Energy conservation and Occupational therapy

In the hustle and bustle of modern life, much of our society values hard work and what is known as “hustle culture”. We are blasted on social media with people promoting multiple streams of income, becoming influencers, having a side hustle…. and whether you want to be a millionaire or just manage to afford the increasing prices of groceries, you can easily find yourself being sucked in to working hard all day. However, unless you are able to afford a cleaning service, child care, outdoor house maintenance, a personal chef etc, not only are you working constantly, but also needing to manage household chores and responsibilities.

In the hustle and bustle of modern life, managing our energy levels effectively is paramount. For individuals with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or other health conditions, conserving energy can be even more crucial. This is where occupational therapy can come in, offering strategies and interventions to optimize energy usage and enhance daily functioning. In this blog post, we’ll explore the concept of energy conservation in occupational therapy and how it positively impacts individuals’ lives!

What is Energy Conservation?

If you’ve explored my blog before you know about occupational therapy (OT), but if you are landing on this page because of the term energy conservation, let me introduce you! Occupational therapy is a holistic healthcare profession focused on helping people participate in the activities they need and want to do. When I use the term ‘holistic’, I am referring to the idea of seeing the person as a whole, including their wants, needs, strengths, personality traits…. on top of the diagnosis or challenge they are seeking support for. Whether it’s self-care, work, leisure, or community participation, occupational therapists work with individuals to improve their ability to engage in meaningful occupations.

Energy conservation is a fundamental concept within occupational therapy, particularly for individuals with limited energy reserves due to various health conditions. It involves the strategically thinking of the energy you are using within activities throughout the day to prevent exhaustion and optimize performance. For the average person, we sometimes take for granted our energy levels and that we can just “push through” being tired sometimes with an extra cup of coffee or by getting endorphins on a morning workout schedule. For many with varying health conditions from physical to mental health diagnoses, there is a limited amount of energy that can be expended and once that is done, it feels impossible to continue. Some clients I have worked with in the past have experienced major challenges where they underestimate the limits their body puts on them, and after pushing through tiredness, are stuck in bed for two days recovering. By exploring your limits and learning how to manage energy expenditure, individuals can better accomplish their daily tasks while minimizing fatigue and avoiding exacerbation of symptoms.

Strategies for Energy Conservation:
Occupational therapists use a variety of strategies to promote energy conservation tailored to each individual’s unique needs and goals, and to each person’s physical and mental capacity. Some common techniques include:

1. Activity Pacing: Breaking tasks into manageable pieces and spreading out periods of activity with rest breaks in between. This can help prevent overexertion and conserves energy over the course of the day. (For example, going grocery shopping and then taking time to rest before preparing your dinner or cleaning the kitchen.) Something that I do as someone who is emotionally and physically exhausted often from my job as well as my anxiety, is instead of doing all of the cleaning on a Saturday morning like we did when I lived with my parents, I make a large list of cleaning tasks and try to do one each day so that it gets done in a way that paces my energy.
2. Prioritization: Identifying and prioritizing essential tasks allows individuals to allocate their limited energy resources to activities that are most important to them, while less critical tasks can be delegated or postponed. For example, if you have work deadlines, need to clean the house, purge clothes from your closet and make sure you eat dinner, what are the most important things to do right now? This can be challenging for many as society often puts a lot of unconscious pressure on us to do things a certain way. If you have big deadlines and your house is a mess, maybe you prioritize one household task and focus on your work deadlines and have a fast easy meal instead of putting pressure on yourself to do it all AND cook a big meal. Changing these expectations we have for ourselves can be extremely difficult and is something you can talk through with an OT!
3. Ergonomic Modifications: Adjusting the environment or using assistive devices to reduce physical strain during activities can minimize energy expenditure and improve overall efficiency. Sometimes this may look like questioning why we do the things the way we do and how we can make them more ergonomic. For example, why do we always stand while we cook? Can we modify the task so that part of it is seated – perhaps cutting the food seated at the table and then we are only standing while we mix things at the stove.
4. Simplification: Simplifying tasks by reducing steps, utilizing assistive technology, or modifying techniques can streamline activities, making them less physically demanding and conserving energy. Assistive technology doesn’t have to be anything fancy! It can be something simple like vacuuming instead of sweeping, using a chopping tool instead of hand chopping vegetables with a knife individually, or moving items around in your house so you can access them easier (ex: moving plates down to be more reachable and reduce need to use a step stool)
5. Energy Budgeting: Developing a daily or weekly “energy budget” helps individuals allocate their energy resources effectively, ensuring they have enough energy for essential activities while avoiding burnout. This in my mind is almost an accumulation of the suggestions above, and is just you taking time to reflect on your energy and how you can plan in advance for the best results possible. Something that I also like to keep in mind when energy budgeting is that for some people, emotional and mental energy is also included in this. As someone with a physically and emotionally taxing job, with anxiety and a lot of masking behaviours, I have to consider not only the physical energy but the emotional and mental energy I use in a day. If I am seeing friends, I will try to plan these outings on less taxing work days, or perhaps I pre plan in advance that socializing isn’t my priority that week and I need to focus on cleaning my house and working out instead. These budgets, just like financial budgets, look different for every single person, and often becoming aware of what kind of energetic person you are is a big task you need to accomplish first!

Benefits of Energy Conservation:

The benefits of incorporating energy conservation techniques into daily life are different for everyone, but here are a few:

• Increased Independence: By conserving energy, individuals can maintain more of their independence and autonomy in performing daily activities. Some resources will say that energy conservation should reduce reliance on caregivers and assistive devices – I firmly believe that part of energy conservation may be relying on these modifications to your life expectations! Asking for help for certain tasks, or using assistive devices like a wheelchair, walker, certain cooking tools etc can be extremely beneficial to support energy conservation and make you as independent as possible! For example, perhaps you hire a cleaning person to help with chores, ask your roommate to help you bring in the groceries, or split the cooking responsibilities with your partner. There is no shame in strategizing to make your life easier!
• Improved Quality of Life: Managing energy levels effectively allows individuals to engage in meaningful occupations without experiencing debilitating fatigue, leading to a better overall quality of life. Of course you will experience fatigue, and you may need to reduce the amount of activities you are doing in a day, but the goal is to reserve enough energy to enjoy and complete the activities you can and need to do as best as you can!
• Enhanced Participation: Energy conservation enables individuals to participate more fully in activities they enjoy, whether it’s spending time with family and friends, pursuing hobbies, or engaging in work or educational endeavors.
• Symptom Management: For individuals with chronic illnesses or disabilities, energy conservation can help manage symptoms and prevent exacerbations, promoting overall health and well-being. I’m going to also add in the reminder that you don’t need to be diagnosed with anything to reduce symptoms of tiredness – for example, you can definitely become burnt out as someone who does not have a diagnosis and maybe is just overextended in their work and other commitments!

Occupational therapy plays a vital role in helping individuals conserve energy and maximize their ability to participate in daily life activities. By implementing strategies tailored to each person’s needs, occupational therapists empower individuals to manage their energy effectively, maintain independence, and enhance their overall quality of life. Whether it’s through activity pacing, ergonomic modifications, or energy budgeting, the principles of energy conservation are essential tools in the occupational therapist’s toolkit, enabling clients to live life to the fullest despite physical limitations.

Energy conservation is a technique that can help you adapt the way you complete your daily activities so that you use less energy, feel less tired and put less strain on your body.

What kind of energy strategies might you be already using in your daily life? Should I provide a case study for this to support understanding of what energy conservation might look like?

Head to the ABCs of Occupational Therapy to see more posts about our profession!