Overwhelmed? Apply Temporary Constraints.

When we have too many options, overwhelm happens.

The next time you feel it — try this — apply temporary constraints.

Boundaries, even self-imposed ones, can liberate productivity and creativity. They help you narrow your focus, making decisions easier, and action more attainable.

Examples:

• Overwhelmed with your to-do list? Simple: limit the tasks you must do to just 3. (Everything else is a bonus!)

• Overwhelmed with a big project? Limit the amount of time you work on it (for now) to just 25 minutes.

• Overwhelmed with trying to make your marketing good? Limit yourself to just 1 person you’re speaking to in your offer.

By temporarily limiting your options, you start dissolving overwhelm. You gain focus on what matters more.

Another example:

What if I’m feeling overwhelmed with an upcoming course I am teaching… I have so many things I could teach, I’m not even sure where to start?

Apply a temporary constraint:

“If I could only teach 3 things, what must I teach?”

As I write down the 3 things, I might even come up with more than 3… but at least by answering the question, I’ve gotten unstuck!

If I come up with too many ideas, I can further apply a constraint, and limit it to the 3 best things to teach, or the 3 things that seem most relevant to my clients now.

This is applying a quantity constraint.

Another example — what if you’re overwhelmed with your to-do list?

Ask yourself:

“If I can only accomplish 3 things today, what must those 3 things be?”

Then get to work on only those 3 things… one step at a time!

Once you complete those 3 things, you can then ask the same question again, to bring focus to another 3 relevant tasks.

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Another is a time constraint.

In a presentation I’m giving, I’m feeling stuck about how to begin it. I can apply the time constraint:

“Since I only have 10 minutes to start the presentation well, what must those 10 minutes contain?”

If in your everyday work, you find yourself procrastinating due to how big a project feels:

Set a 10 minute timer on your phone, or go to e.ggtimer.com/10minutes — and simply take the next step in that project. In those 10 minutes, do what you simply can do.

I’ve even applied the time constraint to a big topic like life purpose…

“If I had only 1 year left to do my best work, what would I most want to accomplish?”

I expect to live longer ;-) but by answering the question, I’ve gotten more focused on my most important work.

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A third way: quality constraints.

For example, if I am feeling overwhelmed about writing a marketing post about my offer, I can apply the quality constraint:

“If I was speaking to just 1 type of person — the most ideal person for this offer — what would I say to them? What’s 1 thing they most need to hear from me?”

If dealing with a difficult situation, a quality constraint might be:

“What would wisdom / courage / kindness do in this situation?” (choose one quality to ask yourself about.)

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A whimsical example…

If I’m wondering how long this article should be… apply a constraint: what if I simply shared 3 examples?

Since I’ve done more than that now, I’ll stop :)

The next time you are feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or procrastinating, choose one of these lenses and try it out…

• Quantity constraint (“What if I only did 3 things?”)

• Time constraint (“What can I do in the next 25 minutes?”)

• Quality constraint (“What might wisdom do in this situation?”)

Try this technique. Let me know if it brings more calm & focus for you. 🙏🏼

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Originally written in April 2017. Updated January 2025.