Where have LMM videos been? Answers whilst Running TT Gauge in the Garden! 

Feel this in my bones, mate. I've recently realized I don't remember how to relax. Any spare time is just anxiety "why am I not doing something else." I find myself just aiming my ADHD hyper focus at something else and saying it's balanced because it's not all the same thing. But it is... You're not alone in this. Running a RU-vid is ridiculously hard. I've had 20 minute videos that have taken 20 hours to edit. The beauty of video being around is that so many understand how to throw clips together as you said, the frustration is so few understand all of the nuanced things you have to do to make a good video. Storytelling sure, but the technical of color correction... Etc. it all adds up. Take the time, and I hope it's restful. Always here if you need a sympathetic ear! Even if it's quite far away...

Lawery you take your time and rest im sure we all want you to be healthy and well so if you need time to rest and relax do it im sure all of us will always be here for the next video

Everyone deserves a break please don’t burn yourself out just take some rests we can wait!

a little something towards you and this amazing channel, the content you do make is clearly a labour of love and breaks are always needed no matter what it is you are doing.

There's a very fine line between exhaustion and a breakdown (personal experience) so please take it easy Lawrie, listen to your body it will tell you when it's had enough don't try and push through it. all the best and take care :-)

No need to apologize, Lawrie. Just remember that if you need time for yourself, MAKE time for yourself. Even if you're gone for a week, a month, or even a year (lol), we will still be here, mate.

Your personal well-being should always come first, Lawrie. Anything else can come afterwards.

Take it easy friend. You really do look tired and I can tell this is something which has been building for a while. Take as much time as you need, us viewers will be here when you return with your next video

We all burn out, Mental health is important, I suffer from issues and burn out on the regular as I just keep going and going then crash. Just recently joined a model building club called Models4Heroes at the local fire station, run by current or ex Military and Emergency service staff, Had first meet yesterday and I loved it, currently sat eating pizza watching your video building a 1/72 Dambusters Lancaster, hopefully I won't glue pepperoni to my finger. Sorry for long comment and take as much as you need, your loyal fans understand.

Thanks for all you do Lawrie, I've been feeling what you're talking about lately, I hope the week off is what you need.

I really like that this channel is also a positive place that reminds people to look after themselves as well as a (absolutely fantastic) place to come for the mechanical marvels. Enjoy your time off Lawrie!

Lawrie, you take your time. I know the feeling of RU-vid Burnout. We love your content and we are all here for you. Come back when your ready

I will be here for the next video Lawrie. Ill always be here because you really move preservation out to all of us, old and young.

To anyone who says "if you want more success from RU-vid, just work harder", I'd love to see them trying to edit something like IMLEC to broadcast TV standards and not suffer burnout. It's all much tougher than it looks. The longer hours, the lack of sick pay, often sacrificing holidays. Hell, when I woke up from my spinal surgery, barely an hour went by before I was fulfilling orders and updating accounts; not because I wanted to, but because I HAD to! Talk about more rebound than a kickball... Take it easy, old son. Well done for being open about burnout.

Have a rest don't run yourself down your an amazing person and have a awesome channel and admire your hard work and dedication . I love learning new things and your channel has helped me learn so much about locos so thank you . Rest up Well you deserve it. We will always be here for you no matter what happens. Thank you for update , take care from Adam in Norwich Norfolk uk

"If you work for a living, why do you kill yourself working?" Always remember Lawrie, you run this channel so you can live your life, not the other way around! I came to LMM for the locomotives, but honestly, the reason I watch your videos is you. You seem like a creative and very pleasant person with a great sense of humor, and I believe I speak for your whole audience when I say that the last thing we want is for the passion, the smile on your face and the glow in your eyes when you talk to disappear. Keep on with your good work (even if higher quality means less frequency!), for I and many others will always be waiting for the joy of an LMM notification! PS: I imagine you already know about this, but I will say it anyway: You can always keep a simpler video (like a "fixing models" short) ready to upload for whenever you can't actually make the content in the moment :)

Take your time, better video quality is more important to us than a rigid upload schedule! I’m not surprised after LMM fest you needed a day, the intensity of it is hard to come back from. Enjoy sitting, you need to switch off somehow. The effort and travel you put into the videos is immense and it does show. Don’t fall out of love with what you’re doing, that’s the worst thing about burnout.

