Hint: It ain't the customer.
If you're doing anything where the quality of your work depends immensely on how engaged you are, then you are the most important stakeholder.
If you're not engaged, you won't produce well. The first and most crucial thing is that you remain engaged in your work.
Sometimes I get asked why I don't stick to the most popular topics that I write on well. Certainly, some of my writing is better than others. By writing broadly across many topics, I'm sure I lose a lot of readers that I could have if I had a more tight, focused theme.
But do you know what blog abandonment rate is? It's crazy-high.
Why? Because most writers forget to take care of themselves. Do they enjoy showing up to write?
I do. I'll cover some history, some creativity, some finance, jot down a poem, excerpt some science, write about travel... I could improve consistency by narrowing down and focusing. But I'd be having less fun, I'd be less engaged. And it would show through.
I really like writing here. It's an enjoyable part of my day.
Is that the case with your creative work?
Inspired work is orders of magnitude better than slogged-through work.
When it comes to creativity, the customer isn't the most important stakeholder.
The artist is.
You are.