A framework is a specific method for approaching and dealing with a given scenario in your life. For example, perhaps you have a routine where you set aside a strict time on a Sunday to plan the rest of your week. Or maybe you cook your meals in bulk every weekend so that you have a lunch to take to work Monday through Friday.

A framework is a set of strategic limitations that guide your behavior, imposing routines and enforcing disciplines. A good framework, though limiting, will end up making the thing you are trying to accomplish easier.

But most importantly, frameworks take advantage of the power of constraints: You sacrifice the ability to spend your time or attention on something else, and you instead follow a prescribed set of rules laid out in advance. By imposing these rules and limitations, we force ourselves to get clever; necessity forces invention.