I worked in my own business for almost 10 years and worked far too many hours, so I know exactly where you are coming from. In the end I burned out and then it took a very long time to get back to normal. You are no more Superman than I am so be warned. Listen to that inner voice that says " I'm knackered" and chill out. Easier said than done I know.

Lawrie it's always good to take some downtime to relax and one thing is that just take time to relax because It always good to feel better to relax to

Hi Lawrie Glad you realised what was happening to you. Glad your TT helps you out. Running my locos in the garden does it for me too. The other thing that helps me is to have ponds, fish ducks and cats. Running water helps too. Please take care of yourself. Looking forward to any videos you do in your own time. Good luck. Caroline

It's not just RU-vid - running any small business can have that effect - took me years to get to a better balance. Thanks for the brief chat at Yorkshire Wolds last week.

Hope you have a good rest Lawrie. Hope it helps you feel refreshed.

Thanks for the heads up, I think some people are lucky to produce RU-vid videos. Some people can feel relaxed in front of a camera, and others can't. Producing videos is fun, and trains are fun, but if it becomes a job, it the shine of fun tarnishes.

Take a break and just do something you enjoy for the enjoyment and relaxation of it. Currently i’m studying for my collage exams and this video has made me realise that when they’re over i need to do the same thing. I hope you take a good relax for yourself and maybe do one ever once in a while for yourself. Hope you feel really relaxed and recharged

Im so glad to see other people pick up tt3, theres such a rough and tumble charm to the size, i really do need to get a layout together for my little stash. Also Laurie, might be worth building in an obsolete day into your schedule, even as something to look forward to... like a week might do now but prevention is better than a cure and all that.

Life balance is an extremely hard thing to accomplish. You will get there. Your channel is fantastic!

It's absolutely fine relaxing. I understand how tired you feel so take your time I don't mind

All the best to you mate. Well done for all you have achieved. Hope you get a nice rest.

Yes! Take a break, we will be here when you're ready to go again.

Thanks!

I know the situation described at 05:07 quite well. "Wasting" entire Days and Weekends just lying in bed, having absolutely no desire or strength do do anything at all (no eating, no computer, just sleeping or laying in bed). I had a pre stage of burnout in 2022 (8 Months duration) and am now in my second iteration of a small pre stage of burnout again. It's not easy being told to relax when you dont want to, but sometimes you just have to say "f*** this, i need to take a break!". Your body will usually give you plenty of warning signs until it throws a big massive wrench right into your gears (usually when you "absolutely dont need this right now"). But we are quite good at ignoring these signs. My experience was: Waking up due to my alarm clock ringing, trying to get out of bed to get to work. The only problem was my body wouldnt move. I wasnt paralyzed, i could turn to the left or the right, i could go back to sleep. But my Body would not let me get up. It sounds stupid, but it really happended exactly this way. When i finally realized that i will not go to work but rather see my doctor, i could get out of bed. So, to anyone reading this: PLEASE take your time, dont work yourself into your grave! Relax and enjoy life! And, thank you for reading my story! 🙂

Take a holiday my friend! We’ll all still be here when you get back ! Even for just a week, leave your phone and équipement at home and take off into the Scottish highlands or the Yorkshire Dales and lose yourself. Take care of yourself my man! I’d be happy to welcome you to France too but unfortunately I’ve only got a week’s holiday left. Maybe next year? PS Love that Triang TT!!

as someone who turns on notifications for most creators I follow due to not learning schedules and just watching videos when they're released know that for me it's more important that you feel good than me getting 20 minutes of entertainment so from me at the very least, take breaks when you need to because health is the most important thing (also never apologize for rambling, it's all good)

10.51 i'm sure i shouldn't have found that slug as funny as i did! 🤣

I know exactly how you feel. Good luck with finding a better work/life balance.

Great working with you over the bank holiday Lawrie. I wish we’d had more time to chat TT, but… as you say, this stuff takes up soooo much time…. Hope to catch up with you again sometime soon. Garden TT? 🤔 Now that’s a cracking idea 😁

lawrie trust me on this.. mental health comes first... at the end of the day money is money.. easy come easy go as they say.. but mental health is serious business.. you are more important than any video or content..

Take your time pace yourself don’t feel guilty we can wait

Good for you man, enjoy your break

I burnt out from my last job in February, and I had to resign due to stress. I found it difficult to accept that I could not do the job, and if my wife had not accepted the load of supporting my decision of resigning and has been effectively been paying the while I was looking for a job (I decided to return to study after no luck after 3months). Lawrie Please look after yourself, even if you decide to make a habit of having a regular schedule for breaks off the channel particularly after big events, we will support you.

