Increase capacity target by 10% per week only if quality held and you hit 4 of 5 days
When capacity building, increase target output by 10% per week only if quality metrics held steady or improved AND you met target on at least 4 of 5 days in the previous week.
Why This Is a Rule
Capacity building follows the same progressive overload principle as physical training: increase the demand incrementally, consolidate at each level before advancing, and never sacrifice form (quality) for volume. The dual criteria — quality maintained AND 4/5 days at target — prevent the two most common progression failures.
10% per week is the increment ceiling. Larger jumps (20-30%) risk overwhelming the system before adaptation occurs. Smaller jumps (2-5%) are safe but slow — 10% balances adaptation speed with sustainability.
Quality held or improved prevents the quantity-at-expense-of-quality trap. You can always produce more output by lowering standards — writing faster but sloppier, coding more but buggier. The quality gate ensures that increased volume reflects genuine capacity growth, not quality sacrifice.
4 of 5 days at target ensures consistency, not just peaks. Meeting target on your best 2 days while missing on 3 doesn't qualify — it means the target exceeds your reliable capacity. 4/5 is the consistency threshold that separates genuine capacity from peak-day performance.
When This Fires
- During any deliberate capacity-building program (increasing deep work hours, writing output, etc.)
- Weekly review when deciding whether to increase next week's target
- When you've been at the same capacity level for multiple weeks and want to progress
- After a deload period when rebuilding to previous capacity
Common Failure Mode
Increasing target based on ambition rather than data. "I did 4 hours of deep work this week, I should aim for 5 next week." But did you hit 4 on at least 4 of 5 days? Was quality maintained? Without verifying both criteria, the increase is a guess, not a calibrated progression.
The Protocol
Weekly capacity review: (1) Count days you met or exceeded target this week. (2) Assess quality: did output quality hold steady or improve? (3) If both criteria met (4/5 days + quality held) → increase target by 10% next week. (4) If quality dropped on 2+ days → hold at current level (consolidation, not failure). (5) If target met on fewer than 4 days → hold at current level. Progress only when both criteria are satisfied simultaneously.