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# With Constraint Find Freedom
- URL: https://makoism.com/with-constraint-find-freedom/
- Published: 2022-08-20T10:13:23.000Z
- Updated: 2022-08-20T10:13:22.000Z
- Description: "Yeah, Well, You Know, That's Just, Like, Your Opinion, Man." - The Dude, Big Lebowski
- Author: Steve Makofsky
- Tags: makoism, #newsletter-makoism

> *"Yeah, Well, You Know, That's Just, Like, Your Opinion, Man." - The Dude, Big Lebowski*

Earlier in the year, I was musing about [artificial constraints](https://makoism.com/artifical-constraints/) and applying them to situations to force a different thinking style.

> *Whether it's how a team is building new cloud technology, finding time during the week to write this newsletter, or daily calendar blocks, over and over, I have experienced real examples with *constraint comes freedom*.*

Funny enough, this past week, I stumbled across the site "[Six Word Stories](http://www.smithmag.net)," which '*asked readers to write the story of their own lives in a single sentence*' and resulted in the book "[Not Quite What I Was Planning](https://www.amazon.com/Not-Quite-What-Was-Planning/dp/0061374059)". The idea originated from Hemingway (asked to describe his life in six words), who wrote: "*for sale: baby shoes, never worn*."

It's pretty simple, yet brilliant.

> *when there are no constraints on the creative process, complacency sets in, and people follow what psychologists call the path of least resistance – they go for the most intuitive idea that comes to mind rather than investing in developing better ideas.*

Bringing it back to my adventures with technology over the years - I clearly remember when I started to dive deep into the emerging world of pocket computers. You may remember them from a world long before the iPhone: the [Apple Newton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple%5FNewton), [Windows CE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows%5FEmbedded%5FCompact), [Pocket PC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket%5FPC), etc.. (and yes, I still have my [Newton MessagePad 100](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MessagePad)).

One of the best revelations I had is that I literally had *to throw away things I knew about writing code*. I was **constrained** by the form factor: 2MB of RAM, 2MB of storage. I had to focus on new ways of doing memory-efficient operations; how could you perform high-speed sorting of large arrays with no hard drive to swap to? I accidentally tripped into a mindset in which I had to stop taking for granted what I knew, but instead needed to go back to basics and dig into algorithms I hadn't used since school. Dig deeper to understand memory architecture. 

It was a superpower. :) 

Colleagues would ask me how I wrote code that so was efficient - it's because I **had to toss all that stuff that made life easier out the window**. I had to find ways to make it work with what I was given.

**Constraint = Freedom.**

Fast forward to today, you can see simlarities of these same issues with the advent of cloud computing. Most (incorrectly) view clouds as *magical* data centers with unlimited capacity. Lift and shift the software there! Things just work better!

**Nope**. Before you know it - you have the over-bloated infrastructure, security problems, huge bills, and unmanageable footprints doing *who knows what*.

I guess what I'm getting to - if you want to see teams make impactful change, just apply some constraints. Heck, I've told teams since 2017 that "containers are dead" (truth!). Try it out - see how creative they can get when you only give them a few tools.

You'll be surprised at what they come up with. **It's freedom.**

If you enjoy these posts, you can [buy me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/makoism) ☕️, or if you'd rather keep up with my daily ramblings, follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/smakofsky) or keep reading [my posts on this blog](https://makoism.com/).

## Forward Thinking

I don't have a lot of commentary on this thread, but it had me thinking a lot this week.

> The Ancient Greeks had two words for time:  
>  
> 1\. Chronos = sequential, quantitative time  
> 2\. Kairos = fluctuating, qualitative time  
>  
> Here's why you need to understand kairos... [pic.twitter.com/U3dQzXJrv1](https://t.co/U3dQzXJrv1)
> 
> — The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) [August 13, 2022](https://twitter.com/culturaltutor/status/1558551902505279489?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw)

> **Kairos* refers to the way in which certain moments are more important or influential than others. A clock can't measure that, but it's undeniable that some times are much more significant than others.*

In general, it feels like we as humans need to spend more time around Kairos moments.

