A second (and third, fourth etc) pair of ears (not literally, that would be impossible) is also highly reccomended. There's been some times where I've had an idea buried in my hard disk somewhere which I wasn't sure about but someone will be browsing through my stuff n be like "Yes mate, shit hot!". I suppose that comes down to confidence in yourself as a producer and learning when to trust your gut.

My creativity runs in cycles, I`ve been at this for years and I know the signs and read them well. When I feel I`m coming to a dry patch, I just stop trying, take a couple to 3 weeks off, and focus on other things, and listen to a LOT of non techno music.
Very true my friend! I'll leave it for a while, listen to a load of hardcore (oops, didn't mean for that one to slip out :lol: ) and then go back, slate clean.