What is pacing? And why does it matter?
One of the first things many people with chronic illnesses hear is, “You need to learn how to pace yourself.”
I had no idea what that meant.
Was I supposed to walk slower? Take more breaks? Stop doing things I enjoyed?
The truth is, pacing is about managing your energy in a way that helps you do the things that matter to you without making your symptoms worse.
It’s not always easy, especially when you’re young and want to keep up with friends, school, hobbies, and everything else life throws at you. But learning to pace can make a huge difference.
Pacing is about finding a balance between exercise and day-to-day activities (including but not limited to education, socialising, self care tasks, showering and even brushing your teeth) to try and minimise the amount/extent of a flare which you may have, pacing is also a part of knowing what to do if a flare up happens.
It is a skill that can also be used to gradually increase the amount you can do of certain things.
Pacing simply put is about taking things at your own pace and learning what this is, finding patterns and learning how and what other parts of your pain/self-management toolkit to implement at certain points
On a good day, we feel better and try to catch up on everything we’ve missed. We go out, see friends, finish homework, tidy our room, and squeeze in all the activities we’ve been wanting to do.
Then the next day—or sometimes even later that same day—we crash.
Symptoms flare up, fatigue increases, and we may need days to recover.
Pacing helps break that cycle by encouraging us to spread our energy more evenly over time.
The Spoon Theory
One of the most popular ways of explaining energy levels in chronic illness is called Spoon Theory.
The theory was created by Christine Miserandino to help explain what living with a chronic illness feels like.
Imagine you start each day with a certain number of spoons.
Each spoon represents a unit of energy.
For someone without a chronic illness, they might have lots of spoons and not need to think much about how they use them.
For someone with a chronic illness, the number of spoons may be much smaller—and they may use more spoons doing everyday activities.
For example:
- Getting dressed might cost one spoon.
- Going to school might cost three spoons.
- Walking around town with friends might cost two spoons.
- Doing homework might cost another spoon.
- Attending a medical appointment could cost several more.
The challenge is that once your spoons are gone, they’re gone.
You can’t always borrow from tomorrow without consequences.
Many of us have tried.
Usually, it ends with extra pain, fatigue, or needing more recovery time.
Why Pacing Can Be Difficult
Pacing sounds simple, but in reality it can be really hard.
Nobody wants to say no to seeing friends.
Nobody wants to stop halfway through an activity they’re enjoying.
And when you’re feeling well, it can be tempting to pretend you’re not ill at all.
Sometimes we worry that people won’t understand.
Sometimes we feel guilty for needing breaks.
Sometimes we’re simply tired of having to think about our health all the time.
All of these feelings are completely normal.
Tips for Better Pacing
Learn Your Warning Signs
Your body often gives clues before symptoms become overwhelming.
You might notice:
- Increased pain
- Brain fog
- Feeling shaky or dizzy
- Difficulty concentrating
- Increased fatigue
Recognising these signs early can help you take a break before you completely run out of energy.
Asking questions such as:
- What does my body need right now?
- I’m going to check in with my body now, what is it asking me for?
- Am I ok to continue?
- Do I need to adapt what I’m doing to be able to continue or should I stop this activity and return later or stop it completely for today?
Asking myself these types of questions I have personally found are all a really good way of building my understanding of my body and pacing skills. They help me to listen to my body and identify its needs.
Some find an activity diary helpful to notice and track trends in their pain/energy and to help work out what may be leading to flares and to work out how to better pace themselves.
It can be helpful to use a colour scheme many opt for a traffic light system such as red pencil, orange pencil and green pencil shading in the boxes with the relevant colours based on how the activity affects your pain &/or energy levels.
Take Breaks Before You Need Them
One of the biggest pacing lessons is not waiting until you’re exhausted.
Short, regular breaks can often help prevent bigger crashes later.
Think of it like charging your phone before it reaches 1%.
Prioritise What Matters Most
You don’t have to do everything.
Some days you may need to choose between activities.
Ask yourself:
“What is most important to me today?”
Using your energy on things that matter most can help you feel more in control.
Plan Ahead
If you know you have a busy event coming up, such as a birthday party, school trip, or family gathering, consider saving some energy beforehand and allowing extra recovery time afterwards.
Many people call this “energy budgeting.”
Remember That Rest Is Productive
This is something I still struggle with.
Rest isn’t being lazy.
Rest is a tool.
Taking time to recover can help you participate in more activities over the long term.
Finding Your Own Pace
The most important thing to remember is that pacing looks different for everyone.
What works for one person might not work for another.
Some days you’ll get it right. Some days you’ll use too many spoons and pay for it later. That’s part of learning.
Living with a chronic illness often means becoming an expert in listening to your body. Pacing is one of the ways we can work with our bodies instead of constantly fighting against them.
It may not always feel fair that we have fewer spoons to start with, but learning how to use them wisely can help us spend more time doing the things we love and less time recovering from doing too much.