abiddle I think when you decide on a shop to do work like this you need to set some kind of a time table, or they will just do it in their spare time.
No matter how good the shop or the quality of the work is never use the phrase
" Well I am in no big hurry, (so take your time)"I think with a simple agreement on a completion date , you can stay in communication with the shop, and not have to circle like hawk waiting for more and more progress. Out here I think most pure paint shops rely on insurance work for there bread and butter, to pay the bills, and then have the bigger projects on the back burner somewhat. I am not sure what kind of shop you have it at.
I do about a car a year, (not full resto), they all range in a state of dis-repair or poor to very poor cosmetically, and I get burnt out from time to time, similar to you, I bide my time with searching for the needed parts on eBay and craigslist, and then yes I see another project that I like, well that usually is enough of a spark for me to push and turn out the finished product.
If the car is at the paint shop, you can recover the seats, clean up/lube window regulators, get your wheel/tire situation cleaned up and balanced. If there is any trim to send out to get straitened out, or polish the trim up myself. Another good way of making the time pass by, is fasteners. 1)Locating all the correct fasteners, and then replating them as necessary. There is many small pieces only you are going to be knowledgeable about on the finish(gloss), and color. Paint shops are great for the Macro resto portion, they usually fail on the Micro portion of the rest of the process, so get into the smaller details of you car things that make sense to do while the car is already getting paint. It may make sense, for you to grab the wheel wells and strip and prep them for the shop, or paint them yourself. It all depends how involved you want to be. I am not sure how much of your car they are taking apart for the work.
Hope this helps
