---
title: Constraint Theory Boosts Innovation
date: 2025-11-12T00:00:00
author: Charlie M.
category: SIGNAL
---
I was sitting in my living room this morning, sunlight sneaking through the half-closed blinds, casting these weird patterns on the wall. I swear, it looked kind of like an art project gone wrong, or maybe right if you're into abstract stuff. Anyway, I was sipping my coffee, trying to wake up, still groggy from doom-scrolling Instagram last night. You know, the usual routine.
And, somehow, my brain, probably still half asleep, wandered to this idea of constraints and innovation. Like, how the heck do limitations actually make us more creative? I think I read somewhere—was it a TED talk?—that constraints could boost creativity. Something about the more boundaries you have, the more your brain kicks into gear to find innovative solutions. Or maybe I just dreamt that up?
But the thing is, I tried this whole constraint thing back when I thought I'd start painting. I told myself I'd only use two colors, thinking the restriction would spark genius. Spoiler alert: it didn't. The only thing it sparked was a canvas I'd rather not discuss and a reminder of why I usually leave art to actual artists. Could be I'm just not patient enough or maybe I was doing it wrong.
I stumbled upon some study—couldn’t tell you who did it, my bad memory and all—suggesting that with fewer choices, we actually create more. I think it was around 70% of people felt more productive with less. But then, here we are, constantly faced with like a billion choices a day. What to post, what to wear, whether to workout or just keep sitting on the couch like a blob. It's overwhelming.
And then, the irony—deleting all those feeds and app notifications did kinda help me focus. Like, I could actually read a book without that itchy feeling of needing to check my phone. Does that count as innovation? I don't know. Maybe I'm just fooling myself into thinking I achieved something monumental by simply not refreshing Twitter. Who knows.
It's perplexing though, thinking about how our brains function. I guess we did evolve with certain constraints—like needing to find food without a grocery store. So maybe there's something to it. But every time I try to recreate that, it feels artificial. Like telling myself I’m not allowed to use more than 100 words to describe my day. I tried that once. It was just awkward. And what am I supposed to learn about myself with these hard stops? Am I creative yet? I can't even tell.
I mean, do constraints really work, or is it just another one of those productivity myths we tell ourselves? I guess I'm still figuring it out, like a lot of things. Or maybe I’m just not ready to embrace the chaos that comes with unfiltered creativity.
And as I’m thinking all this, I'm getting distracted by the dust in the sunlight, drifting lazily. It's actually kind of beautiful. Should I write a poem about it? Nah, maybe later. Or maybe not at all.