Frequently asked questions about thinking, epistemology, and cognitive tools. 2409 answers
Design systems with extra capacity at known bottleneck points.
Track your bottlenecks over time to see whether they are shifting or chronic.
Finding and resolving constraints is the practical application of systems thinking to your life.
Accepting your actual capacity is the first step to using it well.
Track how much focused work you can actually do in a day before quality drops.
A pace you can maintain indefinitely produces more over time than periodic sprints.
Some days you have more capacity than others — plan for this variability.
Some days you have more capacity than others — plan for this variability.
Some days you have more capacity than others — plan for this variability.
Some days you have more capacity than others — plan for this variability.
Some days you have more capacity than others — plan for this variability.
Some days you have more capacity than others — plan for this variability.
Some days you have more capacity than others — plan for this variability.
Some days you have more capacity than others — plan for this variability.
Your active commitments should never exceed your capacity — track both.
Distribute work evenly across days and weeks rather than clustering it.
Reserve some capacity for unexpected demands — running at 100% leaves no room for surprises.
Exceeding capacity produces lower-quality outputs more errors and eventual burnout.
You may have different capacities for creative work analytical work and social interaction.
You can increase your capacity over time but only through consistent gradual progression.
After a period of overcommitment you need extra recovery time to restore baseline capacity.
Declining new commitments when at capacity is not selfish — it is responsible.
Make your capacity visible to stakeholders so they can adjust expectations.
A simple visual showing your current load versus capacity helps prevent overcommitment.