Working a full-time government job, but I always try to put in a few hours to the hobby; between playing video games, socializing with friends and home chores; it keeps a 49-year-old like me out of trouble.
@SableLiger Elon Musk, age 52, still plays video games and he was playing the very difficult “Elden Ring, Game of the Year” video game into the wee morning hours (he’s very good at it according to his post) when he was contemplating acquiring Twitter, now named X.
@beaR It also depends on where you live. A Canadian modeler told me that he doesn’t and can’t model in the winter because it’s way too cold to open the window to vent any fumes. So using acrylic paints helps a lot to avoid any solvent fumes.
When I was a high school and college student, I modeled during Christmas and Summer breaks. I started with small, easy, and cheap kits, usually 1/35 DML plastic figures that I can build, paint, and finish a figure in a day. I still have them stored away. These figures “preserved time” of my childhood whereas playing video games and watching TV…I don’t remember those events very well as a kid compared to a kit or a figure that I can look at repeatedly day after day and say, “I did that!” I now base most of my figures, sign them, and date when I completed them just to show what I built and finished each year.
As I got older, more experienced in the hobby, and richer, the 1/35 DML plastic figures were set to the wayside on “personal value” (The recently ended 2023 “Summer Nostalgia Campaign” resurrected these DML figure kits) in favor of resin and more expensive and complex kits.
Today, I’m Middle Age, and I am very busy myself so any modeling progress helps. I find that spray cans are great for fast priming, painting, and adding basecoats. Vallejos and other acrylics don’t require an open window to vent fumes. I can go days, weeks, or months without modeling, but when I do…one, two, three hours can produce some good results because I am more experienced and more organized.
It pays to have all your paints, brushes, and materials stored in plastic tool boxes with handles and SNAP-locks for quick and easy access. Organization is the key instead of leaving brushes and paints in drawers and scattered here and there. Fast and easy setup and breakdowns help save time. Even half an hour sitting down painting is progress.
The key to fast and easy modeling is not to make a mess on your hobby desk. I line my hobby desk with clean white typing paper on the work area (easy to see the parts) and clear plastic oil cloth over the entire hobby desk. I no longer use newspapers to line my desk as newspapers can fade, yellow, rip, and get dusty and become hard to clean up compared to a slick oil cloth. After I finish a sit down, everything goes back into boxes and put away for a clear desk, even the kit. Kits no longer sit on my hobby desk unbuilt waiting for my return…I put them away.
I now rarely use my airbrush due to the time involved to set it up and clean it.
Essentially, the key to modeling is to get off looking at a screen and devote time and effort to the hobby. 
It is still fun, enjoyable, and relaxing to me after all these decades and I don’t regret financing this hobby.
when waiting. Long ago i remember a ~4 hour wait while recall work was done on my car. It wasn’t a big deal as I had a model tank to work on, Tamiya Challenger if memory serves.