If you live with chronic illness, neurodivergence, or both, pacing your energy can feel suspiciously like… failing. We’ve been conditioned to believe that productivity equals worth, and rest is something you earn after pushing yourself to the brink. Spoiler alert: that mindset is garbage — and it actively works against bodies and brains like ours.
Energy pacing isn’t about doing less because you’re “giving up.” It’s about doing what keeps you functioning tomorrow. And sometimes that looks like absolutely nothing from the outside.
Here are signs you’re actually pacing correctly — even if it doesn’t feel impressive.
1. You Stop Before You Crash
If you’re resting while you still technically could keep going, congratulations — you’re doing it right. Pacing means stopping at the “I should probably rest soon” stage, not the “I have made a terrible mistake” stage.
Ending an activity while you still have a sliver of energy left isn’t weakness. It’s strategy.
2. You Plan Rest on Purpose
Rest isn’t something that “just happens” anymore. It’s scheduled. Protected. Sometimes defended like a feral raccoon.
If your calendar includes intentional downtime — especially after appointments, errands, or social interaction — that’s not laziness. That’s advanced-level self-management.
3. Your Week Looks Boring but Survivable
A paced week doesn’t look exciting. It looks quiet. Repetitive. Underwhelming.
And that’s the point.
If you’re no longer stacking five demanding things in one day and calling it “normal,” you’re learning how to live within your limits instead of constantly bulldozing them.
4. You Say No Without a Full PowerPoint Presentation
You don’t owe anyone your medical history, trauma background, or a five-paragraph explanation for why you can’t do something.
If you’re starting to say “I can’t” or “That won’t work for me” without spiraling into guilt — that’s growth. Messy, uncomfortable, necessary growth.
5. You Recover Faster Than You Used To
Maybe you still flare. Maybe you still crash. But if the recovery time is shorter than it used to be — that’s pacing working.
Progress with chronic illness is often measured in less severe consequences, not total avoidance.
6. You’re Choosing the Easier Option Without Shame
Delivery instead of cooking. Grocery pickup instead of the store. Frozen food instead of scratch meals. Sitting instead of standing.
If you’re choosing accessibility over aesthetics, you’re not “giving up.” You’re adapting. And adaptation is how people survive long-term.
7. You Feel “Unproductive” but Less Destroyed
This one messes with people the most.
If you feel like you didn’t do much, but you also didn’t completely wreck yourself — that’s a win. A quiet one. An invisible one. But a real one.
8. You’re Thinking About Tomorrow, Not Just Today
Pacing means asking, “How will this affect me later?” instead of “Can I force myself through this right now?”
If future-you is part of your decision-making process, you’re playing the long game — and that matters.
Final Thought
Pacing doesn’t look heroic. It doesn’t get applause. It doesn’t fit hustle culture or toxic positivity.
But it keeps you alive, functional, and able to show up again.
You are not doing nothing.
You are managing a body and nervous system that require intention, restraint, and care.
And honestly? That’s not weakness.
That’s skill. Til next time gang, take care of yourselves, and each other!
WannaBeNormal 