Take some time off Lawrie. Was very nice to meet you at Norfolk Tank Museum on Saturday. Hope you enjoyed yourself.

Really hope you're feeling better soon, if you need to dial things back to give yourself a breather please do so.

0:13 _“…Lawrie, where’s our videos…?”_ Eh, no they are not “ours”. They are yours - your time, enormous effort, knowledge, experience and humour… We are simply the beneficiaries from you _sharing_ all of this. You don’t owe us anything - rather the opposite. -Time = money- is a corporate mindset, forcing us as individuals to owe something that’s ours - our time. Use your time in ways that you and your nearest & dearest find meaningful. As we say - take your time - as if time was a commodity that can be saved? Your time is yours - we are not your nagging boss craving it. If and when you share your time through LMM videos - we all get richer. And you are not indebted by that transaction. Period. Best wishes… 😅

waht a great chat, yep I too have over done it, so yes time for that oval of track to come out. what an open and honest conversation. Kep the enthusiasim, but put yourself first!!

Having just exploded through my engineering final year project, that exact feeling of "I know I need to do this but my brain jst will not do it" is so real and so hard to deal with. Time to stop, have a break and just enjoy doing something without any pressure to do more than the basics to live is what everyone needs

Completely sympathise, the biggest down side of running your own business is trying to switch off and not feel guilty that you could actually be working but like you say you can get into a spiral where you just get less and less effective. Take care of yourself mate, it's important

Those of us who run heritage railways, build and operate scale railways large or small, salvage and restore historic machinery of any kind, our hobby is WORK. We tend to spend our free time, the time when we are not at our day job and the time that we really should be spending (at least some of) resting and relaxing, WORKING. That's not necessarily bad, but it is really easy to take too much on and not allow ourselves to stop and rest because there is always something else that needs doing (and there always will be. You are never done working on a railway or steam engine, no matter how much you do. I've been right there myself a few times, including the past few weeks, constantly pushing projects towards completion without resting (and I don't even run an active RU-vid channel, I kinda gave up on that years ago. My hat is off to fellows like you who can manage it). All work, whether its your day job or your hobby, will wear on you mentally and physically, and like a machine that is never scheduled for maintenance, you will break down and stop eventually, but not in a good way, if you don't allow yourself time to stop and rest. For those of us with an ADD/ADHD brain, that may mean stepping away from the choo choos (or whatever your fascination is) for a bit. I should also mention, none of this gets any easier as you age. I couldnt put in the hours today that I did volunteering at a heritage railway 10 years ago. All the coffee in the world won't bring back your youthful stamina. Enjoy it while it lasts. 😁🚂

No need to apologies, I have friends that YT has eaten up because of the amount of time and effort needed as well as having full time jobs. I wish my channel was as big and great as yours but I enjoy watching more than the making and it’s a hobby. Take as long as you need, without you (and the team) there is no LMM which would be a shame 😔

Well done Lawrie. Have a breather and recharge for a while in this lovely weather we are having (if you are in Norfolk/Suffolk ATM). Watching a tail-chaser layout is so good for the spirit. I'm glad for you that you took the time and effort to set that up. It has obviously done wonders for you. I'm sorry that pressures of work (whatever they my be) have ground you down. I was made redundant a few years ago, and it's only when I stopped working that I realised how burnt out I had been. Model railwaying has been so rewarding for my mental health (as well as adding a little bit of stress now and again). Hope to see you soon. 👍👍👍

Take your time to rest! We aren’t going anywhere and everyone needs a rest sometimes!!

No need for apologies, Lawrie. Take some rest, trust me the videos can wait a while.

We all love you lawrie. Considering the quality videos you've been putting out for... forever?, you deserve a big break.

Your rest is well earned, I look forward to seeing you back feeling fresh and ready soon.

Just recline back and take a nap and more quiet time Lawrie. We may love to see more of what you do but we do not want to pressuring you to just churn out every week or whatever; we are all human, take a step back (or several!). do be and stay happy :)

Everyone needs a break from time to time. Don't feel guilty, you've earned it!

I learned not to work too hard just in time. I'm still happily working at a job I love long past normal retirement age. I don't have to work; I work because it's fun.

