Embrace constraints to more creativity and concentration

The modern world has given us the freedom to choose options. When we go to the supermarket to buy some milk, we have dozen of milk brands, so it is hard to choose what is better. The more options we have, the harder it gets to decide, and the less happy you will be, no matter what you decide on.

The only way to get rid of the terror of choice is the limitation to eliminate inessential options.

The more a person limits himself, the more resourceful he becomes. — Soren Kierkegaard

Less is more. Embrace constraints provide us with the greatest opportunity for creativity and inventiveness.

Dr. Seuss wrote his most famous book by only using 50 different words.

Shakespeare reveled in the limitations of sonnets (fourteen-line lyric poems in iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme). Writers like Ernest Hemingway and Raymond Carver found that forcing themselves to use simple, clear language helped them deliver maximum impact.

In Airlines, Southwest unlike most other airlines, which fly multiple aircraft models, they fly only Boeing 737s. As a result, every Southwest pilot, flight attendant, and ground-crew member can work for any flight. Plus, all of southwest’s parts fit all of its planes. All that means lower costs and a business that’s easier to run. They made it easy on themselves.

So to be more productive and happy, embrace constraints by limiting your choices, time, and resources. The more we limit ourselves, the more resourceful we become.