Clarity in Constraint

Certain things come into clearer view when constraints are applied. With only a limited number of time slots available, decisions often become easier.

You can resign yourself to the reality that you simply won’t get around to everything, nor use that time to finally get on top of everything. From there, you can work with what matters most. It can feel restricting to consider—culling your options—but it provides relief more often than not.

We were already planning on eating dinner out tonight. In all likelihood, we’ll have lunch at Fat Boy today as well. Cooking class tomorrow evening. Bar with a view Sunday night. Then Monday is our last full day. There are at least two other cafés we want to return to before leaving, so that’ll nearly be every meal covered just about from now until departure. Just from a meal standpoint, without anything else considered, the schedule is already pretty fully. Now, of course, it’s clear that I don’t need to buy any more food for the kitchen, but that understanding wasn’t so obvious when we were at the shops just a couple of days prior.

Once you’re forced to make an executive call on whether plans are going ahead or not—because we’re now face-to-face with the finitude of our stay—the fog clears a little. You now know that you won’t get around to everything. So, you can let yourself enjoy more fully those plans which are happening.

In this way, being squeezed for time, or options, provides a valuable forcing mechanism. You’ve got to make decisions and then ride them out, without the hope of having a second crack later on. Often, it works out for the best.