6 Project Motivation Tips
It’s January, which means resolutions like “finish my project car” have likely been scrawled many peoples’ New Year’s resolution lists. It’s a reasonable resolution and one i’ve made myself a few times—to varying degrees of success. As the years go on I’ve found a few ways that helped stack the deck in my favor and turned my project cars back into fun-to-drive cars.
30 minutes a day
The core of any project is consistent progress. A one-week break from working on your project car can easily snowball into two years. Small regular efforts often lead to more progress than attempting to carve out large chunks of time to dedicate to project work. Best intentions can’t turn wrenches.
Instead, take a relatively small chunk of time out of your schedule and create the habit of thinking about, fiddling with, and working on your project. I learned this strategy from a friend, and utilized it when I was renovating my garage space. In the end, I just needed to turn getting started into a habit and the rest started to fall in place effortlessly. After a week I looked forward to each little task and routinely lost track of time, leading to working longer than 15, 20, or 30 minutes. That’s a good thing.
Focus on one thing at a time
If you are as lucky as I am, you’ve got no shortage of ideas to research, parts to find, or tasks to complete. Even when self-imposed, it can get to feel a little overwhelming. After writing out a to-do list or at least mentally cataloging everything you’ve got going on, think through what you really want to do, or need to do, and then don’t allow yourself to get distracted.
For me the focus is usually needed most on the purchasing front. After getting excited about one project I’ll order a few parts, then while waiting on those to arrive end up ordering parts for something else and before I know it all my projects are stalled while the my bank account recovers. It makes everything move at molasses-in-January pace, but if I instead only spent on the main project, things would progress more smoothly.
Be realistic
If you have a bare chassis in the garage this winter and your goal is to drive to cars and coffee in June, you are likely setting yourself up for failure. Goals need to have some aspirational nature to them, yes, but just like how I won’t be able to bench press 400 pounds by the end of the month even if I spend every spare minute in the gym between now and then, your project can only progress at a realistic rate.
Breaking down into smaller milestone goals can really help. It allows your brain to see everything between here and there, and most importantly come to grips with whether what you desire is actually possible. Be grand with your goals, but also be sure you aren’t just setting yourself up for frustration and failure.
Set up a support system
Accountability on your work has never been easier. A text or phone check-in with a friend you trust and respect is basically free and prevents the little lies we tell ourselves from growing and halting forward motion. When a friend reached out to ask about how my Honda XR600R project has been going over the last week, I had to come to grips with the fact I haven’t even gone out and worked on it. My brain ignored that fact until I had to tell someone else.
It’s also powerful to have someone to bounce ideas and frustrations off. I know I’m guilty of making a small project into something larger in my head only to talk about it with a friend and suddenly it’s not so daunting. It’s also an opportunity to vent about when things go the other direction, and that can have a cathartic effect, too.
Make progress visible—even when it’s not
You decided your project is going to get done, but what exactly does that mean? Our brains are pretty good at remembering the next task or three, but we often push smaller, unexciting, or unmeasurable milestones out of mind. It can make a project feel frustrating when you’ve been working for weeks and failed to cross off a single line from your to-do list.
Start by writing tasks or to-dos that also include a deadline, and also be sure to write down all the things you need to do, not just the cool or exciting ones. Crossing items off the list makes the progress feel a little more real and rewarding—at least for me. A whiteboard is great for this, but if you don’t have the wall space for one, don’t underestimate a clipboard hung on a nail with a legal pad clipped in. Regardless, keep an accurate log of your work and you’ll likely be amazed how much work our gearhead brains chose to ignore before.
Start at the start
Any automotive project is nothing more than a game of pick up sticks. You can try to start at the bottom, but it will only lead to frustration. Instead, start at the start. The “easy” or quicker projects that can be crossed off are a great way to build momentum and warm up your practices and habits so you aren’t tempted to take a side track or regress when you are deep into the more difficult tasks.
In the end, automotive projects aren’t easy, and completing them on a deadline is even more difficult. Is this six-point list everything you need to succeed? Hardly, but keep these things in mind and you are likely to get that much closer to a successfully completed effort.
All common-sense tips for sure. Be sure to throw a few “rewards” in there for when you achieve some of those goals. And not just the big ones – you can just say, “If I get this mirror mounted today, I can have a cookie” (and NO cookies if you fail to meet the goal). Positive reinforcement goes a long way to getting and keeping your motivation up.
I quote Arnold Schwarzenegger from the Christmas classic Jingle All The Way… “Who told you you could eat my cookies?”
I do agree a motivator is necessary. Usually the goal and checking things off is enough.
