Capacity check

Overview

By the time someone tells you they’re underwater, they’ve usually been drowning for a while. The signs show up earlier than the conversation does: more intentions than anyone could finish, the same blocker week after week, check-ins that get shorter and flatter. This preset reads those signs and tells you who needs a lighter load and how to give it to them.

What this is for

This preset solves the late-burnout problem. Overload is a lagging conversation. People absorb more than they should, tell themselves it’s temporary, and don’t raise it until they’re already fried, by which point your options are worse and more expensive. The early signal is right there in the work, but reading it across a whole team every week is more attention than anyone has.

The Capacity check preset reads it for you. Each Thursday it weighs everyone’s check-ins, intentions, blockers, goal load, and time off, flags who looks stretched too thin, and recommends a specific intervention for each: work to reassign, a deadline to renegotiate, a conversation to have before the weekend. You catch the strain while a small adjustment still fixes it.

Who should use this

People managers who care about sustainable pace but can’t track everyone’s load in their head. You’ll get an early read on who’s overextended and a concrete way to help.

Managers of distributed or heads-down teams where strain is easy to miss over chat. You’ll see it in the patterns even when nobody says it out loud.

Leaders heading into a crunch who need to spread load deliberately. You’ll know who has no room left before you hand out the next thing.

The prompt

Based on recent check-ins, stated intentions, blockers, goal load, and upcoming absences, flag anyone who appears overloaded or whose sentiment suggests strain. For each person, recommend a specific way I could rebalance their workload or step in.

How to use

Click here to create a new Echo using this preset. You'll be able to customize the prompt and schedule before it starts generating answers.