Optimal Pace Protocol Definitions
Aaron Houghton
There are some things that are helpful to learn when you begin to run your life on the Optimal Pace Protocol as a member in our community here at Dory.
Understading these concepts, and knowing how to use them, will help you get the most out of the protocol and this community.
At a high level, the Optimal Pace Protocol is a system for understanding and optimizing the two halves of our professional efforts: exertion and rest. The protocol measures Pace to understand our exertion, and Recovery to understand our rest.
If we pace ourselves correctly in our exertion, and we fully recover from our exertion, our performance goes up, our capacity to handle stress and uncertainty rises, and we're able to push hard and live an incredibly large life without ever burning out.
Optimal Pace
What does it mean?
Your Optimal Pace is the maximum number of hours you can work at your highest level of performance today without needing extra effort to recover.
What else is it like?
If you were a marathon runner, your optimal pace would be the speed at which you should run for the entire race in order to get to the finish line fastest. It's important to note that, even for runners, running faster often leads to breakdown and slowdown, instead of the shortest time to the finish line. And obviously if we run too slow, that doesn't help us shorten our race time either. That sweet spot of pace in the middle, is our Optimal Pace.
How should I use it?
Work as closely as possible to your Optimal Pace every day. Doing so allows you to increase your Capacity and Performance scores the fastest. But it's not always realistic for us to be able to work at our Optimal Pace. So, on days when you need to work more than your Optimal Pace, you'll see a Recovery Plan that's precisely scoped to help you receive the extra recovery that you need to return to full strength by tomorrow.
How is it measured?
The protocol calculates Optimal Pace using a pace-prediction algorithm inside the Optimal Pace Protocol. When you first start using the protocol, think of your Optimal Pace as the middle of a range that you want to follow. After checking in about five times, the calculation becomes highly accurate with strong statistical significance and you can trust it as the truth to guide your pace and recovery plans each day.
Performance
What does it mean?
Performance refers to your ability to use your skills do the things you need to do today at a high level of excellence. The protocol tracks a Performance score for you on a scale from 0 to 180 where 180 is the highest level of Performance.
What else is it like?
If you were a basketball player, your performance score would be your shooting percentage. Getting more points is difficult when your shooting percentage is low. And conversely, you don't have to shoot as many shots in order to get more points when your shooting percentage is high. Higher performance makes everything you do easier and more efficient.
How should I use it?
Performance is an output of pacing and recovery. To grow your performance, work at your Optimal Pace every day and complete a full recovery plan after you work by following the recommendations you see in your protocol as closely as possible.
How is it measured?
The protocol calculates Performance based on two sub-components. The first is a measurement of how close your current level of Mental Reserves is to the general theoretical optimal level for high-achievers. The second is your Capacity.
These two pieces work together. They're multiplied together to create your Performance score. So, having more Capacity gives you higher Performance. And, having a more optimized mindstate gives you higher Performance.
Capacity
What does it mean?
Capacity refers to your ability to handle the pressure that is inherent to the work you do over one week. The protocol tracks a Capacity score for you on a scale from 0 to 126 where 126 is the highest level of Capacity.
What else is it like?
If you were a weightlifter, your capacity would be your strength. You don't always need to lift 500 lbs as a weightlifter, but if for some reason you needed to, if you had enough capacity, you could do it.
You train to gain capacity just like a weighlifter trains to build their strength. It's unlikely a weightlifter who always works out with 100 lbs will be able to lift 500 lbs without injury. The same goes for our capacity to handle pressure in our professional lives.
How should I use it?
You don't always use your full capacity in your work every day. But sometimes you will need it when things get unexpectedly complicated or a crisis lands on your doorstep. Or, even when you're just super energized to build or launch something new and you want to push extra hard to make it happen.
Think of your capacity like an insurance policy on your mind that covers the costs when things just happen to get really tough. If you have high enough capacity, you're able to thrive through anything. Without enough capacity, costs start adding up when things get really tough and you'll find yourself dealing with the negative impacts for weeks or months, or burning out and giving up.
How is it measured?
The protocol calculates Capacity by adding up your last seven Optimal Pace numbers, because Optimal Pace is a daily measure of your capacity to handle the pressure of your work on any given day.
Mental Reserves
What does it mean?
Your level of Mental Reserves refers to the health of your Mindstate. Your mindstate is comprised of beliefs and emotions that work together to determine how you feel and act. These components also impact how effectively you're able to perform and how long you can perform at a high level before your performance falls.
The protocol uses a theoretical optimal range for Mental Reserves that was established by Harvard Business Review and validated in our own studies with high-pressure high-achievers. We've also observed that some people have different optimal ranges. When we see this we refer to it as an Observed Optimal Performance Zone (or OOPZ).
What else is it like?
Your level of Mental Reserves is like the status screen on your home printer that shows colorful bars that represent the levels of each color of ink left in your printer. We sometimes refer to your Mental Reserves as a whole which can be an average or sum of each of your individual factors of Mental Reserves. Other times we refer to specific levels of individual Mental Reserves like calm or focus.
How should I use it?
You likely will never see your Mental Reserves numbers in the protocol, but it's a sub-component that's used by nearly every calculation and prediction behind the scenes. You may here people in this community refer to their levels of Mental Reserves when referring to the health of their mindstate.
How is it measured?
The procotol measures your Mental Reserves and uses your answers to represent the strength of your mindstate using our seven-factor model. These are the seven questions you're asked (in addition to pressure, and hours) when you check in with the protocol and they allow us to understand your Mental Resilience and Refresh Rate among many other things.