Agreed. This notion of rewarding oneself for the tiniest effort is ludicrous. It is no different like at some school events, e.g., 4th Place Ribbons, 5th Place Ribbons, etc.
Rewards for me would be, being able to text some friends as certain milestones get done. I sent a photo of my lift, the day it was installed. Hopefully the garage will be finished soon so I can actually start working on some cars.
Agreed on the first three.
I am probably the most productive with my projects than anyone in my circle, so the support group thing really doesn’t work too well
I hate lists. I’ve tried the list thing with projects, I’ve tried it at work, and I have found that seeing the list is discouraging and maintaining the list is time away from the task
Big thing especially if you have stalled – go into the garage. Touch the car. Touch the thing you are supposed to be attaching to the car. If it doesn’t get the inspiration flowing the first time, wash, rinse, repeat
A wife asking when are you ever going yo finish that thing! You will never get it done!
You have to prove her wrong that it will be done and that is code for you can spend more money on it….lol!
I told her I’d get it done and I’ll get it done! She doesn’t have to keep reminding me every 6 months…
She is just your motivation coach!
I have a poster with this saying on it given to me by old girl friend about fixing her plumbing. I love it and it is hanging in my shop.
My wife bought me the tee shirt!! Now it’s the running joke for the “honey do list”. 🤣
Hey fellow wrench pullers, I HAD a project for about 5 years. I can honestly say that baring some nit pick things, I have completed it. It was somebody else’s project when I got it, read paid for it. I had to redo some if his boo-boos. So, from the tires to wheels, and the T tops, it’s done! Registered, licenses, insured, and driven slightly. Still need some time on seating rings and draining the break-in oil, and adding the appropriate amount of ZDDP additive and new filter. When the snow melts!
The most powerful motivator for me is my spouse telling me, “If that thing is still taking up my garage space a week from today, I’m calling the 1-800-WE-BUY-JUNK-CARS number.”
EXCELLENT guidelines, for many things!
I’ll be applying them getting my apartment straightened.
Stock up on cookies!
I like these, thanks for sharing!
There is one I find key for me: remind myself all of this is meant to be fun (and cut myself some slack on self-imposed goals and deadlines). When it’s fun, I naturally want to do more of it.
Excellent article. You would qualify as a “PMP”. A Project Management Professional.
Agreed. He doesn’t need to take the test, he’s already certified.
Certified and committed?
That’s definitely me.
Beware of “Scope Creep” at all times! That can get really expensive really fast, especialy on home improvement projects.
This is the hell I am currently living in. Maybe I should have gone forward with getting my PMP certification when I was in grad school, I got real close to doing it.
I am available for free consultation!. Just this afternoon I explained to my wife why she would not possibly be able to complete all of the tasks she had scheduled in the time she had allotted. I’m sleeping on the couch tonight.
Well, that *was* the critical path…to an alternate sleep apparatus!
Hell, Yeah! She even had the flowchart filled out!
She’s got that agile methodology.
Very cool! I have been PMPing since 2004.
I like to toss in an easy and rewarding task every now and then to keep it from getting too discouraging. Buy a shiny interior part or something that is easy and looks good. It’s progress, maybe not as important than finally cutting out part of the floor and replacing it, but it’s a psychological victory.
That’s sound advice. In my case the big remaining job is getting the new engine installed (after months of work). I still have end play issues slowing me down, so small things like the cue ball shift knob keep me motivated when things go awry. 🙂
Good article Kyle – as usual. And yes – those are all the things good program managers do. I always use lists because of my uncanny ability to forget 😉
I have also found having a target date for finishing can be a good motivator. Attempting to participate in a national or regional event for your particular car can move the project along faster. It has worked for me more than once.
My biggest UN-motivevater… ‘Well, while I’m in there.’, gotta replace this and that.
Just making the li$t sets me back, but then I remind myself how fun that ride use to be !
2025 WILL be the year of git-‘er-done.
Happy New Year and wrench on !!!
Good suggestions. I especially like, and use, the project list. I use a clip board and number and list the things to do in no particular logical order, but rather as I think of, or find them, because if I don’t write them down immediately as I discover them, I will forget them. I bought a “running” hot rod project a few months ago that did, indeed, run, but there were lots of things that needed attention before I felt comfortable putting it on the street. When the project started, I probably had 30-40 items on my “Punch List”. It is now on the street, but still with new items being discovered almost every time that I drive it. The Punch List is now over 180 items from the start, but there are only 10-15 open items, mostly small stuff (e.g., outside door handle doesn’t work, etc.). Working with a “Punch List” allowed me to keep track of all of the issues, large and small, that needed my attention and gave me great satisfaction every time I crossed one off the list. It also gave me the reward of seeing my progress every time I looked at the list and saw all of the stuff crossed off that I had completed.
