Question For Artists - Tumblr Posts

I’ve got a question for all artists:

How do you guys cope with putting dampeners on yourselves?

Presently, I’m in Art School, and a lot of my projects come with prompts or instructions to fulfill. I often find myself putting dampeners on the work I’m actually interested in doing in order to fulfill “the requirement” of the work. Sometimes I do it to myself sometimes on personal pieces. I think it’s partially just a remnant of High School classes and how down to the letter everything felt then, that I had to do this in a very specific way to get the grades you need. How do you guys “let loose” and just make work? Not just doodling, but a fully fledged piece you just let yourself have fun with?