Optimal Pace is a single number that predicts the amount of high quality work a high-achiever can deliver by using their experience, skill, and mental resilience.

We've all seen brilliant people collapse under pressure, so we know skill alone isn't enough. Experience allows skilled leaders to navigate the unique context of each situation they encounter, but it isn't enough to withstand high levels of uncertainty every day. That takes mental resilience.

When they're all put together, skill, experience, and mental resilience allow high-achievers to consistently deliver large amounts of high quality work over long periods of time.

In the Dory community, we track Optimal Pace because it's simple and actionable. It represents the dynamic relationship between pressure and performance in our lives.

In practice, we use Optimal Pace as the number of hours you can work with your mind today without having to invest more time to recover before tomorrow.

An Optimal Pace of five means you can work five hours today without extra recovery. If you need to work ten hours today, the Dory Protocol shows you how to cover the difference.

Optimal Pace is predicted on a scale from 0 to 18 and it's important to understand how your Optimal Pace compares to other high-achievers to know if you're performing highly, or leaving some potential untapped.

In July of 2026 we ran an analysis of thousands of high-achievers in the Dory community to look for trends and concentrations of Optimal Pace numbers among the strongest leaders and builders in the world.

The mean Optimal Pace was 6.4 with a median Optimal Pace of 5.9. In the Dory Protocol app, Dory members see their Optimal Pace as a whole integer. The most commonly predicted Optimal Pace was 6 out of 18.

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This visual curve represents the frequency of each numerical Optimal Pace prediction from 0 to 18 across six years of measurement over 2,000 Dory members.

Here's what the analysis revealed:

Optimal Pace numbers in the range of 0 to 1 are extremely rare.

Optimal Pace numbers in the range from 2 to 10 comprise 89% of all reported Optimal Pace numbers.

Optimal Pace numbers in the range from 2 to 7 comprise 71% of all reported Optimal Pace numbers.

Optimal Pace numbers in the range from 8 to 11 comprise only 21% of all reported Optimal Pace numbers.

Only 8% of Optimal Pace numbers are in the range from 12 to 18.

Join the Dory Community by starting your Dory Protocol membership to see your Optimal Pace today and track changes in your Optimal Pace over time. Then, follow guidance in the Dory Protocol app to grow your Optimal Pace by fully recovering every day.

High-achievers use the Dory Protocol to grow their Optimal Pace while moving toward their goals.

In working with high-achievers we've seen firsthand the transformation they feel when increasing their Optimal Pace by five to ten points. The Dory Protocol allows high-achievers to grow their Optimal Pace while continuing to actively work toward their goals.

Commonly starting in the range of four to six, many Dory members increase their Optimal Pace to 10 to 15 within months with daily check-ins and Peak Performance days in the Dory Protocol app.

Leadership coach, Tyler Carey, increased his Optimal Pace from 5 to 9 in 55 days with the Dory Protocol.

Medical device CEO, Justin increased his Optimal Pace from 5 to 14 in 88 days with the Dory Protocol.

AI startup CEO, Charles Douthitt, increased his Optimal Pace from 5 to 12 in 100 days with the Dory Protocol.
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