Budgeting My Energy with The Spoon Theory by Grace Dannemiller
Hey, it's Grace, and today I want to talk about something that's been really relevant in my life recently, the spoon theory.For those unfamiliar with it, the Spoon Theory is a common way to explain energy budgeting in the disabled community, using a metaphor to track my daily energy units. Each spoon represents one unit of energy, and I start each day with 10. As the day goes on, different tasks take different amounts of energy, so I need to ration throughout the day. The more physically or mentally taxing the task, the more spoons each thing requires.
Checking in with myself is an important step to using the spoon theory. It’s all about managing my internal and external space and my comfort. I check in with myself and think about if I'm feeling any big emotions, uncomfortable physical sensations, or distressing thoughts that could be hindering my comfort and what I can do to cope or adjust. Then, I use my ABCs of presence, which stand for Awareness, Body, Base, Breath, Brain, Boundary, Choice, and Decision, to gauge how much energy I have to be productive at any point throughout my day.
Through this metaphor, I can visualize my daily energy and estimate how much each task requires, which is super important for me as a college student managing my time between my health, classes, job, and extracurriculars. This helps me to pace myself and prioritize tasks, knowing when is best to rest and when is best to be productive. With this theory, going over my energy limit for the day is possible, but it sets me back for the next day, which isn’t always responsible or worth it. Just this week I had a big midterm exam I needed to study for and take in one day, and this was a non-negotiable task, so I ended up going a little over my 10 spoons I had for the day, and I felt like a zombie the next day. Even though I got plenty of sleep, my brain and body were just tired. Now thankfully I didn’t have as much that I needed to get done the day after, and so I didn’t overexert myself a second day, but sometimes I do get in a bad cycle of that, especially while being in school, and the longer it goes on, the harder it can be to break. This is why being mindful and self-aware of how much energy I have and how much each task takes can be so important to keeping myself healthy. Budgeting my energy gives me the ability to have a successful day every day of the week. Taking breaks isn’t lazy; it’s self-preservation!
Though kind of cheesy, The Spoon Theory is just a reminder that my energy isn’t infinite and that I can’t do everything every day. Thinking about budgeting my energy with this metaphor allows me to live my life to the fullest and not have to cut back on what I do, just how much I do in one day.
Additional tools for when you may be in crisis:
U.S. Crisis Text Line: 741-741
Ohio Mobile Response and Stabilization Services: 1-888-418-MRSS (6777)