The great 20th century author F. Scott Fitzgerald once said: “Genius is the ability to put into effect what is on your mind.” When writing music or working on a mix, it is the goal to get out the exact sound that is in your head – that’s what artists do, turn thoughts and ideas into tangible things. What Fitzgerald didn’t mention is that the product you come up with is never EXACTLY what it was in your head. It should certainly be the goal to recreate on record the vision that is in your mind, but you can easily drive yourself crazy striving for “perfection”. From a listeners perspective, they can never really hear what you heard in your had and are very unlikely to hear all the things that you perceive as “mistakes”.
We would never advocate giving up on your sonic vision, but you must make compromises. You might want the bass to be a screaming monster but also want the vocal to be crystal clear and upfront. A mix is a dynamic thing and everything effects everything else. Stay true to your musical plans but learn to pick out the things that are really important and focus on those instead of micro-managing. Too much focus on minutia will make you lose perspective and drive you over a cliff. Especially if you’ve been working on it for a while, finalizing a mix and letting out into the world can be a frightening experience – you expose yourself to criticism and have no more chances to “fix” things for the last time. Remember also that if you never finish and release your material you have no way of getting distance and perspective on it so that you might improve next time around.