Constraints
The blank page is terrifying. Infinite possibility offers no traction. Tell me to write something, anything, and I’ll stare. Tell me to write a haiku about a train, and I’ll start immediately.
Constraints provide resistance. Creativity needs something to push against.
Stravinsky said it better: “The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one’s self.”
He composed The Rite of Spring for an orchestra with unusual instrumentation — eight horns, five trumpets — not because he needed them all but because the specific limitations shaped the music. The constraint generated.
Twitter’s character limit created a form. Haiku’s 5-7-5 structure enables expression. Dogme 95’s rules against artificial lighting produced distinctive films. The constraint removes decisions, allowing focus on what remains.
I notice this in my own work. When I have unlimited time, I procrastinate. When I have a deadline, I ship. When I can use any tool, I waffle. When I’m stuck with one, I learn it deeply.
The 37signals approach to software: start with less. Fewer features mean fewer decisions mean faster shipping. You discover what’s essential only when you can’t have everything.
The paradox: freedom from constraint often produces mediocrity. Within constraints, every choice carries weight. The sonnet form makes each word fight for its place. Unlimited words produce blogs.
There’s a timing question. Constrain too early and you optimize the wrong thing. Constrain too late and you never finish. The art is knowing when.
Go Deeper
Books
- Poetics of Music by Igor Stravinsky — The composer on constraint as freedom. Short and quotable.
- Getting Real by 37signals — Constraint-driven software development.
Related: affordances, satisficing, the jig