I agree that having constrains makes the problem simpler to think about, which as a programmer/engineer is great. It makes the problem look more like a puzzle.

However the truth is that constrains can be broken as long as you realize that doing so has a cost. Taking this into account expands the solutions space hugely, which both means that if you can take advantage of this you might find overall better solutions, while at the same time it can be overwhelming and paralyzing.

Edit to add: sometimes when the solutions space is too big artificially and arbitrarily limiting it might help.