This post follows An Intro to Pacing Systems
The how of tracking spoons or energy, for me, breaks down into two sections:
The things that we need to keep in mind about what impacts our spoons.
And the more practical: how do you track your spoons, and how do you use that information. Basically, it’s the systems and the benefits.
Today we’re going to talk about the first, and next week we’ll address systems and benefits.
Follow Your Energy
Last week I was supposed to be focused on my yoga teacher training. Keep in mind, it is a self-paced course, so the deadlines are self-imposed. That was what I was supposed to be focusing on, but then I had an opportunity to re-engineer the system that I use to track my progress on tasks and projects. I love a system, and I especially love making a system more efficient, so that’s where my energy was focused.
Had I tried to resist the pull of what I truly wanted to be doing (which was going to be of benefit to future me) and force myself to watch yoga teacher training videos and work on that certification, it would have ended up costing me even more spoons to watch those videos than it would have otherwise. I was also going to be paying spoons for the energy of resisting doing what I actually wanted to do. If you’re neurodivergent, you know what it’s like to try to force yourself to do one thing when what your brain really wants to do is another.
We have to follow where our interests and energy are leading us as much as we are able to. Now, there are definitely cases where that’s not possible - at work, or if we have certain social obligations, etc. But over the course of a week, looking at what we need to accomplish, as much as we are able to, we can arrange tasks, projects, and responsibilities in such a way that we’re able to complete these things with the least resistance possible.
Natural Energy Fluctuations
Everyone experiences natural energy fluctuations. They can be the result of changes in the weather, lack of proper hydration, lack of proper nutrients or quality sleep... the list goes on and on. In addition to these fluctuations everyone experiences, if you were assigned female at birth, you will experience potentially more severe fluctuations throughout your cycle.
These fluctuations mean that a task could take 1 spoon one day and 3 spoons the next, just depending on what kind of energy fluctuation you’re experiencing. This isn’t something that we can factor into our pacing planning in advance. It’s a variable we need to be aware of so it doesn’t knock us on our asses.
Different Types of Energy
For me, there are physical spoons, mental spoons, and emotional spoons, and for each of us, some of those spoons may cost more. For instance, physical spoons are going to lead me into burnout more quickly than mental spoons are. Emotional spoons can kind of go either way, and those different types of spoons are not necessarily interchangeable. My body may be hurting, but I still have a handful of mental spoons in my drawer. This means I can work on something on my computer, but I’m definitely not getting the dishes done because that requires standing.
Understanding your spoons, what they feel like, and how they can be used is an important part of creating your pacing system. Knowing which spoons run out quicker can make a significant difference in how you plan your weeks and days.
The point of understanding your spoons and how they work is not so that you can try harder. It’s not even necessarily so you can get more done. It is a tool we use to honor our body where it’s at and to help prevent flares, crashes, and burnout. Basically, it’s about sustainability. One thing you can try this week is to notice which kind of spoons run out for you first. Which spoons are your most precious? Next week, we’ll explore some more of the how side of things, the practical items like finding your baseline and perceived daily allowance & how I track my spoons and some other tracking ideas that may be helpful in creating your own system.
Which kind of spoon runs out first for you — physical, mental, or emotional?
