Being creative doesn’t mean having no rules. Picking your own rules is the creative part.

Total freedom is paralysing rather than liberating. A blank page with no limits offers infinite options and no reason to prefer any of them, which is why most people stare at it. Rules give the work edges to push against, and choosing those edges yourself is the actual creative decision. Everything after that is execution inside a frame you built.

Before your next project, write down three rules you are imposing on purpose. Only black ink, under two minutes, no dialogue, one room. Then follow them strictly, and notice how much faster decisions come when most options are already off the table.