"When your priority becomes moving forward without using more energy, consider dropping one of your criteria for the task. Drop a characteristic you think the solution must have. For example, you might believe you need to give your niece a unique gift each year, when really she would prefer $20 cash and doesn't value uniqueness. Removing the single friction point blocking your progress can ease the emotional weight of the task, often with little or acceptable sacrifice in the outcome."
"You're trying to set up a meeting but struggling to find a time everyone can attend. You remove the requirement that everyone must attend and instantly find a time that works for 75% of people. Single solution requirements (only one approach allowed). Let's consider an alternative solution to the meeting dilemma: you remove the hidden requirement that there can be only one meeting time."
Tasks often become slow or emotionally taxing because of a single bottleneck that causes overthinking, procrastination, and stress. Removing or loosening one requirement can allow forward momentum with little loss. Examples of droppable requirements include needing 100% participation, insisting on a single solution, and fixed size or duration constraints. Identifying the bottleneck requires pattern-matching across common categories to find the friction point. Dropping an unnecessary criterion can ease emotional weight, speed completion, and sometimes produce better outcomes. Choosing which requirement to drop should prioritize moving forward without expending more energy.
Read at Psychology Today
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