Some of the best unsolicited advice ever given to me from Can band member Holger Czukay via fax years ago. I have it hanging in the studio to remind me:

"Don't get bored by stupid routine actions".

It's true - the biggest fear an artist can have is repeating and rehashing the same idea over and over. Writing the same book or painting a slightly different version of the same painting...

I'm constantly listening to the last piece I wrote and making sure the starting point ("routine actions") is never the same. If I finish a very beat heavy track, I mold the next one to be ambient and light on the percussion side. This awareness can be taken down to microscopic levels involving anything from tuning, length, tempo, sound selection, etc.

It makes for harder work but hopefully better work.