Love this. Capacity Capture names something I’ve watched play out for years: the most reliable people end up as load-bearing walls nobody dares to move. Peter, how do you usually spot someone being captured like this before they reach breaking point?
One of the earliest signals is when someone becomes the default answer to problems they didn't create.
"Give it to Sarah."
"Just run it past John."
"Can you jump on this quickly?"
Individually, these requests seem reasonable. Collectively, they start converting a person's expertise into shared infrastructure.
Another signal is when their calendar becomes increasingly full while their actual mandate receives whatever attention remains.
By the time they're visibly overwhelmed, Capacity Capture is usually well advanced. The earlier warning sign is that everyone else's priorities are slowly replacing their own.
What a compelling piece. Attention residue is a real thing and it's what I disliked the most about extreme multi-tasking, being pulled into every meeting, discussion and every training opportunity. I was the Alex in your story. I always felt I consistently needed 15-20 minutes longer on each project yet i was always being pulled over to the next, then the next. You've articulated the value of time incredibly well. Applause!
Thank you. I suspect a lot of capable people see themselves in Alex.
What struck me when researching and writing this piece was that almost nobody ends up there because they're careless or disorganised. It's usually the opposite. They're competent, helpful, trusted and high-functioning, which is why the organisation keeps giving them more.
The challenge is that attention gets consumed gradually. One meeting, one committee, one "quick chat" at a time. Then one day you realise you're spending most of your energy servicing everyone else's priorities.
I'm glad the concept of attention residue resonated. Once you start noticing it, you begin to see that the real cost of a commitment is rarely the hour on the calendar. It's the thinking time, recovery time, and strategic capacity that disappears around it.
Yes! Thank you for the time and effort you put into researching and writing this piece. It’s been the most eye-opening and valuable article I’ve read in a long time. I agree that many high functioning, capable people become Alex. To show care, concern and initiative when so many lack it usually means we’re rewarded with more work, more interruptions and more of all the afflictions you articulated. Thanks again, Peter, and thank you so much for the follow!
Your observation about care and initiative being rewarded with more interruptions has stayed with me.
One thing I've been wondering since publishing the piece is whether this dynamic is actually getting worse. Modern workplaces have become incredibly good at finding capable people and routing work towards them. What used to happen through hierarchy now happens through meetings, messaging platforms, committees, and collaboration requests.
I'm not sure we've developed equivalent skills for protecting attention.
I'd be curious whether you've noticed that change over the course of your career.
Yes, I have noticed this trend over the course of my career. There are younger, up-and-coming individuals who are incredibly ambitious who will often volunteer to take on a task or a project. Even with that being the case, though, it’s been my experience that when it comes to the most important or crucial matters, relying on the long-standing loyal staff members who are known to come through in the clutch are still the ones who face the most interruptions because of their experience and versatility. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told some variation of, “I know I can give this to you and I don’t have to worry about it because I know it’ll get done.”
I suspect many capable people have heard some version of that sentence.
It's intended as praise, and often it genuinely is. The challenge is that organisations naturally route uncertainty towards the people who reduce it.
Your comment reminded me of something a career coach once told me. She suggested I should take more sick days.
As a fairly straight-shooting person, I thought it was bizarre advice. Her point wasn't really about being sick. It was that I had become so available and dependable that I was unintentionally sacrificing other goals I cared about.
After researching and writing this piece, I think I understand what she was getting at. If you're always the person who can be relied on, the organisation will keep relying on you.
The real challenge is finding a way to remain dependable without allowing dependability to consume all of your strategic capacity.
Thank you for sharing that example. It captures the dynamic perfectly.
Your writing is out of my lane completely, however, reading this article gave me insight to what people in this category of existence are actually concentrating on. Time is expensive, so is the diminishment of life sustaining resources in the chase for profit. To me at this exact time of humanity's existence humanity requires a much more strategic approach to regenerating life on earth - the eight biological requirements of life. All our time, if we want to hand a healthy planet that allows all life to thrive, must become strategically aligned with regenerating what keeps us alive and allows all life to thrive. Clean air, safe water, healthy soil, whole food, regenrative housing, utilities, clothing and transportation are biological requirements. So, to me it is seeming more and more illogical to continue chasing Money and spending time meeting about how to chase more profit with less bottlenecking and more clarity. We all have our place in this world but to me it seems we lack big picture recognition, big picture principle-based values and morally autonomous global goals,that ensure global health and wellness because those that control the narrative have entrapped our minds with the chase for money if we want to thrive like the wealthy get to. All the while pollution for profit pushes the ability to thrive just a little further down the perverbial road for most everyone but those who protect their calendar. Your article opened my mind to realize some truths about where we are really at on the big calendar of life.