Same reason we've put out almost nothing for 4 months. Some videos sit like a mill stone, this whole summer I've felt the guilt of catching up on editing things from the last 12 months. Despite the good weather, not working on much outside. The realisation that you just can't do something, despite the want to do so, the desire to make progress being overridden by exhaustion, concentration failure or just an innate paralysis of work load when sat at the edit station. Passing 100k seems like a prefect chance to take that breather too. Take it easy, bit by bit and relax a bit

I've been through work-related burnout a couple of times and it's not a piece of cake. I've learnt to take time off and relax. Watching model trains going round and round is definitely therapeutic.

Take your time mate, all good

Nah mate. If I don't see a Lawrie video I don't think 'where's the video', I think 'How's Lawrie doing? I hope he's ok.' Be good to yourself ❤ Take the break you need, and we'll enjoy the next vid whenever. Oh, and toy train of choice here is lego - easy to not take seriously, and no one cares if they crash or fall.

Thanks

Take it easy, Lawrie. Love your very personal videos but your health comes first so have a good break and come back refreshed.

Been there etc. back in the day working 7 days a week for 4 years. When I stopped I crashed. Take as many breaks as you need. Pace your production if we don’t see it one week we’ll see it the next. Take care

Need to get yourself a T gauge set, puts a huge grin on my face every time I see it running 😁😁😁

We’re all still going to be here for you when you get back;)

Enjoy your break :)

one of the main things i hear from youtubers is not knowing when to turn off and do something for yourself and not turn what your doing into content. there are loads of content creators that i watch who keep burning out due to to not taking occasional short breaks and have to take longer breaks instead to recover

Been a Laborer since I was 13 and I gotta say, the short 6 month stint I did as non-working supervisor a few years ago was the most exhausting work I’ve done, mentally, not Physically, honestly mental exhaustion feels worse. You deserve some time off Mate, take the time you need, come back when you feel fresh. We ain’t going nowhere. Much love Also sorry I couldn’t make it to LLMfest, boss wouldn’t give me the day off.

I find painting ModelU LMM figures a nice way to relax and unwind.

Take time nothing is so important it won't wait a day or two. Mental health is a big issue for this country even affecting my family lately. Sending you a virtual hug.

Just spotted your t-shirt: I remember those little tugs pulling large barrows about at work - and they've only been replaced in the last five years or so! On a more serious note, I can fully identify with having difficulty in summoning up enthusiasm to do things when you feel overwhelmed - my chaotic living conditions are testament to this. I wish you well.

Rest up mate. Lmm was a great day but totally understand how much extra stress that must have been! Look forward to seeing videos when they return :)

Take care of yourself Laurie, with things like this it is important to find a work life balance. When you feel ready to get back to it, make sure to set yourself days off, at least two a week to just relax

I hope you manage to get a good rest and start feeling more refreshed, ive been in that kind of burnout a few time and im glad your taking the break, i know its dificult as people usually want to get just another thing done first. There is a vast amount that goes into everything you do thats a mountain of effort but never 'seen', but as a creative i do apreciate and value it all. I remember the days of colour correction and balancing audio. I know the guilt feeling hits hard but sometimes just doing something or you thats fun like running trains can be the best thing. All the best wishes.

Well deserved Sir enjoy your break

You are not the first railway utuber to have a mental breakdown and you will surely not be the last 😢 Get well soon ❤❤❤

Great to see you put vid out on channel thanks for the share on channel keep up the good video you do thanks lee

Chill Lawrie take a break mate you have earned it.

Take time and rest. You deserve it especially with all the hard work you are doing at the moment.

its okay man I'm in a different situation but this feels similar to what it was like a few months ago with some irl issues. If you need to take a break its fine. I hope your okay. best wishes!

When you edit or film or set up for the channel, that's selling your time to your viewers. When you take time for yourself and don't touch RU-vid, that's buying time and health for yourself. You have to buy to be able to sell, don't feel guilty!

Everyone needs a break. I've been restoring a house in Scotland for what seems like the last 3000 years.......Every now and then I burn out and HAVE to take a week off. I hate doing it, but know that I MUST... Your vids are worth waiting for :)

Lawrie sadly know that feeling but not in RU-vid but adding that to my endless volunteering and actual work on top of it, Last year I got myself sick was told I'm a Diabetic type 2 and yep easy to work around which I have done and just recently thought lack of water and that has equaled Covid do now I'm doing videos been meaning to do and hadn't fitted in, You look after yourself mate play trains chill out and have a KITKAT (break) you'll be back Arnie ;) take care mate

Even Machinery needs downtime for maintenance and fresh oil. Look after your health Lawrie !

