How to Avoid Burnout by Finding Your Optimal Pace
By Aaron Houghton
Let me take you back to 1976 when a group of Wisconsinites are hiking high in the Rocky Mountains. Carrying loaded overnight packs and struggling in the thin air at 10,000 feet of elevation, the group begins to spread out.
The rear pack begins to drag in the steep terrain as the front pack gradually disappears from sight. Feeling exhausted and frustrated, they almost decide to give up and turn back to the trailhead.
Under the guidance of their leader -- my father, Robert Houghton -- the rear group begins to experiment with pace. Starting first with one step, then a pause for multiple breaths, they agree to try to keep moving.
Appreciating their progress, over time, they adjust their pace again, switching to a few steps followed by a single breath of rest. This pace feels optimal. They're moving and staying rested at the same time.
As the rear group reaches the crest, their attitude changes from gloom to cheer as they walk past the front group, who have collapsed from fatigue, experiencing the extreme effects of oxygen deprivation from over-pacing.
The rear group arrives first at camp and enjoys a relaxing evening. The former front group arrives last and suffers through a rough night of sleep.
Why Optimal Pace Matters More Than Top Speed
Both groups learned a valuable lesson that day. When you're going a very short distance, top speed matters. But when you're going a long distance, optimal pace is all that matters.
Optimal pace refers to an effective combination of exertion and rest that allows a person to arrive at a specific goal.
It's a critical concept for entrepreneurs because it not only increases their odds of success but also helps them avoid really painful speedbumps like psychological burnout and chronic stress disorders.
In working with thousands of entrepreneurs as a peak performance coach over the past decade, I've seen that the concept of optimal pacing is highly misunderstood. So many entrepreneurs are trying to sprint marathons, and that is a proven losing strategy.
Lessons From Olympic Runners on Pacing
Data from 40 years of Olympic running events shows the average pace of athletes who set Olympic records for the 100-meter event is 22 miles per hour, and that for marathon runners is 12 miles per hour. In fact, every single longer event has a slower record-setting pace than every other shorter event.
So why isn't sprinting a marathon a winning strategy? Runners have realized that speed gains up front are traded for even greater losses later. The gains versus losses aren't symmetric.
An experienced marathoner once determined that for every minute he ran above his optimal pace in the first half of a marathon, he lost five minutes off his time in the second half of the race. That's a 5x ratio of losses to gains.
Long story short, if you're sprinting, you better be sure the finish line is near. If not, you're saddling yourself with debt that you'll be paying back 5x sometime in the future before you get to the finish line. You will be beaten by everyone who doesn't have a huge debt to pay.
Lessons From Olympic Runners on Pacing
Data from 40 years of Olympic running events shows the average pace of athletes who set Olympic records for the 100-meter event is 22 miles per hour, and that for marathon runners is 12 miles per hour. In fact, every single longer event has a slower record-setting pace than every other shorter event.
So why isn't sprinting a marathon a winning strategy? Runners have realized that speed gains up front are traded for even greater losses later. The gains versus losses aren't symmetric.
An experienced marathoner once determined that for every minute he ran above his optimal pace in the first half of a marathon, he lost five minutes off his time in the second half of the race. That's a 5x ratio of losses to gains.
Long story short, if you're sprinting, you better be sure the finish line is near. If not, you're saddling yourself with debt that you'll be paying back 5x sometime in the future before you get to the finish line. You will be beaten by everyone who doesn't have a huge debt to pay.
Lessons From Olympic Runners on Pacing
Data from 40 years of Olympic running events shows the average pace of athletes who set Olympic records for the 100-meter event is 22 miles per hour, and that for marathon runners is 12 miles per hour. In fact, every single longer event has a slower record-setting pace than every other shorter event.
So why isn't sprinting a marathon a winning strategy? Runners have realized that speed gains up front are traded for even greater losses later. The gains versus losses aren't symmetric.
An experienced marathoner once determined that for every minute he ran above his optimal pace in the first half of a marathon, he lost five minutes off his time in the second half of the race. That's a 5x ratio of losses to gains.
Long story short, if you're sprinting, you better be sure the finish line is near. If not, you're saddling yourself with debt that you'll be paying back 5x sometime in the future before you get to the finish line. You will be beaten by everyone who doesn't have a huge debt to pay.
The Dangers of Operating Above Optimal Pace
As an entrepreneur, missing your optimal pace matters for a few reasons.
First, entrepreneurs find their optimal pace to maximize the likelihood of achieving their goals.
For every day you operate below your optimal pace, your likelihood of winning falls. Also, and I think more surprisingly, for every day you operate above your optimal pace, your likelihood of winning also falls.
Operating above optimal pace is a particularly tricky situation to diagnose because it feels like you're accelerating toward your goal. But, much as you would trying to sprint a marathon, you are trading gains for even larger losses you will pay for before you reach your goal.
Second, working above optimal pace often brings on troublesome disadvantages that prevent you from winning for a very long time.
These include psychological burnout and chronic stress disorders like anxiety. A single episode of burnout has been shown to require six months of recovery, and anxiety is a well-known performance inhibitor because it steals your focus and energy.
Lastly, a 2016 study showed no correlation between being a workaholic and job performance -- validating that more effort doesn't produce more outcomes.
How to Identify and Maintain Your Optimal Pace
So, how do you know if you're working faster or slower than your optimal pace?
Optimal pace is determined by measuring how quickly your critical resources deplete as you work. Here's a tool you can use. Answer these questions using a scale from one to ten.
How much energy do I have?
How calm do I feel?
How satisfied do I feel?
If your average score is six or below, you're working harder than your optimal pace and accumulating debt. If it's seven or eight, you're likely working at your optimal pace. And if it's nine or ten, you might be able to work a little bit harder.
Please don't confuse top speed with optimal pace. Top speed is a useful tool when going short distances, but it's useless on epic journeys because epic journeys are long.
The journey of entrepreneurship is long. Find your optimal pace and win.
This post originally appeared at inc.com.