16

Identify Your Key Constraints

Concentrate all your thoughts on the task at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

Between where you are today and any goal or objective that you want to accomplish, there is one major constraint that must be overcome before you can achieve that major goal. Your job is to identify it clearly.

What is holding you back? What sets the speed at which you achieve your goals? What determines how fast you move from where you are to where you want to go? What stops you or holds you back from eating the frogs that can really make a difference? Why aren’t you at your goal already?

These are some of the most important questions you will ever ask and answer on your way to achieving high levels of personal productivity and effectiveness. Whatever you have to do, there is always a limiting factor that determines how quickly and well you get it done. Your job is to study the task and identify the limiting factor or constraint within it. You must then focus all your energies on alleviating that single choke point.

Identify the Limiting Factor

In virtually every task, large or small, a single factor sets the speed at which you achieve the goal or complete the job. What is it? Concentrate your mental energies on that one key area. This can be the most productive use of your time and talents.

There are many types of constraints you might be facing: you might not have a quiet study space, you might be in the wrong level of a class, you may be in a classroom with thirty-five other students and find it challenging to get your questions answered, you may have chosen too many extracurriculars, you may have a side job that makes it hard to find enough study time, or something else. But the limiting factor is always there, and it is always your job to find it.

The accurate identification of the limiting factor in any process and the focus on that factor can usually bring about more progress in a shorter period than any other single activity. Even when your limiting factor seems insurmountable, there is almost always something you can do to improve your situation once you have identified it.

The 80/20 Rule Applied to Constraints

The 80/20 Rule also applies to the constraints in your life and in your work. This means that 80 percent of the constraints, the factors that are holding you back from achieving your goals, are internal. They are within yourself—within your own personal qualities, abilities, habits, disciplines, or competencies. This may sound daunting at first, but this is actually good news. If something is internal, it is 100 percent under your control, and you will be able to eliminate it.

Some constraints may seem external but actually have a dimension that is under your control. For example, you may be working on a group project where another student is not pulling his or her weight. The other student’s behavior or contribution is not under your control, but your contribution to the project is. It may not be fair, but you can still work hard to make the project a success. The only thing that matters is what grade you take away from the project.

Only 20 percent of the limiting factors are external to you. Only 20 percent are on the outside in the form of time commitments, family responsibilities, and resources.

Your key constraint can be something small and not particularly obvious. You may have to make a list of every step in a process and examine every activity to determine exactly what is holding you back. It can be as small as a lack of comprehension in one tiny area. If you can identify that area, you will be able to ask your teacher for help on something extremely specific, and he or she will be able to help you much more effectively and quickly.

Look into your life honestly. Look at your parents, your teachers, and your friends to see if there is a way in which one or more of them might unintentionally be holding you back. While this is unlikely to be purposeful or malicious, they might inadvertently be doing something that is negatively impacting your studies. It is important when addressing these issues to do so with respect.

It may be something as innocent as a teacher thinking you are shy and not calling on you as much as other students or a parent whose evening activities disrupt your homework time. Remember that even though these constraints are external, you are still responsible for your actions and the actions you take to improve your situation. If others are not willing to change their actions to help you, it is still your responsibility to find another way to deal with whatever is holding you back.

Talk to your teacher after class to express interest and enthusiasm for participating in class discussions. Ask your parents if they would be willing to let you study in a quieter part of the house or agree on quiet hours so you will be able to focus. If your friends are texting you constantly, choose to turn off your phone while you are doing homework; or give your phone to a family member to help you resist the temptation to chat, text, and allow yourself to be distracted by social media.

Follow Your Internal Compass

Sometimes a single negative perception on the part of a friend or teacher can be slowing down your whole learning process. If someone’s negative perception is holding you back, you may not be able to change the person’s opinion, but you can decide for yourself whether his or her opinion is factual or valid. If you conclude that it is not, refuse to let that person’s perception of you impact your perception of yourself.

This is particularly challenging if the situation involves a teacher’s perception of you. It is important to consider feedback from your teachers since their job is to help you improve. And if they are giving you a grade, you will need to address their concerns with that in mind.

Here is a wonderful way to reframe criticism: negative feedback should be considered a gift. Even when it is in accurate, you can always learn something from feedback—negative or positive. It is up to you to decide how to react to it, and what you choose to do about it is in your control.

However, we must remember that teachers are human beings who are doing their best, but they can’t tell the future. If you have dreams of attending a particular college, but your college counselor is not supportive, look up the data yourself. The statistics on incoming classes are posted online. Decide for yourself whether your grades and test scores qualify you, and if they are not quite there yet, you have the power to work toward that goal. This book has given you the tools. If you dream of being a writer but your English teacher says you don’t have talent, respectfully disagree, and whatever you do, never stop writing. You can improve in any area of your life. If you believe in yourself, take complete personal responsibility for your learning, and use specific goals to guide you, nothing can stop you.

Look into Yourself

Successful people always begin the analysis of constraints by asking the question, “What is it in me that is holding me back?” They accept complete responsibility for their lives and look to themselves for both the cause and cure of their problems. This is the most powerful approach you can take, since anything that is in you is also in your power to change.

This can be challenging to learn for the first time, and you must have the honesty to look deeply into yourself for the limiting factor or limiting skill that sets the speed at which you achieve your personal goals. Keep asking, “What sets the speed at which I get the results I want?”

Strive for Accuracy

The definition of the constraint determines the strategy that you use to alleviate it. The failure to identify the correct constraint, or the identification of the wrong constraint, can lead you in the wrong direction. You can end up solving the wrong problem.

A teacher I know told me about a student of hers who designed a science experiment for his chemistry lab but was consistently getting nonsense results. Before he redesigned the whole experiment, he chose to talk to his teacher about his progress. She was able to help him see that his data was good—he was just misreading it. Instead of spending twice as much time to start over, he just changed how he was reading the data.

Your teachers and even your peers are valuable resources for you when you are trying to identify constraints. Once you are in the professional world, you will be solving problems on your own, but for now, you have the incredible support of teachers who can help you assess your work. They won’t solve your problems for you, but they will be able to guide you so that you get better and better at doing it on your own.

Behind every constraint or choke point, once it is located and alleviated successfully, you will find another constraint or limiting factor. Whether you’re trying to get all your homework finished or make it to soccer practice on time, there are always limiting factors and bottle-necks that set the speed of your progress. Your job is to find them and to focus your energies on alleviating them as quickly as possible.

Starting off your day with the removal of a key bottleneck or constraint fills you with energy and personal power. It propels you into following through and completing your work. Often, alleviating a key constraint or limiting factor is the most important frog you could eat at that moment.