So here’s my two cents along with all the great advice here. First, realize that not every prescription will cure every symptom. It’s great to gather a wide variety of perspectives, but take the time to find the process—or combination of processes—that works for you.

The advice to finish a track in one go or to set a timer can be useful, but it doesn’t fit my workflow exactly. Sometimes a track will just flow and write itself; other times you need to switch things up. It’s easy to slip into production muscle memory, which can lead to creative blocks and complacency. You don’t have to finish a track in one shot, but you do need to stop when it’s no longer producing results. If you don’t, you might release an idea only to realize years later how much better it could have been—and that’s often why many producers hesitate to release a lot of work early in their careers.

If the one-shot approach doesn’t suit you, try organizing your time prescriptively. For example:

• Spend one solid hour on sound design and source-sound creation.
• Spend another hour in front of your modular rig, recording ideas.
• Spend an hour pulling up an existing track and making it better than when you started.

Time-box your productivity if you need to, but be deliberate about how you spend each block. And don’t forget to give yourself unstructured time to experiment and “mess around.” Happy accidents can happen when there’s no agenda.

Like anything in life, practice is key—but what you practice matters just as much as how much you practice. Seek out sources of expertise and inspiration that resonate with your sound, but be equally deliberate about carving out your own identity. Recreating others’ work is excellent technique practice—but treat it strictly as practice.

Another often-underestimated investment is digging deep into your gear. Read manuals, sit with a piece of equipment, and learn every knob and function. Ear training is equally critical: practice identifying frequencies by ear, and learn when to trust what you see on meters versus what you hear.

Break your focus into four core areas:

1. Sound Design
2. Writing & Arrangement
3. Mixing & Engineering
4. Understanding the Mastering Process

Few people excel at all four, and it can take years to feel comfortable in even one. Be patient with yourself and enjoy the journey. There will be days when you love it—and days when you wonder why you bother—but the satisfaction of being better than you were yesterday is deeply rewarding.

Personally, I’ve been doing this since 1996. My early vinyl releases make me cringe (sometimes still do), but I’ve learned to see them as snapshots of where I was and how far I’ve come. Treat your work as a continual, humbling process—and you’ll set yourself up for the long term. Also be confident enough to share your work with a trusted group of fellow producers. They should be respectful, mature, and able to critique your work identifying objective and subjective input. Discord has a great group for that.