Do you go out with plans or goals?
Next time you go out, drink some coffee and slap your widest zoom on your camera and take a notebook or phone (dictating works great for this if people aren't around) whatever's quickest for you. Take snapshits without thinking and write down ideas for projects and themes. If a photo could be improved by light, fog, rain, etc write that down. If it needs a certain focal length and angle, just do the best you can in under 30s with your zoom, and write a note for the idea. The goal is to drown yourself in ideas. Then go home and turn it into a todo list. Then your outings will have simple, single goals: get this photo with this lighting, using this lens etc. If a day is successful it's because you had a plan and finished. If it's a failure then you didn't plan well enough or luck wasn't with you, but you gained knowledge for next time.
Protip, use
windy.com to forecast cloud cover. Light breaking through clouds looks great for example. Have a basic idea of your local weather patterns.
You might drive for hours only to realize your idea was bad to begin with. My only advice is to have a positive attitude and enjoy the little things.
And yes this is a lot of work. What else do you want to spend your life doing?
