Capacity Planning
Match commitments to actual available capacity.
Capacity is finite even if ambition is infinite
Accepting your actual capacity is the first step to using it well.
Measure your actual capacity
Track how much focused work you can actually do in a day before quality drops.
Sustainable pace over sprint pace
A pace you can maintain indefinitely produces more over time than periodic sprints.
Capacity varies day to day
Some days you have more capacity than others — plan for this variability.
The commitment to capacity ratio
Your active commitments should never exceed your capacity — track both.
Load balancing across time
Distribute work evenly across days and weeks rather than clustering it.
Capacity buffers
Reserve some capacity for unexpected demands — running at 100% leaves no room for surprises.
The cost of overcommitment
Exceeding capacity produces lower-quality outputs more errors and eventual burnout.
Capacity for different types of work
You may have different capacities for creative work analytical work and social interaction.
Building capacity gradually
You can increase your capacity over time but only through consistent gradual progression.
Capacity recovery after overload
After a period of overcommitment you need extra recovery time to restore baseline capacity.
Saying no to protect capacity
Declining new commitments when at capacity is not selfish — it is responsible.
Capacity communication
Make your capacity visible to stakeholders so they can adjust expectations.
The capacity dashboard
A simple visual showing your current load versus capacity helps prevent overcommitment.
Seasonal capacity variation
Your capacity changes with seasons health and life circumstances — plan for it.
Capacity and age
Capacity changes as you age — working with these changes is better than fighting them.
Team capacity planning
When working with others collective capacity must be managed as carefully as individual capacity.
Capacity for growth and maintenance
You need capacity for both maintaining existing commitments and growing new capabilities.
The paradox of reduced commitments
Doing fewer things often produces more total output because each thing gets adequate resources.
Capacity planning is honest living
Aligning commitments with actual capacity is one of the most honest things you can do.