Just starting is often the hardest part when it comes to creating, but the key to improving your skills and producing great work is to make more — not to wait for perfection. You might feel the pressure to get everything exactly right before sharing or even finishing your projects, but this mindset can actually slow down your growth. Creativity thrives on volume. The more you put out there, the faster you will learn, adapt, and improve.
When you focus on producing a large amount of work, you create opportunities to experiment, fail, and discover new techniques. Each piece you complete, even if it seems “bad” at first, contains valuable lessons that sharpen your abilities. Instead of fearing mistakes, you should embrace them as stepping stones. Your skills develop through repetition and iteration — not by waiting for that one perfect idea to appear.
To start making more stuff, lower the pressure you place on yourself. Free up your creativity by giving yourself permission to create without judgment. Think of each project as a draft, an experiment, or a practice session. This mindset helps you avoid paralysis by perfection and keeps your momentum going. When you allow yourself to create frequently, you also build discipline and strengthen your creative muscles.
One practical way to increase your output is to set manageable goals for daily or weekly creation. For instance, if you like writing, aim to draft a small piece each day rather than drafting a complete, polished article all at once. If painting is your passion, try finishing quick sketches regularly instead of perfecting a single canvas over weeks. In coding, build simple projects often, gradually tackling more complex challenges. Whatever your craft, quantity matters more than quality in the beginning.
As you produce more work, take time to review your creations. Identify what worked, what didn't, and what you can improve next time. This cycle of making, assessing, and tweaking helps polish your output naturally. Great creatives don't rely solely on talent or lucky hits — they generate a volume of work that allows quality to emerge from consistent effort.
By making more stuff regularly, you develop a deeper understanding of your craft and build confidence in your abilities. Your best work will begin to stand out as a byproduct of your active practice, not as something waiting to appear magically. So focus on creating often, accept imperfections early on, and let your work evolve — your skills and quality will grow alongside your quantity.