Saturday, July 19, 2025

Manage your options

Sometimes it’s useful to limit your options. You can focus on one thing longer when you eliminate your access to all the other things.

When you’re surrounded by options, you’re constantly having to choose between them. Not only do you have to put effort into what you’re focusing on, you must expend effort to maintain that focus.

By limiting your options, you change the dynamic. You no longer have to spend time and effort avoiding the alternatives to the object of your focus.

For example, when your car is in the shop you don’t have the option of getting in it and driving somewhere. That forces you to stay put and work on what’s right in front of you.

Another example is turning off or locking away your smartphone. Doing so eliminates all sorts of interruptions and temptations.

It’s generally good to have lots of options, yet it can be extremely helpful to intentionally limit those options in service of a specific purpose. As valuable as your options are, they become even more valuable when you manage them well.

— Ralph Marston

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