For me it's all about the mood. Am I in the mood to sit at the fly tying table and spend a few hours to tie a couple dozen flies at best or am I in the mood to sit down and tie 40 - 60 flies in an hour? When I'm in the mood for production I keep it simple. Flies that take 1 - 3 minutes each. WD-40's, jubilee baetis, SJW's, eggs, and so on. But, eventually I know I have to tie the more complex, time consuming flies. Why? Because as stated above, they work. I resolve to the fact that I may only complete 10 to 20 in an hour ( you have to account for getting materials out and laid out. If you don't you're cheating). Although I dread the tedious work involved, I always derive pleasure from the final product. Most complex flies just look cool. And they work. Kind of like driving a Corvette. It still serves the purpose of getting you from point A to point B, but you look cool doing it.
For the most part, if I reach the point of necessity in tying complex flies I compile a detailed plan. I lay out the number of hooks I'm going to tie in one color or pattern variation, same number of bead heads if necessary in desired color (tungsten, brass, black, pastel, etc.) Tie those then repeat the process for the next color. I try to tie a minimum of 4 color variations in each fly. If I'm in need of applying polymer or epoxy coatings I wait until I'm finished tying all of them. Then I lay them out in my fly box and mix the resins. I like the 5 minute epoxies for whatever reason. I'll mix a dab big enough to do around 20 flies before it gums up beyond use. Then mix another batch and complete the task. I guess because I know I'm going to tie 3 to 4 dozen flies in the next several hours is what is so difficult to process knowing I can tie 5 times that many of simple flies and still catch fish. Knowing I'll need more than just 2 or 3 of each on the water drives necessity for me to tie one to two dozen of each color. I've never understood how someone can get by hiring a guide for a half day trip, rent gear, and buy a "half day" fly box with about 6 flies. The guide wouldn't have to worry with having someone meet us at the "take out" spot. We'd never lose site of the put in spot and I'd be done for the day. :lol: