so many athletes find training partners for at least some parts of their training regimens.)
 
I've been working on mine for close to 4 years. I got to fly Brian Wallis' RV3 over the Christmas holidays and it set me on fire. I've been working on the 8 every spare minute since that flight. Two months should get me flying. RVs are a dream to fly compared to everything else I've flown. It was the best motivation I've had. You ought to make a day trip with a RV owner and see if he'll let you have the stick for a while. I promise it will get you going.
 
I'm probably a little obsessive, but as with most any large project I dive in 100% and actually have to stop myself from spending too much time in the shop. Continuous progress is very important, but talking a break is too. Just make sure you find a good balance so you don't burn out.
 
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