How constraints promote creativity. I walked past a sign that said:

“Today’s constraints guarantee tomorrow’s freedom.”

While it was about fire and camping regulations, it applies in other ways. I initially thought about constraint as a sacrifice - like living on a budget so I can invest in a holiday and the freedom of a break. Creatively, that might be sacrificing sleep so you get up early to write before work/life begins. Or perhaps giving up a day of paid work to work on your work in progress - sacrificing money for time.

Constraint is also a structure that supports you. Take the classic pomodoro timer - having 25 minutes to write. It could be a writing prompt, a goal to write a number pages or words, the constraint of a plot or genre of writing.

While the wording of the sign is a bit too emphatic - guarantee! - and liable to rebellion (as we saw with covid restrictions), there can be liberation in the future.