Funnily enough I think this applies to business as well. I was at the YC User Acquisition conference the other day and what was striking was just how many processes the most successful companies have locked down. It frees you up to be creative.
A business, at its core, is made up of a people. Well defined processes are the equivalent of habits for a business - common practices where the expected behavior is straightforward enough that the company doesn't have to think very much. This, as you say, frees you up to be an active thinker on many other topics.