OCD hindering creativity

[gamecat666]

Just an observation about my recent 'workflow'

Time spent 'dithering'
-Checking NI service center and making sure everything is up to date
-installing latest free samples/vsts
-categorising VST directory
-Unzipping and placing sample packs in correct category locations
-adjusting colour schemes/themes
-sorting and adding new presets

Time left to spent actually making music.. next to none..
And now I think I need to format again as its too clutterered, and reinstall again.
Sometimes I wonder how this is a hobby at all.

[kelvyn]

Just don't go there... I know that sounds like a stupid thing to say and that it's extremely hard to turn off certain thought process's but it is possible. I've been living with OCD for at least 20 years. it used to be really bad in a slightly less Jack Nicholson 'As Good A sIt Gets' way. One day I caught myself consciosly going through some ritual (touching doors before I left the house) and stopped and asked myself... Do I really want to be that kind of person? Obviously the answer was no. So I imagined me looking down on myself and the me that I saw wasn't the me I wanted to be. So I sucked up the that horrible feeling of dread and stopped. Now everytime I have an OCD moment I imagine me looking at myself and ask the same question... I'm pretty over the excessive impulses and rituals but still allow myself some very small ones every now and again...
Straightening the pencils and pens on the desk isn't one of them.
I hope this helps a bit...

I've been through the color thing in Logic as well dithering for ages over the best matches between drums and bass tracks. Now I just choose any color that takes my fancy.

[nasenmann]

I know my DAW related OCD patterns. What i found is that for me, it all has to do with too many choices.
I strictly limit the amount of plugins now (13 vstis atm, minimized redundancy)
I don't download any huge oneshot folders i have to wade and sort through.
In case i add something new, i try to use it right away and get a feel for it, so i know it's usable and not redundant.
While the whole obsession thing is horrific, i can see some logic behind it that makes sense somewhat. I want to get to know my tools, and i want to push them to work for my ideas instead of looking for that elusive other plugin that might just be the ticket. So maybe i'm being pushed the right way...

Btw, this is also the reason i'll NEVER get f**king Komplete. f**k that. I'd die from indecisiveness over what to use when.

[gamecat666]

wow sounds like you have had it pretty bad. I've never been 'medically diagnosed' OCD, (I probably shouldnt have labelled it as such so apologies if anyone takes offense) i just have a compulsion to overly categorise things which gets in the way of actually doing anything.
I have about 10 large boxes of Lego that I had to organise by colour and brick, it tooks weeks. And once I had done it, I wasnt happy and started again.
I knew this would happen, which is why I should have chose something like Reason or some hardware groovebox - to force me to into a defined limitation.
Otherwise I get caught up in collecting vst's and samples (the usual GAS) and not actually doing anything as it takes so long to organise. it snowballs quickly!
I even tried going back to basics with a Tracker, but ended up spending all of my time categorising samples.

[nasenmann]

I'm not diagnosed either, and i get it pretty much only in the digital domain. In flesh and blood, i always prefered chaos over order.
It's also really easy to cope with, provided i take the step of throwing a lot of stuff that i thought i needed (cause i bought it) out the window.
It's all smooth sailing then.

[NAD]

Well, I've got OCPD (the P stands for personality, look it up). Supposedly that's not strictly the same as OCD but I know what you're (OP) talking about very well! And yet I have to say that I do hold the conviction that facilitating creativity is essential for doing any creative work. By which I mean things like organizing your environment (whether that be your studio desk or VST folder) or compiling a list of steps required to finish a song or even structuring a routine or scheduling time to actually complete those steps. Those are the types of things I consider as "facilitating creativity". Ultimately the purpose is simply to make it easier to "get in the zone" by having completed tedious chores thereby minimizing distractions. And presumably that should also help if you happen to have ADD as well like me!

[nasenmann]

Ritual is alright (good even if you enjoy it)
It's only problematic when the ritual itself diminishes the quality/quantity of whatever you're holding the ritual for in the first place.