How often do you take on a new project on your car? Obviously you can not wait to fix a car that is your daily ride to work, school, etc. But those discretionary jobs, the hot-up jobs, the "make it run better" or "make it look cooler" jobs; how often do you take them on? If you spend every free moment in the garage with the project car your social life is going to suffer. So how do you space out the time you spend playing with the car?
Is it based upon money? Do you only buy parts and work on the car when you are flush with cash? In my case the performance parts to improve my old Honda CRX are hard to come by; when you find them you have to buy them. But I have been known to let a set of parts sit on my work bench until I have the courage to tear apart a working engine, suspension, brakes, etc. So in my case my hobby car work is not regulated by money alone.
Do you let a deadline inspire you to start or finish a project? Is a car show, enthusiast's meet or race coming up and you want to be ready for that? I have to admit that I have been known to hurry up a project so I can show off for the other guys. And you always want to be prepared for a race so that is a good incentive to get something new ready on the car. But a deadline is not the most important factor in determining when I start or finish because my car is generally ready to go to the show or the track.
After long thought on this topic I realized that there is a subconscious timing device that regulates how often I take on a new project in the garage. I have just recently come to recognize that I will not take on a new project in the garage until the wounds on my hands heal from the last project.
Even though I wear protective mechanics gloves when I am busting bolts in tight spaces and I wear latex gloves when handling fluids and grease, the At Home Mechanic's hands do take some wear and tear when working on the car. A small cut or scrape is fairly routine for every project, a major gash is the price to be paid about once a year or so.
The guarantee that you will do injury to yourself while working on the car is not an enticing inducement to take up the hobby, is it? But there is a macho pride in displaying your scars to the guys; think of them as badges of honor. No pain, no gain.
Of course if I was more careful maybe I would not be injury prone. Maybe if I read the service more carefully I could find a more adroit method of getting into tight spots. But as Popeye the Sailor proclaimed, "I yam what I yam." In this case I am just a clumsy but enthusiastic At Home Mechanic.