It’s hard by the yard. But it’s a cinch by the inch.
Oh! I’ll remember that one. 🙂 But since I play with old Volkswagens it doesn’t work. Is there a metric equivalent?
“It’s a beater by the meter, but a…” Yeah, I got nuthin’. 😛
How about a “beater by the meter but a thrill by the mil” ?
Ya know what sucks about doing major work on a 1980 Camaro Z-28? It must have been a changeover year from SAE to Metric because half of the car is one or the other. Being an old school guy I had no use for metrics until I did that car. I bought a bunch of cheap harbor freight tools sets as needed.
It is possible that being a 1980 GM product the guy on the drivers side was working in metric and the passenger side was the SAE guy.
Good one. That would not surprise me. It only got worse after that. Instead of metric on one side and SAE on the other, they started mixing it up. On a C4 Corvette, you can have your 13mm socket humming along on an underhood job, and all of a sudden, it’s “let’s put a T-45 Torx head bolt right down here in this hidden corner, just for the fun of it”.
Watch Matt Foley motivational speaker
Nearly everyone approaches small or large car projects different. I’ll skip many important parts of a project but I’ll try and comment on some of the major ones. #1. Skill, help, and tenacity. If you don’t have the skill, reliable assistance as needed, or the work ethic to follow thru to completion, I’d say buy a finished car and stick to wax jobs and oil changes. 2. A attainable plan. The white chalk board or in my case paper and notebook are absolutely required. You need to know approximately what order things will be done and checked off the list as completed, and what parts will need to be purchased or rebuilt. 3. If doing a body on or off project that can be stripped down in 2 days..take an extra day. Go slow, take detailed pictures and most importantly label bags of parts as they are taken off. 4. Find a place for everything to be temporary stored together. In my case I have a walk down to basement from the garage and 18’ by 18’ room to store all parts except large stuff. It also gives me a clean space to recondition parts I know are going back on the car. It stinks carrying parts and interiors down and up the stairs as needed, but it’s nice to bring brackets, braces, inner fenders and interiors that have been made to look like new again back up. 2 yrs ago my build pal and l reupholstered the complete interior of my 68 Nova. It was by far not as easy as watching a video on Utube, plus you need a heat gun and much patience but it’s nice to have a clean area to do that sort of stuff. Quick tip. We could not get the vinyl stretched nearly far enough underneath the seat to attach the hog rings where they belonged. We took long strong wire ties, attached many of them and slowly pulled them until we had the vinyl where it attached to the hog rings. Worked great for us. 5. Try to not look beyond task at hand. Example. On a 1970 Chevelle It took me 80+ hr to clean, sand, remove undercoating as needed with a propane torch and various scrapers, rebuild complete brake system, prime and paint. I had to drag myself out to the garage many days and nights to get it done. Don’t even think about that new ZZ 6 GM crate motor with add on AC and serpentine belt system yet. 6. This is tough but if you know you are going to finish your project buy as much of the big stuff as you can afford ahead of time. Try not to find yourself waiting for complete new fuel or brake lines, Edelbrock pro flow 4 EFI, Vintage aftermarket AC system, serpentine belt system, or whatever. I waited till I needed headers for the 383 Blueprint engine that I installed in my project last winter. I did not realize the inboard cylinders are slightly closer together and required Sanderson headers in California to custom build a set to fit a PS 1980 Camaro. Or that a regular GM starter will not bolt up to that block and had to be ordered. I could have at least held the headers and starter up to the block when it was on the engine stand and then only worried about header clearance. 7. This is truly the most important thing. Understand their will be days working on your project car that you feel like your a super genius…but their will also be days you feel you should step back and never be allowed to touch another tool…ever. Please don’t think I’m a know it all, I’m not. I haven’t even got a good start on that title. Plus I have friends that are more talented then myself. Really what it comes down to is having the attitude, skill, perseverance, resources, and work ethic to complete a project, even if it’s only a 4 speed to 5 speed OD transmission job. I’m missing about a hundred other important things but these are a good starting point. Good luck
@Robert- Thanks! I am saving your post to read again if I ever had the inclination to take on a project car!!
Win the lottery. ……..Jim.
@Jim- Buy a completed car. You will end up spending more money (Maybe) but at least you will have some time to enjoy it before your survivors give it away to some slick buyer.