Why are smaller targets easier to hit?

I’ve been thinking today about a very ‘open’ project or goal with multiple paths to success can be harder to achieve (or get started on) than a more constrained project (a smaller target, if you will).

If anything is possible, deciding which way to proceed can involve interminable agonising.

I thought of this problem in relation to our recent cycle journey, where some of our toughest moments have been when we’ve had to um and ah over near-identical options. And often, having enough resources (time, money, information, energy) to take any course has made deciding that bit harder. If we’d been working to a tight schedule, or had a very fixed daily mileage, some decisions would have been much easier. But of course our trip would have been very different then – most probably, a lot less enjoyable.

So often, having a limited range of options is a vital heuristic. Cutting down the list of possible actions is a crucial step in greasing the slope and getting on with it.

A particular problem I’ve been aware of recently is that of having too much information. This is an ever-present danger with mobile internet. One could spend days trawling Google for yet more angles or the vicarious experiences of forum posters and reviewers. This approach can seem safer than plunging in, but it can be very paralysing, and not terribly enlightening after all. Sometimes you have to find your own route up the mountain.

Though this thinking bubbled up in relation to a recent outdoor adventure, it is equally applicable to my other interests – philosophical enquiry and design. In both these cases, some limitations are needed before the problem-solving can begin. Some of my best design work has grown out of very restrictive briefs. And there’s nothing like a clearly-phrased thesis to generate a solid philosophical argument.

So next time you’re stumped, why not take some options off the table? Or at least, set a strict time limit for your option-gathering phase. It might make your target smaller, but it gives you something to aim at.