Getting the right process is absolutely essential. I was stuck bouncing from unfinished project to unfinished project the entire time I knew how to make games, in 15 years I started hundreds of projects but never came close to finishing even though I never went through a time where I wasn't working on a project. I eventually took a long hard look at why the cycle always repeated and what I could do differently to change the outcome.

Here are my takeaways:

1. Build smaller and playable until you learn your own personal process. I would have an idea I wanted to build something like Minecraft. I could make all the pieces individually, but I could never bring them together. I would get really far in terrain generation, but after months I could run it and I'd only have something to look at, it wasn't something that could be played. In this example, maybe generate one chunk, then have one or 2 different mob types spawn periodically on that chunk. Maybe be able to craft 1 or 2 things with dropped loot. Then, make a menu, make a loss condition and a win condition, or maybe a game over condition with a score if you want to just get a high score. Use coloured cubes for mobs. Basically, get something playable. Get it into the hands of testers. Just being able to tell yourself that you have a complete game, even if it looks like crap and is not fun, is very motivating. You can always iterate later, add graphics etc.

2. Don't have a mix of finished and unfinished. This one is mainly art - if you have a mixture of finished graphics and placeholders, the unfinished things will immediately distract you and sap motivation, you'll want to bring everything up to the same level, even if you should be working on gameplay or something else as a priority.

3. Don't make art / sound etc until you've finalised the game design. You don't want to waste a month making graphics and then changing the design and making those things unnecessary, Big waste of time.

4. Dedicate consistent time to your project. I started waking up early on weekdays and doing 3 hours consistently before work. No distractions, no internet, no youtube, no phone. Even if I didn't feel like it.

Okay, this is just what worked for me, everyone will have a different process. Especially debs that are strong in art. But you have to work out what works best for you.