One challenge that a lot of young or inexperienced producers run into, is getting stuck searching for the right sounds to create with. This can occur either through trying to find the right sample or through trying to program a synth or drum machine while they are trying to compose ideas.
This can be very frustrating and can suck the joy out of something that should be fun and exciting.
This is why when using technology to create music, you should consider wearing different hats at different times.
A good way to think about this process is considering the roles that the sous chef and the head chef play in a restaurant.
A sous chef is responsible for making sure all the ingredients are ready for the day while the head chef will oversee the running of the kitchen. In other words, you should consider spending time readying all (or most) of the sounds that you intend to use in your song (sous chef) before you begin writing and arranging (head chef). Things like kick drums, snare drums and high hats can be organised as a collection that you can use whenever you need them. It is better to have 20 great kick drums (or snare drums or high hats) that you can use whenever you need to, than cycling through hundreds of sounds and not being able to find the right one when you need it.
Likewise, deciding on pre-sets in synthesisers or MIDI instruments or even having a go at programming your own sounds and then saving them - separate to the goal of writing a song - can help to set you up so that when the moment of inspiration strikes you can act on it. Far too many young producers get stuck half way through writing a song because they don't know what sounds they should add. If the decision about sound curation has already been made this issue is unlikely to rear its head.
Of course if you can focus on the task of writing and arranging, you're more likely to achieve a "flow state" where your ability to be creative feels almost like second nature.
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