What would I do, if I didn't have to do it perfectly?
A great deal more than I am.
This is a page from The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. 

Have a look at this page and let's discuss if anyone here has faced this issue.



So, I personally have struggled in finishing music because I'm my greatest critic. 
And I relate to this page a lot.
I think people here would relate to it too and we could talk about how we can overcome this issue or help others.


Nikhil 2 weeks ago
So damn true! Personally, a lot of my songs have been shelved in an 'almost finished' state for this very reason. The understanding of this struggle and the awareness that I'm not alone in this a comforting feeling. Predecided time limit is one thing that has helped me finish or accept things. Also, maybe not a bad idea to print some of these lines, and hang it around our creative workspace as a reminder lol 'snap out of it and move on already!'
Akshay 2 weeks ago
How do you stick to a time-frame?
Akshay 2 weeks ago
Like, you'd finish a section today and work on something another time?
Nikhil 1 week ago
I think it's a continuous journey to figure out what works best. The timeframe could be anything. Like you said, it could be to finish a section or even achieve a sound. Working on commercial stuff has helped me realize timeframe as a positive motivation. This way I avoid distractions and focus leading to more quantity of work done. I trust that quality ideas will come out of the efforts, sooner than later. When it feels like it's going nowhere, I just accept the result temporarily and move on to work on a different part. This way I reorient myself without loosing time, and come back later.
Dawn John Philip 2 weeks ago
This is brilliant!! "Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves". So true how we can get stuck in perfecting pieces of our work and completely ignore the vision we had for the broader body of our work. And it makes so much sense that with the perfectionist approach, criticism becomes that much harder to bear. Adding that you are your worst critic turns this perfectionism into a vicious cycle of never being happy with what you've made!
Dawn John Philip 2 weeks ago
Adding this book to my amazon cart now 😃😃
Dawn John Philip 2 weeks ago
A way I've been trying to overcome this is to my change mindset by telling myself that creation is a learning process and that what I'm working on may not be perfect but I'll get better with every attempt.
Akshay 2 weeks ago
Wow yes. Definitely agree. It is the long game approach that you talk about. Incremental growth is better than no growth at all. The book has really helped me get back to making music and I write my morning pages. Which is talked about in this book. So, writing 3 pages in the morning helps me with centring myself and thoughts and getting in the creative flow has definitely gotten better.
Sooraj 2 weeks ago
Nice one Akshay! And yes, this is very relatable. I've actually written an article very close to this, on how I overcame my struggle in finishing music. Will be posting it soon :)
Akshay 2 weeks ago
Awesome, I'm interested to read that.