I used to start abandoning all the work I’d done up until around 2 p.m. every afternoon — words, melodies, guitar takes.
Over time, I learned the pattern and realized that if I just took a break, went for a walk, or returned the next day, the work wasn’t nearly as horrible as I’d thought. Sometimes, it was actually pretty good.
The phrase often used is “too zoomed in.” The effect is the same as when you say a word — let’s say “zebra” — over and over again. The first time you see the word, it’s clearly a zebra: that horse-looking creature with white stripes.
But if I say,
“Zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra, zebra,”
it starts to get weird, right?
It hardly even sounds like a word. Just made-up gibberish.
The same is true for you in the middle of a session of writing, recording, or creating. It starts to feel like you’re going crazy.
When you hit that feeling, it means it’s time to zoom out. Take a break.
Go for a walk, eat an apple, take a nap. Reset your brain.
Return to it and see it for what it really is.
Otherwise, you might start abandoning what may have been really great work.