Constraints enhance creativity

Constraints in our lives can be monetary, time, space, limited choices and alternatives.

On my past post about challenges being valuable opportunities, I discussed my experience doing a design sprint for my marketing course and this is an example of how constraints improved my creativity.

Some constraints on this project were lack of important information and completion time of 80 minutes. I believe both constraints enabled me to decide quickly and communicate my ideas concisely. This experience also allowed me to better manage my time effectively. Overall, it was a very valuable experience to me.

In class, our team KAGLZ was able to apply this principle effectively during our 5 minute Scavenger hunt presentation. This time constraint forced us to use a limited number of words to explain our pictures and therefore improved our word choice. In addition to a time constraint, our presentation had to persuade other groups we should win with a limited number of photos (3 to be exact!). We experienced some technical difficulties while loading photos to our team blog. As a result, we had to present part of our presentation with a very limited amount of proof.

This was the first proof of our ability to work well as a team and the constraints helped us get there!

This principle may be viewed negatively if an individual feels certain constraints lead to impulse decisions, and not creative approaches. The ideal way to apply this principle is to make decisions with outcomes in mind. By taking this approach, it may avoid the chance of making impulse decisions by focusing on how choices affect the outcome.