Capacity vs Capability: When Knowing what to do isn't always enough.

The Real Reason You’re Struggling to Follow Through (and it isn't because you aren't capable)

There will come a moment (or several) in every business owner’s journey.

A moment nobody warned you about.

The moment your brain is full. Your body is bone tired.

And no matter how hard you work, no matter how many things you try it feels like nothing moves the needle.

You’re scared that if you keep going the way you are, something might break. Maybe it already has.

If you’re here right now… welcome.

Welcome to the edge.

The place where your capability crashes into your capacity and you’re left in the messy middle, wondering how on earth to move forward from here.

This blog is for those of you still showing up seeing clients, answering emails, posting on social media but behind the scenes, you’re stretched, worn down, unmotivated, doubting yourself in ways you can’t quite put into words.

You haven’t hit the edge of your capability. You’ve hit the edge of your capacity.

This Blog is to talk about the part of Business I don’t see many people talking about

The part each of us have to learn along the way. 

Where we learn our edges, and how to respond in a way that is supportive, strategic and actually sustainable, not just now but for weeks, months and years to come.

Why knowing the difference between capability and capacity matters (more than you might think)

Let me start really simply, there is a lot of misinformation and miscommunication within the Business world about this topic. Capacity isn’t just how many hours you have in a day or how many clients we can fit in. 

It’s not just about how well organised you are, what systems you have in place and how productive you can be. 

It’s also not defined by how intelligent you are. Capacity broken down is: how much emotional, mental, physical, and cognitive energy you have available to use.

If we were looking at it through a Psychological and Behavioural Lens we might describe it as: our ability to manage stress and emotions within our own personal window of tolerance. 

Our personal Capacity is informed by many factors, events and experiences and can, and will change over time depending on a wide variety of circumstances and experiences.  

It’s the space we each hold within ourselves, inside of our own internal systems emotionally and physiologically to be able to think clearly, respond fluidly and act in a way that aligns with our own personal values and belief systems. 

It’s why sometimes you can know what to do, and even want to take action but end up staring at a blank screen for an hour because your brain is too foggy, and everything feels too hard. It’s also the same reason why you can leave a client session, get back home and be unable to remember what you covered, or if you even shared anything useful at all. 

Those are just a few examples of when our Capability clashes with our current level of Capacity, and why it can feel so frustrating for you as the person experiencing it. 

Something that really has helped me over the years, is recognising the difference between capability and capacity. 

Capacity is your fuel tank. It’s your bandwidth today. It’s whether your brain and body are actually in a place to carry out what you’re capable of doing.

Capability is your skill, your experience, your education and what you could do with the right support in place. 

Your capability builds the business. Your capacity keeps it alive

How to work with your capacity (instead of against it)

Here is the most loving truth I can give you, most of us only learn about our capacity the hard way by hitting it head-on, exhausted and wondering what broke.

Sometimes it’s life piling on. Other times it’s because we haven’t yet learned to recognise the edges early, and give ourselves permission to change course before burnout takes over.

Capacity doesn’t tap you politely on the shoulder; it whispers, nudges, then eventually shouts. The skill is catching it at the whisper stage.

Think of it like a dashboard: procrastination, brain fog, irritability, forgetfulness; these aren’t personal flaws. They’re often capacity warning lights. Ignore them, and they often get louder, last longer and have a greater impact over time. 

Notice them, early and make changes that support you as the heart and brains behind your business. 

These are some of the signs I look for in my own clients (and in myself) and they can work as a self-checklist for you too. A way to notice when you’re edging closer to your limits before you hit them head-on.

• Difficulty making or sticking to decisions (sometimes even small ones)

• Forgetfulness or dropping more “balls” than normal 

• Low concentration/more easily distracted 

• Poor working memory 

• Over planning but stalling on taking action 

• Feeling resentful or frustrated with themselves or clients 

• Jumping between idea to idea

• Foggy brain 

• Overworking or avoiding work commitments

• Avoiding content creation, admin or forward planning 

What’s Quietly Shaping Your Capacity (The invisible load's we rarely name)

Capacity doesn’t exist as its own standalone thing. It’s shaped by the reality of your life, the things most business courses completely miss out. 

You can be someone who is wildly capable, and still be faced by your own capacity edges. Some days, weeks and months your tank will feel full and things will come more easily, other times you will feel pulled in ten different directions at once and often it’s not even about your business itself. 

A lot of the time it’s very real life moments like: 

• One of your kids being unwell and needing you to be present 

• A sleepless night, that leaves you feeling foggy and depleted 

• The quiet emotional load of a relationship that’s changing, or a family member who needs support.

• The logistics of running a household, caring for pets, or managing health 

• Even good things like planning a holiday, or opportunities arriving all at once still demand energy.

• Seasonal changes or pressures 

• Unexpected bills or financial stressors 

Stack any of these things on top of an already full plate, busy schedule and no wonder so many business owners find themselves running on empty, and not sure where to go next or what to do.

