Myabe some tips about parallel compression on drums?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgZDiM_flFU

http://www.faderwear.com/guides/parallel_compression.shtml

^^^^^^ THIS

That was a fun video! Thanks for sharing!

No problem! I feel like this video and the Ira Glass should be mandatory watching for all producers who are struggling or just beginner producers in general.

Finished and good enough is probably about 6 tracks.

Hmmm, you've been producing for nearly 5 years and you've only been happy with 6 of your tracks? It sounds to me like maybe you're a bit of a perfectionist.. which can be more harmful than helpful most of the time.

I think at this point, you should definitely take a break. It's that perfectionism in you that is hindering your progress. I know that sounds weird but just think about it. Also, just wondering but why do you want to make a Demo EP, when you've only been previously happy with 6 of your tracks in the past 5 years? If it were me, I would only feel compelled to make a demo EP if I had at least 100 tracks that I was really happy about. Someone here mentioned it already, you don't have to release anything. One of my professors that went to Berklee once told me that many artists out there would write like a hundred songs in preparation for an album, but only pick the best 12 out of them.

Please watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqZAxLqJkzA

Hold off on the EP idea for now, finish those tracks and keep making more and more.

So that means that I only have 1-2 hours to do whatever I have to do.

Seriously, you can get soo much done in 2 hours, even 1 hour, if you plan your time out wisely and do this consistently (like everyday). It all ends up in the end, trust me. Try to find my post on this forum about the Pomodoro Technique, it really does work especially for people like you with busy schedules.

I would strongly recommend using that hour to make and finish 1 track a week. Your progress will be exponential. So for example, Monday: start with the arrangement/drums/whatever you do to start the track. Really pour your heart and soul into this hour to map out a solid arrangement. Then Tuesday: Start writing the melody/hook/drop. Really focus and write the best you can. Wednesday: Write the breakdown/build/intro/whatever section. Thursday: Focus on the transitions between the sections you've written over the previous few days. Get those transitions nice and seamless, and most importantly, interesting. Play your song from start to end and do as many tweaks as needed to ensure that your track tells a story and gets the message across. Friday: Focused mixing. Get into the details of the mix. If you have been mixing as you go and you have everything already labelled and grouped, etc, (you are using a ready made template with all the busses and groups ready to go, right?) you can really do a lot in an hour. Saturday: Work on the mix again. If you're liking the way it sounds, move on to Mastering. Sunday: If you spend both Friday and Saturday mixing, then Sunday will be Mastering day. Get your track to be at a competitive level (in terms of loudness) with tracks you like. Done. 1 finished track in 1 week. You have to trust me when I say that the only way to get better at production is by finishing tracks. You will get better with every track that you finish.

Maybe I should focus on theory for a while, but it's just sad that I can't actually make music.

This isn't such a bad idea actually. At least by the time you do have the freedom to make your own choices, you will have the theory part taken care of.

Don't feel like you can't do anything in one hour. Consistency is the key here.

I wish I didn't get caught up on the third party plugins bandwagon and just really learned how to use Logic's built in plugins.

Just the composing part? On average, it ranges between 1 minute to 20 minutes.

The Logic one is quite great actually. I use Alloy 2's Transient Designer for the most part if I absolutely need to (like with samples, for example). But usually you can adjust the attack from the synth itself, granted you are using a synth.