As a hobby composer, my takeaways have been very similar. Inspiration can be sudden and fleeting. If I don't finish something in a short period of time, I loo

As a hobby composer, my takeaways have been very similar. Inspiration can be sudden and fleeting. If I don't finish something in a short period of time, I loose the feeling and impetus for what I was writing. I've started an order of magnitude more tracks than I've finished. My friends and I have a tradition where we each write a song and then play them on News Years Eve. We usually procrastinate and do it at the last minute. There are usually some good bits and we have fun doing it. It's low pressure and the deadline forces us to finish. For me, technology can be more distracting than beneficial. Modern DAWs have so many settings. There's always something new to try or a setting to tweak. My goal for now is to try staying focused on the composition of the piece and capturing the mood and feeling I am trying to convey. If your composition isn't solid, your track isn't going to be good no matter how much time you spend on the mixdown or getting your drum kit just so. Easier said and done, but that's my goal!