Like many of us caught in the hamster wheel, lol get rest and enjoy some R an Rj be well Lawrie

Tricky, isn''t it? (As far as we know) all the things that you like doing are things that we like watching. Maybe railway modelling is part of the answer? I find it really enjoyable, relaxing and fulfilling when I allow myself to do some, but most of the time other 'more urgent' things crowd it out and I'm up till the small hours having not done any again. But of course you'll want to film it, so how about a simple setup - no more than two cameras - and film yourself doing some modelling / playing trains / whatever. No deadline to complete whatever it is, just you , your models, and a bit of chatting to us. That assumes that you can relax enough while doing it, but it must be easier than the shenanigans needed for something like a Jupiter road trip. Just a thought. Also - if you feel you could go to sleep, do so! At that point you are probably so tired that your productivity will be far lower than you realise, and a few (or many) hours' kip will help restore your edge, making up for 'lost' time. I don't do this as much as I should, but the rewards are worth it. Take care, Lawrie, and do programme in a day-off after a major event in future, give yourself a fighting chance!

Can’t wait for LLM fest video. But if it take a day, a month, a year. I can wait and I’ll be then to watch it when you’re back. There’s nothing more important than looking after yourself so take your time and only come back when you are ready. Even if that’s at a slower pace too

I now what you mean i didn't realise how much of my free time making videos took up and trying to make time after work or on days of and i also now the feeling when i go to do something am about to start and then i think of i should film this but dont really have the time to lol, my videos aren't any were near the quality of yours so i can only imagine how many hours you put into each video with filming and editing, don't stress to much about putting to much up and set your self some time of each week or month, i quite often re watch your older videos before a new one comes out anyway, take it easy and hope your feeling better soon. Tom

Don’t over do it you can make yourself sick 😉👍

I'm nowhere near your numbers on RU-vid, but I know exactly what you're talking about. I live my life around model railways and steam and engineering, and what you need is a partner like my wife...... books a holiday abroad where there is no trains or anything remotely engineering or heritage to get me to step off the merry go round and stop. Videos can wait, we will all still be here when you get back. Rest up. All the best, Matt 👍.

Whilst being self employed is hard work and it can be easy to get sucked in to doing work because you want to be busy, time out is important. You mention 'planning future events'. The most important event to plan is your time out. Get it in the diary and take it.

totally understand this hope you get well rested and enjoy some downtime until then hope all is well and well done on lmm fest again

Yer I get that. Was worked in to exhaustion last year. Denied time off and then went on to Collapse in the middle of the road was left there for apparently a good few minutes before the boss bothered to check on me and 2 days later fired me for it!

It might be a time off year kinda thing. Summer is here and in the back of your mind you know that other 9-5er are putting their feet up. I say this as someone who run a small business and I have the same feelings around now and Xmas.

I had no idea you were that busy! Make sure you're taking regular breaks! They can't overhaul a person like a locomotive!

I can understand where you are coming from , it's like sometimes you can be your own worst enemy. Trying to get things done & keeping everybody happy . Knowing when to stop can be hard but it can also be dangerous to your health & wellbeing. On the other hand the next video could have been what broken now. Which would be you laid up in hospital due to over doing it. At least you have your train sets to play with. Please don't try do out to soon if your not ready just post another update We think to much of you to have you ill

Lawrie take some time off, if anyone deserves it, its you pal. We will all be here when you get back whenever that may be 🙂

Take all the time you need, mate. Mental and emotional health is incredibly important and something that people desperately underestimate. Even moreso when you're self-employed. I've had friends who've been driven to the brink of the unthinkable trying to chase that RU-vid algorithm (incidentally, might not hurt to see if Chris Eden-Green wants to join you for a pint sometime; poor lad's not been having a great go of it lately either). When the whole world rests on your shoulders, even if you know it means taking a hit to your income, you've got to know when to set the globe down and take a step back and just breath. So yes, please, take a week off. Take two if you need it, no worries. Your fans will still be here when you get back, and I'm sure your Patreon supporters will continue supporting you too. 2024 has been a year of reckoning for a lot of RU-vidrs, and the last thing we want is for this year to finally beat you too.

Lawrie, though i'm just another in the faceless internet blob, pleaaaase please please hear me when i say we can wait. We can be patient. Please take time for yourself. Take a breath. Rest, take some time for yourself. We'll still be here, we aren't going anywhere. Cheers, bud, try to get some rest C:

Take a break mate , you deserve it