| | The Beginning | p. ix |
| | The Science | p. 1 |
| | Three Forces | |
| | Do the Math | p. 3 |
| | Uncovering the Forces That Drive the Plateau Effect | |
| | Going Flat | p. 24 |
| | The First Plateau Force | |
| | The Greedy Algorithm | p. 50 |
| | The Second Plateau Force | |
| | Bad Timing | p. 75 |
| | The Third Plateau Force | |
| | The Engine | p. 103 |
| | Building Your Approach | |
| | Flow Mechanisms | p. 105 |
| | Step Functions, Choke Points, and Mystery Ingredients | |
| | Distortion Mechanisms | p. 129 |
| | Navigating Bad Data and Other Tricks of the Plateau | |
| | The Achievement | p. 161 |
| | Peak Behaviors | |
| | Attention | p. 163 |
| | The First Action | |
| | Agility | p. 193 |
| | The Second Action | |
| | Application | p. 215 |
| | The Third Action | |
| | The Ending | p. 251 |
| | Appendix: The Eight Elements of Plateaus | p. 257 |
| | Notes | p. 263 |
| | Acknowledgments | p. 287 |
| | Index | p. 289 |