One thing I think we agree on is that protecting time is only half the equation.
The harder question is what we ultimately use that protected capacity for.
A calendar can be defended in service of profit, personal ambition, family, community, environmental stewardship, or any number of other priorities.
The article was really about creating the space to make those choices deliberately rather than having them made for us by accumulation, interruption, and other people's agendas.
In many ways, you're pointing toward the question explored in the previous pillar, Horizon Thinking: what are we building that will still matter after we're gone?
Thank you for the redirect to another of your articles, wow! I was born into a life full of adverse childhood experiences aka trauma and then foster care - I survived by learning to anticipate future possibilities and calamities with survival instinct precision and deeply resonated with the article you recommended to me. It is how My writing flowed with a sense of calling focused on One for All. I have lived the consequences of governmental lack of planning and have worked for many that ran their business or nonprofit doing their S.W.O.T. after events…the preparation before was a solid “go get em’ team, we are winners!” I deeply appreciate your perspective and highly recommend more people read your writing. Its truly powerful. Thank you.
I liked your observation that you survived by learning to anticipate future possibilities and calamities. Many people encounter these ideas through books, strategy, or philosophy. You learned them through necessity.
I suspect that's one reason the article resonated so strongly.
I also appreciated your point about organisations doing their SWOT after the event. We often call that learning, but it can sometimes be an expensive substitute for rehearsal.
Thank you for taking the time to read, reflect, and share your story. It means a great deal to know the ideas connected with someone whose perspective was shaped through lived experience rather than theory alone.
Love this. Capacity Capture names something I’ve watched play out for years: the most reliable people end up as load-bearing walls nobody dares to move. Peter, how do you usually spot someone being captured like this before they reach breaking point?
Great question!
One of the earliest signals is when someone becomes the default answer to problems they didn't create.
"Give it to Sarah."
"Just run it past John."
"Can you jump on this quickly?"
Individually, these requests seem reasonable. Collectively, they start converting a person's expertise into shared infrastructure.
Another signal is when their calendar becomes increasingly full while their actual mandate receives whatever attention remains.
By the time they're visibly overwhelmed, Capacity Capture is usually well advanced. The earlier warning sign is that everyone else's priorities are slowly replacing their own.
What a compelling piece. Attention residue is a real thing and it's what I disliked the most about extreme multi-tasking, being pulled into every meeting, discussion and every training opportunity. I was the Alex in your story. I always felt I consistently needed 15-20 minutes longer on each project yet i was always being pulled over to the next, then the next. You've articulated the value of time incredibly well. Applause!
Thank you. I suspect a lot of capable people see themselves in Alex.
What struck me when researching and writing this piece was that almost nobody ends up there because they're careless or disorganised. It's usually the opposite. They're competent, helpful, trusted and high-functioning, which is why the organisation keeps giving them more.
The challenge is that attention gets consumed gradually. One meeting, one committee, one "quick chat" at a time. Then one day you realise you're spending most of your energy servicing everyone else's priorities.
I'm glad the concept of attention residue resonated. Once you start noticing it, you begin to see that the real cost of a commitment is rarely the hour on the calendar. It's the thinking time, recovery time, and strategic capacity that disappears around it.
Yes! Thank you for the time and effort you put into researching and writing this piece. It’s been the most eye-opening and valuable article I’ve read in a long time. I agree that many high functioning, capable people become Alex. To show care, concern and initiative when so many lack it usually means we’re rewarded with more work, more interruptions and more of all the afflictions you articulated. Thanks again, Peter, and thank you so much for the follow!
Thank you for reading it so carefully.
Your observation about care and initiative being rewarded with more interruptions has stayed with me.
One thing I've been wondering since publishing the piece is whether this dynamic is actually getting worse. Modern workplaces have become incredibly good at finding capable people and routing work towards them. What used to happen through hierarchy now happens through meetings, messaging platforms, committees, and collaboration requests.
