Implementing Constraints: The Ultimate Time-Saving Secret for Automatic Decisions

Your everyday choices may be overwhelming you

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices you face every single day? From what to wear to what to eat for dinner, our modern lives are filled with micro-decisions that silently drain our mental energy. The secret to regaining control and saving time isn't to seek more options—it's to impose fewer.

I want to introduce you to the powerful concept of implementing constraints. As defined by Brooke Castillo of The Life Coach School, a constraint is a limitation or a restriction you put on yourself that simplifies your life. This single decision-making framework can eliminate confusion, bring clarity and most importantly, save time.

The Cost of Endless Choice: Why You Need Constraints

In our modern world, the supermarket is a perfect example of choice overload. Faced with endless rows of products, you could spend ten minutes weighing the pros and cons of every single option. This time spent is an example of the drain on our mental energy caused by having too many choices.

This mental drain is known as decision fatigue. We all make hundreds of decisions every day, e.g. What should I cook tonight? and they use up valuable brain power. If we waste energy on low-stakes decisions like this, we have less reserve left for the truly important challenges in our lives. Implementing constraints helps us eliminate this fatigue by transforming conscious choices into automatic, energy-saving decisions.

In modern life we are overwhelmed by the number of decisions we have to make every day

The Burden of Decision Debt

When you fail to implement constraints in your life, you fall victim to a state known as decision debt, a concept developed by Brooke Castillo. When you’ve made a decision you can move forward; conversely, when you put off making a decision you spend valuable brain power and time going back and fore over the pros and cons, worrying about making the ‘wrong’ choice. Implementing constraints directly prevents this debt by allowing you to choose your life from the highest form of your brain: the prefrontal cortex.

The reason implementing constraints is the ultimate time-saving secret comes down to protecting your willpower. Willpower—the ability to maintain self-control—is a finite resource that gets fatigued with overuse, much like a muscle. Every time you face a choice and have to exert self-control in the moment (Do I check my phone? Do I eat this snack?), you draw from this limited energy supply. However, constraints solve this problem through pre-decision. By deciding in advance who you are and what you will do (e.g., I only eat meals at the dining table), you eliminate the reliance on willpower in the moment of temptation, freeing up that mental energy for truly important challenges.

Addressing the Objections: Quality Over Quantity

A common, immediate objection to implementing constraints is the fear of missing out (FOMO) or the natural desire to keep all options open. Many people genuinely worry that self-imposed limitations will lead to lost opportunities or stifle their spontaneity. However, this perspective fails to account for the true cost of modern choice overload. In reality, society presents us with an overwhelming, unmanageable number of options for virtually everything.

The true value of a constraint is not in the options it eliminates, but in the mental space it creates. It reduces the crushing feeling of being overwhelmed and dragged in too many different directions by endless possibilities.

We often pursue the highest quantity of options without assessing the quality of the outcomes. For instance, scrolling through hundreds of streaming choices wastes time and leads to "Decision Debt," often resulting in you watching nothing at all. A constraint—I will only watch a comedy tonight—eliminates the paralysis and delivers a guaranteed result.

You already have constraints, such as not speeding, you just don’t realise it

You Already Live By Essential Constraints

You might believe this concept is too rigid for your life, but I promise you that you already have powerful constraints operating right now. These are the non-negotiable rules rooted in your values: ones such as, 'I don’t smoke cigarettes' or 'I don’t speed on the motorway.' You don't think about these constraints; they are automatic, energy-saving rules that guide your behaviour and protect your long-term health and safety.

In essence, implementing constraints is choosing quality over quantity. Think of it like curating a capsule wardrobe: you have fewer items of clothing, but they are all high-quality items that you actually wear and feel good in. This clarity is far more valuable than a wardrobe packed with unworn, poor-quality items. The benefit is clear: you make fewer daily decisions, allowing you to conserve your willpower and discipline for higher-priority aspects of your life.

Aligning Constraints with Your Future Self and Core Values

To make constraints truly stick and serve your highest goals, they should be aligned with the person you intend to become and reflect your core values. Constraints rooted in your values simplify your life by making ethical choices automatic. For example if you value environmental responsibility, your constraint might be: "I will only buy clothes from companies that use organic cotton." This limits your options, but ensures that every choice you do make is in line with what is important to you.

Your vision of your future self can and should guide the rules you choose to implement today. When temptation arises, you simply ask: "Does this action align with the constraints set by my Future Self?" If you need help clarifying this vision, grab my free Future Self Toolkit. Use this resource to create a motivating vision of the person you are going to be, and use that vision to guide the new, life-simplifying constraints you implement.

A great example of a constraint is to limit how much time you spend on social media

5 Powerful Constraints to Implement Today

Here are five common areas where imposing a constraint can lead to immediate simplicity and freedom:

1. Wardrobe & Uniform

Steve Jobs famously wore a black mock turtleneck and blue jeans every day. Implementing a constraint here means limiting your options to a core of professional or everyday outfits, eliminating choice and allowing you to get ready in minutes.

2. Social Life & Event Attendance

Consider constraints based on your preferences to make the "Yes/No" decision immediate. For example, here are three of my rules - no loud music, no evening alcohol, and only lunch dates. These transform invitations into an automatic, guilt-free decision.

3. Meal Planning & Recipe Selection

Stop scrolling for hours. Implement a constraint by creating a limited list of family-favourite recipes (e.g., 50 reliable options). When it's time to meal plan, you simply choose from your predefined list, eliminating the need for inspiration.

4. Email Constraint

The fastest way to rack up decision debt is by allowing constant interruptions into your work. Stop asking yourself, "Should I check my inbox now?" Instead, set a rigid constraint: "I will only check email three times per day (9 AM, 1 PM, and 4 PM)." This rule eliminates the constant internal decision and replaces it with an automatic system, allowing you to focus on deep work.

5. Social Media Constraint

The smartphone is a machine designed to trigger micro-decisions. Implement a constraint that governs when you interact with your devices. For example: "I will only use social media apps after 7 PM." This simple rule removes the continuous low-level choice of picking up your phone, saving your willpower throughout the day.

The Next Step: Living Consciously

If you do feel overwhelmed on a regular basis by the amount of choice in your life, then think about putting some constraints in. As we've discussed, you probably already have constraints in your life; you are just doing it in an unconscious rather than a conscious way. Implementing new rules is all about living a conscious and purposeful life where you are in control.

Take some time to think about where you are wasting time making decisions that you could simplify by putting in some constraints and see how you get on. Don't do too many at once—maybe just choose one or two and implement those. If it doesn't work out, you can always go back to how you were doing things in the past, or you can simply tweak the constraint until it feels right.

If you’d like to know more about constraints then you can listen to Brooke’s podcast here