Where's the bottleneck?

It doesn’t matter how many times you go around. There’s no point to it anyway. (Image by Carys L)

It's a metaphor for a metaphor.

If the bottleneck is the part of the bottle that's the narrowest, then in a production setting like a factory, it refers to the stage or element of a system that limits the output.

Like traffic on an on-ramp, unable to flow onto the highway, the inputs get backed up. No matter how much you increase production in other areas of the system, the throughput (and ultimate productivity) will be limited by that bottleneck.

We can look for bottlenecks in many areas of our work and life. I've been thinking lately about what mine might be.

It's not quite right to say that the constraint is time—I have enough time.

It's also not exactly energy, money, or ideas.

When I think about the gap between what I'd like to accomplish and what I feel capable of accomplishing, It's hard to say exactly what is missing.

I theoretically have enough time, energy, and money to do the things on my to-do list, and yet I can't get all the way through them on most days. I'm falling short of some combination of time, energy, and focus.

Basically, the problem is that I'm not a machine.

Like a typical human, I crave a certain amount of novelty and variety and require a certain amount of time to rest and recharge between strenuous projects.

Occasionally, I can push past these requirements, but not indefinitely. The bill comes due at some point.

The more I practice, the more my capacity increases. The more I challenge myself to do difficult things, the easier those difficult things seem.

But no matter what, I'm still limited by being human. I guess I'm the bottleneck in the system that is my life.

Seeing this gives me a new context for the way I have to take care of myself. If I don't get enough sleep and exercise, eat right, and interact meaningfully with other people, my productivity will be curtailed.

And since my productivity is limited in the first place (again, by that pesky human-ness), any time I spend doing an activity that drains my energy will negatively impact the rather fragile system. Though I can't completely avoid doing stuff I don't want to do, it is beneficial if I can stick to the stuff that I find most enjoyable and energizing, plus the stuff that only I can do.

Life isn't just about productivity, but it's the natural state of humans to grow. When I'm talking about productivity here, that's what I really mean. I'm talking about my ability to become who I want to be.

Therefore, even though it drives me crazy when I sit down to work and can't concentrate, or I try to come up with an idea and can't, I accept it as part of the process. Try as I might, I cannot just do the tasks on my list in order without stopping. I need breaks to think, daydream, and eat. I need to laugh and goof off. I need to walk around and see things other than the four walls of my home or office.

Some of the projects I've had in the works for years don't have to take as long as they are taking. But if I could have speeded them up, wouldn't I have done so already? I can push and force things to move more quickly, but it won't make much difference. Flowers bloom when they're ready, I guess.

If you're the bottleneck in your own system, what does that mean? It means you can't do more than you can do, and you can't go harder or faster than you can go. It means that you are your most precious resource, and that's why it's so important to take care of yourself. It means that the things that only you can do are the things you must prioritize.

And it means that no matter what, you'll never be able to do everything you want to do. Anything, maybe—but not everything.

When you understand that you are the bottleneck, maybe that can help to increase the compassion and decrease the frustration you feel when you look at your life and what you have to show for it so far. You only get one life and there is only one you. Your resources must be carefully allocated as a result.

Existence is beautiful and fleeting. How will you spend it? Maybe the solution is not to try to do more, but less. And be more present and joyful, regardless of throughput. I'll work on that.