I'm not sure we've developed equivalent skills for protecting attention.
I'd be curious whether you've noticed that change over the course of your career.
Yes, I have noticed this trend over the course of my career. There are younger, up-and-coming individuals who are incredibly ambitious who will often volunteer to take on a task or a project. Even with that being the case, though, it’s been my experience that when it comes to the most important or crucial matters, relying on the long-standing loyal staff members who are known to come through in the clutch are still the ones who face the most interruptions because of their experience and versatility. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told some variation of, “I know I can give this to you and I don’t have to worry about it because I know it’ll get done.”
I suspect many capable people have heard some version of that sentence.
It's intended as praise, and often it genuinely is. The challenge is that organisations naturally route uncertainty towards the people who reduce it.
Your comment reminded me of something a career coach once told me. She suggested I should take more sick days.
As a fairly straight-shooting person, I thought it was bizarre advice. Her point wasn't really about being sick. It was that I had become so available and dependable that I was unintentionally sacrificing other goals I cared about.
After researching and writing this piece, I think I understand what she was getting at. If you're always the person who can be relied on, the organisation will keep relying on you.
The real challenge is finding a way to remain dependable without allowing dependability to consume all of your strategic capacity.
Thank you for sharing that example. It captures the dynamic perfectly.
Your writing is out of my lane completely, however, reading this article gave me insight to what people in this category of existence are actually concentrating on. Time is expensive, so is the diminishment of life sustaining resources in the chase for profit. To me at this exact time of humanity's existence humanity requires a much more strategic approach to regenerating life on earth - the eight biological requirements of life. All our time, if we want to hand a healthy planet that allows all life to thrive, must become strategically aligned with regenerating what keeps us alive and allows all life to thrive. Clean air, safe water, healthy soil, whole food, regenrative housing, utilities, clothing and transportation are biological requirements. So, to me it is seeming more and more illogical to continue chasing Money and spending time meeting about how to chase more profit with less bottlenecking and more clarity. We all have our place in this world but to me it seems we lack big picture recognition, big picture principle-based values and morally autonomous global goals,that ensure global health and wellness because those that control the narrative have entrapped our minds with the chase for money if we want to thrive like the wealthy get to. All the while pollution for profit pushes the ability to thrive just a little further down the perverbial road for most everyone but those who protect their calendar. Your article opened my mind to realize some truths about where we are really at on the big calendar of life.
Thank you for such a thoughtful reflection.
One thing I think we agree on is that protecting time is only half the equation.
The harder question is what we ultimately use that protected capacity for.
A calendar can be defended in service of profit, personal ambition, family, community, environmental stewardship, or any number of other priorities.
The article was really about creating the space to make those choices deliberately rather than having them made for us by accumulation, interruption, and other people's agendas.
In many ways, you're pointing toward the question explored in the previous pillar, Horizon Thinking: what are we building that will still matter after we're gone?
https://peterashbysmith.substack.com/p/the-future-should-not-surprise-you
Thank you for the redirect to another of your articles, wow! I was born into a life full of adverse childhood experiences aka trauma and then foster care - I survived by learning to anticipate future possibilities and calamities with survival instinct precision and deeply resonated with the article you recommended to me. It is how My writing flowed with a sense of calling focused on One for All. I have lived the consequences of governmental lack of planning and have worked for many that ran their business or nonprofit doing their S.W.O.T. after events…the preparation before was a solid “go get em’ team, we are winners!” I deeply appreciate your perspective and highly recommend more people read your writing. Its truly powerful. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing that.
I liked your observation that you survived by learning to anticipate future possibilities and calamities. Many people encounter these ideas through books, strategy, or philosophy. You learned them through necessity.
I suspect that's one reason the article resonated so strongly.
I also appreciated your point about organisations doing their SWOT after the event. We often call that learning, but it can sometimes be an expensive substitute for rehearsal.
Thank you for taking the time to read, reflect, and share your story. It means a great deal to know the ideas connected with someone whose perspective was shaped through lived experience rather than theory alone.
A full calendar can create the illusion of progress, but protecting time for high-impact work is often the real leadership skill
Absolutely.
I’m often struggling between “I can do more than I think I can” and “I need to protect the time where I create the most value”.
Both are true, and both need to be grappled with in an era where optimisation tools are plentiful, but so is noise.