Constraints

“Okay guys. I get that you love the game. From here on in, every game will be 90 minutes long. ”

Whatever the exact words may have been, the first signal to excited young men about to play football that they would only get 90 minutes out on the field must have been one of dislike. We don’t like constraints, at least at first. But, constraints are everything. Some of the best systems – the 9*5 work day, for example, are built around constraint. Sure, we don’t all stick to the 9*5 work day but my experiments with unconstrained workdays tell me that workdays with deadlines are most productive. At one of my clients, we had to get out at 5:30 because the bus to the city left then. Since it took most people between 1.5 hours to 2 hours to get home, there was a mad rush of intense productivity in the afternoon so we all finished by 5:30. There was no post lunch slacking off as the deadline loomed in front of us.

Twitter is another great example. Say whatever you like but keep it within 140 characters.

So, if and when you’re designing a system for yourself this month, think about constraint, e.g., you will only be allowed to hit your exercise/reading goals between 6am-8am and 7pm-9pm. It will focus your thinking on how you will hit your targets between these times. And, focus = magic.