How Honoring Your Limits Can Help You Do More

If you’re feeling frustrated with what you’re able to accomplish when chronic illness slows you down, energy conservation strategies may help.

Energy conservation is a collection of lifestyle strategies that help you reserve your energy when it’s low, and store up energy for the activities that are most meaningful to you.

As a home health occupational therapist, I spent years visiting patients who were so ill they couldn’t leave their homes for medical care. Many dealt with really low energy levels that also made it difficult for them to do everyday tasks, like doing their dishes or pulling on socks.

I taught them energy conservation techniques to make their lives easier. Although we couldn’t necessarily increase their energy levels due to their health conditions, we could instead redistribute the energy they did have, so they could feel a bit more like themselves.

You don’t need to be severely ill to use energy conservation strategies.

Personally, I employ various energy conservation techniques in my daily life. As someone with chronic illnesses that has fluctuating symptoms, this helps me cope when my energy is lower than normal and conserve energy for the things that are most important to me.

Learn more about energy conservation, including nine practical techniques below.

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Who benefits from energy conservation?

Energy conservation can benefit anyone with low energy, but it may be especially beneficial for people with certain conditions that make them easily fatigued.

A 2021 study found that “the prevalence of severe and chronic fatigue was significantly higher” in study participants who lived with chronic illness as compared to those with no diagnosed condition. They additionally noted that the risk of experiencing severe or chronic fatigue increased significantly with each additional chronic illness the participant was diagnosed with.

Signs you might benefit from energy conservation

You don’t need to have a diagnosed health condition to benefit from energy conservation. Many of us experience low energy that gets in the way of living our best lives.

Consider the following questions:

• Do you feel tired all the time?
• Does climbing stairs feel like climbing a mountain?
• Did you used to be able to do more in a day than you can do now?
• Do you avoid doing things because of how tired you are?
• Does it feel like you can’t seem to get anything done?
• Do you worry about being a nuisance to others by asking for help with tasks?

If you answered yes to the above questions, then it’s pretty likely that you could benefit from some of the energy conservation strategies below.

9 examples of energy conservation strategies

1. Know which tasks take the most energy

Before you start implementing energy conservation strategies, step one is to do an “audit” of your own life. Take a step back and consider which tasks sap your energy the most. You might feel like you’re tired “all the time,” but pay attention to which activities make you more tired than others.

A lot of people find that the following activities are particularly draining:

• bathing or taking a shower
• cooking complicated meals
• putting away dishes
• climbing stairs
• cleaning, especially with heavy equipment
• bending over to get dressed, clean, or pick things up
• lifting items
• grocery shopping
• running errands
• working physical jobs
• getting into or out of a vehicle

2. Pace yourself

Pacing is so important when it comes to energy conservation.

A 2013 concept analysis looking at pacing for chronic pain defined pacing as “an active self-management strategy whereby individuals develop self-efficacy through learning to balance time spent on activity and rest for the purpose of achieving increased function.”

In simple terms, pacing means learning to plan and balance your active time and rest time to allow you to do more.

If you try to get through things quickly, you’ll likely use up more energy. Instead, try to slow down, or better yet, break up tasks into multiple parts. Spreading out activities and incorporating time for rest can allow you to use the energy you do have more effectively without overdoing it.

3. Pause and rest

Resting is a key part of pacing. Remember that it’s OK to pause, sit down, and rest. You don’t have to finish tasks all at once, and trying to do so might burn you out and mean you get less done in the long run!

This might look like taking a break to breathe after putting on your socks and before putting on your shoes, or while making the bed. Or, it might mean cleaning your house over multiple days rather than all in one go.

4. Pursed lip breathing

Practicing pursed lip breathing while performing a demanding task can help you regulate your breathing and energy. I’ve taught this technique to hundreds of patients, and many people told me that it was a game changer for their energy and anxiety.

Pursed lip breathing involves breathing in through the nose, and then out through the mouth with your lips shaped in an “O,” as if you had a straw in your mouth.

5. Plan ahead

Planning out your activities in advance will help you spread out your energy mindfully and prevent wasting energy.

Pay attention to what time of day you have the most energy, and plan your most demanding tasks for then. Think about timing and locations so you can reduce unnecessary movement — whether that’s while running errands around town, or walking from one room to another in your home.

Look at your weekly and monthly schedule in addition to your daily schedule, as you balance out low and high energy activities.

6. Prioritize what’s most important

In your activity planning, think about what activities are most important to you and prioritize those. Balance the things you need to do with the things you want to do, and think about what tasks you could possibly delegate to somebody else. Don’t forget to prioritize rest.

7. Pay attention to positioning

How you position your body can make a big difference to your energy levels.

Sitting uses less energy than standing, so think about what activities you could sit for instead of standing.

For example, have a kitchen or bathroom stool for cooking and bathing. There’s no reason you need to stand while stirring a pot or brushing your teeth. Try sitting down while putting on your clothes, or folding your laundry.

Whether standing or sitting, try to maintain a good posture, with your shoulder blades back and chest open. A lot of us hunch forward when we’re tired, but closing off your chest can make breathing less efficient, and overall use up a lot more energy.

8. Adjust your environment

As you learn more about energy conservation, you’ll notice ways to change your environment to better save your energy.

Within your home, you’ll want to reduce unnecessary trips back and forth between rooms or up and down stairs. Strategically place commonly used items together, and even consider having multiples of certain items in each room or floor.

You might also consider a rolling cart to move items rather than carrying them. This can be especially helpful for heavy items like laundry or when moving multiple items at once, like taking the ingredients for dinner from the pantry to the counter.

Simple swaps like changing to lighter-weight plates can make doing the dishes less demanding.

Bending and lifting use up a lot of energy, so consider keeping commonly used items (especially heavy ones) at waist height. This might mean storing certain kitchen or cleaning items on the counter.

9. Use equipment

Finally, don’t be afraid to embrace equipment and technology — whether medical equipment ordered through your healthcare professional or something you purchase yourself.

• Scooters, canes, power wheelchairs, rolling walkers with seats and baskets, and other mobility devices can be helpful to some people.
• Sock aids can make the surprisingly demanding activity of pulling on a pair of socks much easier.
• Long-handled grabbers can help you pick things up without bending over.
• Rubber grip material can make it easier to open cans, bottles, and jars.
• Electric tools — like a hand mixer, shaver, dishwasher, robot vacuum, food processor, and more — can also reduce the energy required for daily tasks.

Takeaway

Many people can benefit from energy conservation to some degree. Think of it as an opportunity to maximize your energy for the things you need and want to do.