The Spoon theory is something which many disabled people identify with and many non-disabled people have found helpful to understand managing energy levels with a disability.
I worry that the core theory has become oversimplified, as many people told me definitively how many spoons I start each day with and how many spoons various activities cost, whereas my energy levels are actually quite unstable and some days some tasks may take more energy than on other days.
I think of my energy as more like a leaky cup. Some days its balanced just so the energy disappears slowly and it’s refilled when you put it down (sleep). Other days it’s leaked overnight and you wake up empty. And there’s no way to know which days are going to come when.
But on the days I do have more energy, there are things I can do to make those zero energy days a little bit easier. Here are five small things I do that make my life easier on those days I wake up spoonless:
Planning and preparation
It sounds really dull, and definitely not spontaneous(!), but every Sunday I spend some time planning what I’m going to do when over the next week. Looking at my diary I can work out which days might use more energy than others (for example if I’m rehearsing or performing), and plan to have easier days around them. I include time to do some exercise, household chores, self-care and getting outdoors and prioritise which tasks are more important than others. In the same way I do work projects, I highlight tasks which are must haves and ones which are nice to haves, so if I do run out of energy and need to rest, I know which items on my list I need to give my attention to sooner.
Batch cooking
I love cooking from scratch and preparing meals that align with the seasons, but it can take a lot of energy to peel, chop and then cook everything. That’s why, almost every meal I make, I double, treble or even quadruple the portions so that there’s plenty to pop into the freezer, giving me a selection of lovely homemade ready meals on those days I don’t have any energy to cook.
Dictation software
I write almost every day in one form or another, whether it’s content for work or creative writing. There are some days where the arthritis in my fingers is so bad that I can’t type or hold a pen very well, and on the days where I have no energy, this obviously makes writing even harder. This is where I find dictation software really useful. It’s quite a recent addition to my life, as in the past I did dictate the odd thing in the middle of the night to go back to in the morning, but most of the time I would just otherwise put up with it and write anyway, or just wait until I was feeling better. But dictation software actually did make a really big difference to me when I dislocated my shoulder late last year and I’ve started to rely on it more often on low energy days. It’s not perfect, and can come up with some interesting sentences, but it’s a great way to save some energy when I need to.
Seated workouts
I love doing yoga and find it really useful to ease some of the pain in my joints and keep myself mobile and healthy(ish). There have been times when I’ve done yoga with low energy and sneakily ended up laid on the mat half asleep while everyone else carries on (the perks on online classes!), but on those no energy days, I can usually manage a seated stretch workout, if nothing else. And at least I’ve moved a bit, which does make me feel better.
Chill kit, ready to go
My favourite thing to do when I have no energy at all is relax outdoors (weather permitting). Obviously on days when the battery is completely dead, I can’t get to the local beach or park without help, but I’m very lucky to now have my own garden which I can spend time in. To save time I like to have things ready to go, like a book, magazine, blanket, sunscreen, notebook and pen, so I don’t need to spend extra time and energy setting things up.
I hope that you find some of these useful, and I’d love to hear about the things you do to make your life easier as well. What are the things that you do for those days when you don’t have any energy?
Stay safe and protect your energy for the things you love.
Take care,
Donna
Self-care snippet
I spent some time walking in the sand dunes recently and took this photo while having a short rest break.
I try to get out and walk as often as possible, and like to plan in time to have rests to make sure I don’t run out of energy and can’t get home!
I also stick to the level paths, like the one shown here, and don’t try and over-exert myself by wandering around on the actual dunes.
Things I’ve seen, heard, read and talked about
It’s great to see so many stories about the disabled community in this month’s Writers’ Forum magazine. Author of The Peacock House, Kate Glanville talks about her writing process and how her dyslexia isn’t a barrier to her creative work. Her references to people being happy to work on manuscripts for you brought back some fond memories. When I worked as a proofreader and editor as my dyslexic clients were some of the most creative and imaginative people I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Author of Take a Moment, Nina Kaye tells her story of how a life-changing diagnosis of Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) brought about her new career as a contemporary romance author. The Mentor, Emily Cunningham, then covers how diagnosis of a neurodivergent condition, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, can add depth to your creativity. It’s lovely to see so much positive coverage of neurodivergency and life with medical conditions in one publication.
An Eating Disorder Doesn’t Just Disappear In Pregnancy A poignant piece by Hope Virgo exploring her feelings around being pregnant while recovering from an eating disorder. Eating disorders never fully go away, which is something I’m exploring in my essay in the forthcoming anthology From the Body. Pregnancy has it’s own effects on your body and body image, and this is an honest look at these issues from the inside. Hope will also be appearing in a webinar for Samwell on 1 March, which I’m really looking forward to attending.