# spread too thin (capacity)

*Ordinarily means:* Feeling overwhelmed because you are trying to do too many things at once.

A state where energy capacity is divided so finely across tasks that no part receives enough to persist, and maintenance fails everywhere at once.

- Computed level: L19 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: everyday language  ·  Arena: emergence

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [energy](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-energy.capacity), [maintenance](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-maintenance.upkeep), [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range), [drift](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-drift.aimless)

**Through:** spread too thin

**Novel properties:**
- capacity
- burnout

## Examples
- The 2020 U.S. Census faced data collection delays when field operations were compressed into fewer months with unchanged staffing levels. *(institutions)*
- In 2019, Boeing diverted engineers from safety systems to meet 737 MAX production targets, delaying critical software reviews. *(engineering)*
- During the 2008 financial crisis, AIG could not sustain collateral demands across its credit default swaps as liquidity evaporated. *(economics)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-spread-too-thin.capacity*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-spread-too-thin.capacity.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*