What Comes Next (The Good News)

What I want to shout from the rooftops is this: our capacity isn’t fixed.

It ebbs, flows, and shifts over time shaped by countless factors, most of them outside our control.

Here’s what I often hear from clients when they’re stretched thin:

“Why am I like this, why can't I just get my shit together"

If you’ve caught yourself thinking the same, please know this: those thoughts aren’t proof of failure. They’re the voice of a nervous system under strain, a brain running on empty, and a human being pushed past their bandwidth.

The good news? There are things within your control - small, practical shifts that help you move through seasons of stress, uncertainty, and limited capacity.

Here’s a few places to start exploring: to help you navigate your way through

1. Check Your Basics (they matter more than you think)

When capacity feels low, most people try to fix their workload. But the biggest leaks usually start elsewhere: sleep, nutrition, hydration, pain, movement.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “I should be able to do this” from someone running on five hours of broken sleep, skipping meals, or ignoring pain.

Of course everything feels harder.

These aren’t luxuries. They’re the foundations of your capacity.

When your body’s running on empty, your brain can’t access your capability no matter how skilled you are.

So pause and ask: Have I eaten? Slept? Moved? Am I in pain? Do I need water?

These basics directly influence how much bandwidth you truly have.

This is always the first place I go when I feel myself running low.

2. Name Your Edges

Being at capacity often feels vague like mental fog you can’t see through until you put words to it.

Ask yourself: What feels heavy right now? What feels light?

Naming it takes the swirl in your head and distils it into something you can actually respond to. It turns “everything is too much” into a few specific areas you can influence.

Even if you can’t change those things immediately, naming them gives you choices: you can carry them differently, set them down for a while, or ask for help.

3. Shrink the Task, Not Your Worth

One of the most frustrating parts of hitting capacity is when things that used to come easily suddenly feel impossible. You know how to do it — you’ve done it a hundred times before — and yet here you are, stuck.

That frustration easily turns into shame: “Why is this so hard? What’s wrong with me?”

Here’s the truth: nothing’s wrong with you. When capacity shrinks, your brain can’t hold the bigger picture.

That’s why breaking things down works, even when it feels silly.

I tell clients: break it down to the laughably ridiculous.

Don’t “write the blog.” → Open a blank document.

Don’t “do the marketing.” → Write one sentence.

Don’t “clear your inbox.” → Reply to one message.

It might feel almost childlike, but it works — because it replaces the weight of the mountain with one small, doable step. And momentum follows.

Shrinking the task doesn’t mean shrinking your worth. It means creating the conditions your brain needs to succeed again. As capacity rebuilds, those steps won’t need to be broken down as much.

4. Protect Your Energy Leaks

When capacity is low, the leaks often aren’t obvious. They hide in the quiet drains: the extra “yes,” the late-night email check, the favour you agreed to when you were already exhausted.

This is why I link capacity so closely to boundaries (I dive deeper into this in my communicating boundaries blog: you can read it here)

When we’re stretched, we’re actually more likely to overcommit or cross our own boundaries — not less.

Because a brain under strain wants short-term relief:

• Saying yes avoids conflict (for now).

• Taking on more gives the illusion of control.

• Pushing through feels safer than pausing.

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But every one of those choices chips away at the little capacity you had left.

Protecting your energy isn’t about becoming rigid or selfish; it’s about noticing where you’re leaking and deciding whether it’s worth it. Even one small “no,” one delayed reply, or one boundary held can free up more energy than you think.

5. Build Recovery Into the System

For my first few years of self-employment, I thought progress only came from adding more: more hours, more output, more pushing.

Then burnout flattened me in 2018 — the kind that forces you to rethink everything.

What I didn’t know then, but understand now (and still have to remind myself of), is this: when you’re stretched to your limits, the first thing to go offline is executive function.

Your ability to plan, prioritise, and see the bigger picture simply drops. Not because you’re incapable — but because your brain has switched to survival mode.

That’s why recovery isn’t indulgence; it’s infrastructure.

Build it in before you think you need it.

The edge of your Capacity isn’t the end

Here’s the most important truth I want you to leave with: your current capacity is not the limit of your future capability.

The fact that you feel stretched right now doesn’t mean you’re failing, or that you’ll never move forward again. It simply means you’ve reached the edge of what you can hold today.

Capacity expands. Capability grows. And when you learn to work with your edges instead of pushing blindly past them, you create the foundation for a business that’s sustainable for years to come.

But sometimes, reaching the edge isn’t just about recognising it, it's about realising you don’t have to navigate it alone.

This is often the point where we’re too close to our own businesses to see clearly. The patterns, the small shifts, the tweaks that could free up capacity they’re hard to spot from the inside when you’re already stretched thin.

That’s where support matters. A fresh perspective. Someone who can help you see what you can’t, and guide you towards the adjustments that make a big difference without demanding more than you don’t have.