There was study done on how fences around a playground affects children’s behaviours. The 1st group of children were taken to to a playground with no fence while the 2nd group of children were taken to a comparable playground with fenced border. The kids were to play as usual. This was what happened:
“In the first scenario, the children remained huddled around their teacher, fearful of leaving out of her sight. The later scenario exhibited drastically different results, with the children feeling free to explore within the given boundaries.”
https://www.asla.org/awards/2006/studentawards/282.html & https://uxdesign.cc/fenced-in-playgrounds-d5f9371f8414
The conclusion was that a limitation (in this case, a fence) allowed the children the freedom to explore within the given limits, even more so than without a fence.
Limitations Breed Creativity
Many times, we think that the less constraints we have on a certain project (especially creative ones), the more freedom we have and the better the results will be.
“If only we had more budget, we could produce a greater ad!”
“If only we had more time, we could have launched a better product!”
“If only we had more manpower, we could cover a wider sales area!”
However, this research shows otherwise. It seems counter-intuitive at first, but having limitations seem to expand our mind and increase our creativity. Consider this article that showcases 7 examples of how artists used limitations to their advantage. Some are physical, some are legal and some are self-imposed.
I have personally experienced this a number of times. When clients have a specific timeline or budget to meet, I seem to come up with ideas much faster and better compared with a more open-ended, general criteria situation. Maybe you have experienced the same?
What Limitations Do You Need?
The current global pandemic lock-down gives us many great examples of this principle in play:
- People are cooking more. A lot more. Even those who thought they couldn’t cook their entire lives!
- Musicians are going back to basics – no elaborate fireworks, just great music.
- Cancelled programs find their way online, just like this choir.
- Everyone can use video calls and run live webinars now. Education is going online, and may stay that way.
- Families get silly together and does an incredible parody of Les Miserable. Who would have time to think of a parody on a ‘normal day’ when you have KPIs to meet and school work to do?
- Businesses are pivoting to new strategies which would have otherwise taken months to launch or never at all!
- Citizens crowdfunded on Facebook to provide severely lacking medical equipment in Malaysia.
- Even doctors are raising morale in unique ways.
- People are creating more (like how I started writing in byloohan.com)!
So, the next time you are faced with limitations, rejoice!! It is fuel for your creativity. You may eventually find that you work better with given limitations than when you’re not. Instead of wishing for more time, money or team members (which you probably won’t get anyway) try to use these limitations to your advantage – in your work, daily life, personal projects or in honing your craft.
And if you’re lucky to find no external limitations forced on you, then maybe you could self-impose your own.
Ask yourself: What are some limitations that could help my work?
As always, thank you for reading! If you made it all the way down here, let me know by leaving a comment down below! 😊
{Article #5}
What’s the most common limit you’ve faced: time, money or others?
Great article, I have the exact same thoughts on many occasions, and I would even take it a step further by adding this line – the benefits of boundaries and limitations, IF you know exactly what it is.
I experienced this when I first started playing the game Monopoly Deal. I hated it as there were so many power actions possible yet I felt so powerless and everyone else was just using action cards against me. But as I got to know the game better I came to know how many of each power cards exist in a deck, and that’s when I realized I could strategize with the knowledge of what I have in hand and what cards have been played, vs deducing what’s remaining in the untouched pile and what’s in other people’s hand. The number of power cards in the deck in fact were the boundaries and knowing the boundaries gave me a sense of owning the game. I no longer felt lost and I started to like the game.
The same actually applies in any real world optimization problem. You can only optimize an objective function when you know what constraints exist. With the knowledge of what your boundaries are, everything outside the boundary can be ignored and therefore you’re able to narrow down what is actually within reach and focus on working towards it. Not knowing the boundaries makes it hard to focus on anything at all, because the endless possibilities become a distraction from actually achieving any one thing at all. I imagine having no boundaries as equivalent to having ADHD, when everything is possible the greedy mind is always going to want to know if there’s something better out there to chase instead of making the best of the current chosen path. Knowing your boundaries is key to contentment, and therefore when there are no boundaries to know of, it’s important to set one for oneself.
Lol phew that was long, I’m starting to lose my point. Anyway, I totally agree with your points and I am glad there are like minds around! Looking forward to reading more such articles from you 😊
Hey Ee Ann! Thanks for dropping and taking the time to share your thoughts (it’s very thoughtful!) 🙂
Great example on the Monopoly Deal cards. Knowing the rules of the game is also knowing your boundaries and limitations. While I’ve never played Monopoly Deal, I have played Settlers of Catan – which can be quite disorienting for someone new. Initially it was very confusing because you’re like running around blind, not knowing what you can or cannot do, what your opponents can or cannot do.
I think as humans, we tend to play it safe in times of uncertainty – taking less risk and being overly-cautious (just like the kids in the un-fenced playground!) – therefore, leaving room for under-optimisation.
Oh, and I really like the last part where you link with he Circle of Influence by the great Stephen Covey. Focusing on what we can do (within the fence) rather than worrying or wasting time over what we can’t do (outside the fence). This idea itself could be a whole other article!
Glad to find more like-minded people like you too! Thanks for reading and thanks for the support! 🤩