Haiku Productivity: The Power of Limits to Increase Our Focus

Haiku(ˈhīˌko͞o,ˌhīˈko͞o) Productivity: The Power of Limits to Increase(i) Our Focus

By Leo Babauta

A decade(ˈdekād) ago, I wrote about “Haiku Productivity” and how limits can make us more productive, more focused, and better able to prioritize(prīˈôrəˌtīz,ˈprīərə-) and simplify(ˈsimpləˌfī).

The idea comes from haiku poetry(ˈpōitrē,ˈpōətrē), in which the poet(ˈpōit,ˈpōət) is limited to three lines and (essentially(iˈsenSHəlē)) 17 syllables(ˈsiləbəl). Such a crazy limit, and yet the poetry that can be produced is often very powerful.

The secret(ˈsēkrit): the poet is forced to choose, forced to simplify, forced to find the essence(ˈesəns) of the message. The constraints(kənˈstrānt) are actually a very powerful thing, because constraints force you to be disciplined(ˈdisəplind), to understand that because you have limits, every element(ˈeləmənt) in the container must be important, and you can’t just waste words.

Over the years, I would often lose sight of this wisdom(ˈwizdəm), but I keep coming back to it: when a container is unlimited, you’ll just fill it with anything. When you have constraints, you’ll be more careful, be more appreciative(əˈprēSH(ē)ətiv) of the limited space you have, and explore what’s important to you in more depth(depTH).

This applies(əˈplī) to every area(ˈe(ə)rēə) of life, including:

Productive time…
Clutter…(ˈklətər)
Projects…
People in our lives…
Life itself…

The list could go on much further(ˈfərT͟Hər), but what I really want to talk about today is the power of limits in increasing our focus on the meaningful work we really want to do — whether that’s creating art, creating a new business, creating happiness in our team or customers, or working on something meaningful in our personal lives.

https://zenhabits.net/haiku/