## Thought of the week

> "It never ceases to amaze me: We all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own." — Marcus Aurelius
> 
> — Ryan Holiday (@RyanHoliday) [August 17, 2022](https://twitter.com/RyanHoliday/status/1559887820755386369?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw)

> My morning coffee session is not about the drink, it’s the experience.  
>  
> A daily ritual to get away from my desk. To stand back, reflect and get clarity. A booster.  
> Or just the chance for a break.  
>  
> It matters.  
> So I make time for it.
> 
> — IanSanders (@IanSanders) [August 10, 2022](https://twitter.com/IanSanders/status/1557402954033930240?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw)

## Latest obsession

I haven't tried this yet, but I thought the concept was interesting. Give [James Hoffman](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMb0O2CdPBNi-QqPk5T3gsQ) a watch on what may very well be one of the most interesting coffee ice-creams I've seen.

## This weeks "Deep Links"

Here are a few of the articles and videos that resonated with me over the last week:

- For a long time, I've talked about [calendars are currency](https://makoism.com/its-about-time/), and "**How Leaders Are Battling Meeting Overload**" goes head first into **meeting doomsday** and **calendar bankruptcy**. I'd highly urge anyone experiencing this fatigue to do a calendar audit and nuke the unnecessary - [More](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenamcgregor/2022/08/11/meeting-doomsday-and-calendar-bankruptcy-how-leaders-are-battling-meeting-overload/)
- I was recently introduced to the concept of [The Kaizen Way](https://kaizenwaytowellness.com) by a co-worker, so I was interested to read "**Get 1% Better Every Day: The Kaizen Way to Self-Improvement**". While it feels a lot of the same that is rooted in the fantastic book [Atomic Habits](https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits), there's something too small, rooted actions that help us get better over time - [More](https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/behavior/get-1-better-every-day-the-kaizen-way-to-self-improvement/)
- Not shocking, but "**Apple Watch ECG sensor could be used to detect symptoms of a heart attack**." I'll say this: my Apple Watch warned me of something off two weeks before my first heart attack, so I'm not surprised here at all - [More](https://www.ithinkdiff.com/apple-watch-ecg-heart-attack-detection/)
- Total hackery, but if you've ever wanted a small Apple Touch ID button, here's a project for you in "**My Touch ID button is fully deconstructed**" - [More](https://sixcolors.com/post/2022/08/my-touch-id-button-is-fully-deconstructed/)
- "**This weekend, I watched a hacker jailbreak a John Deere tractor live on stage**" was one of the more shocking ones on the cybersecurity front this week - [More](https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/15/deere-in-headlights/#doh-a-deere)
- Along the same lines of declaring **meeting bankruptcy**, "**You're Never Going to Be Caught Up at Work. Stop Feeling Guilty About It.**" - [More](https://hbr.org/2018/07/youre-never-going-to-be-caught-up-at-work-stop-feeling-guilty-about-it)
- I'm still fascinated about the whole future of work debate. In "**Work From Office**," Scott Galloway once again puts together a thoughtful piece that dives into the pros and cons from both perspectives - [More](https://www.profgalloway.com/work-from-office/)
- This is fun: "**Rituals for Engineering Teams**." I've been a big believer of the '*who broke the build rubber chicken*' - and the author agrees that these rituals create a sense of **belonging** \- [More](https://charity.wtf/2022/08/15/rituals-for-engineering-teams/)
- File under 'oopsie,' but "**Blockbuster CEO 'struggled not to laugh' at chance to buy Netflix, new books says**." Lesson learned, I'd say - [More](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/blockbuster-ceo-netflix-meeting-laugh-b2009607.html)
- I loved the quote analysis of "**' The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.'**" from Socrates; and how the simple act of '*dwelling on something that happened yesterday, that you can no longer change is only tearing down what you're supposed to be building up*' - [More](https://sites.psu.edu/marissanicolespassionblog/2014/04/10/the-secret-of-change-is-to-focus-all-of-your-energy-not-on-fighting-the-old-but-on-building-the-new-socrates/)

## Fin

I missed [Lightyear](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10298810/) in theaters (on purpose - I don't like going to them anymore), but I did enjoy his origin story. Recently, I ran across this scene, cut from the final picture, which explains the origin of his classic "To Infinity and Beyond!" catchphrase.

Be well. ✌🏻