Having returned from a family vacation and seeing the arrival of fall, I am trying to get a fresh start on model railroading. Throughout 2025, the state of the basement has been a gumption trap, and as one of my Susquehanna Division buddies said the other day, "the key to progress starts by just getting down to the basement." We are meeting with our electrician again this week to finalize the plan which includes a switched circuit for lighting for the railroad, a switched circuit and light fixtures for general basement lighting, and updating several other circuits in the basement. This has motivated (i.e. forced) me to begin the process of cleaning out clutter in the basement and to move rolling stock and structures off the existing benchwork to prepare for work to be done directly overhead.
A recent Jason Jensen video also mentioned a technique for making progress. He points to forming a habit of spending time in the train room or modeling bench every day. In his view forming the habit is more important than accomplishing specific tasks. I have been trying to do just that, spend some time every day.
For the most part, I have focused on work on the "basement to train room" transition. However, I have several workbench projects I can also consider in my habit forming quest. One is to continue with the
wooden warehouse project that I started months ago. The other is to make some shrubs using a technique from a
Boomer Diorama video that I watched. I have the basic materials on hand, and it is a project that breaks down into a series of short steps with drying time in-between. It would be a good project for my attempts to build the daily habit!
