Some days your energy runs out long before the day does. You might not notice it going, until suddenly you're done and everything after that feels like wading through mud.
Energy accounting is one way to see where your energy goes, so you can plan around it instead of finding out the hard way. It's simple, it's flexible, and you can do it on the back of an envelope.
Spoons and bank accounts
You may have heard of spoon theory. Christine Miserandino came up with it while trying to explain to a friend what living with lupus was like. She handed her friend a bunch of spoons, each one standing for some energy, and every task in the day used some of them up (SBS). You might hear people say "I'm out of spoons" as a quick way to explain how they feel.
Energy accounting works more like a bank account. Some things take energy out. Others put energy back in. The aim is to keep your balance from hitting zero, or going overdrawn.
Energy accounting was created by Maja Toudal, an autistic clinical psychologist, and developed further with Tony Attwood (Attwood & Garnett Events).
A tool for noticing, not a science
It's worth being clear about this. Energy accounting is a way to reflect on your own life. It isn't a measurement. The numbers are your own rough guesses, and they'll change from day to day.
That's fine. You don't need accurate numbers. You just need numbers that help you notice patterns, like "every Tuesday I'm wiped out" or "a quiet lunch makes the afternoon easier".
How to list your drains and top-ups
Start with two lists.
Drains are things that use up energy. Yours might include noise and bright lights, busy places, small talk, phone calls, changes of plan and masking. If you're not sure why ordinary places feel so tiring, see why everyday environments can be exhausting and masking: what it is and what it costs.
Top-ups are things that give energy back. That might be time alone, a special interest, stimming, a walk, a familiar show or a comfy blanket.
Then give each item a rough score. Keep it simple, like 1 to 5. Something that's a little tiring gets a 1. Something that flattens you gets a 5.
An example day
Say you start the day with about 10 on a decent night's sleep. Here's how a workday might look. Your scores will be different.
| Time | Activity | Drain or top-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:30 | Shower and get dressed | Drain | −1 |
| 8:15 | Busy train | Drain | −3 |
| 9:00 | Two video meetings | Drain | −4 |
| 12:30 | Lunch alone with headphones | Top-up | +2 |
| 13:00 | Quiet focused work | Drain | −1 |
| 17:30 | Supermarket on the way home | Drain | −3 |
| 18:30 | An hour on a special interest | Top-up | +3 |
| 20:00 | Phone call with family | Drain | −2 |
| End of day | 1 left |
Looking at it this way, it's no surprise that the phone call felt like too much. You were nearly empty by the time it came.
Using it to plan
Once you can see the pattern, you can start to make small changes. Imagine it's Sunday evening and you can see Tuesday has three meetings and a dentist appointment. You might move the food shop to Wednesday, keep Tuesday evening free, and plan a top-up at lunch.
Over time, you might also notice a gap between how much you're spending and how much you're getting back. If that gap stays open for weeks, it can be worth paying attention. Our article on why autistic burnout can creep up unnoticed explains why.
Explaining it to others
Spoons and bank balances can make energy easier to explain. "I'm running low today" or "that would overdraw me" can be simpler than going into detail. If you're supporting someone, try taking their word for it. Their scores might not match yours, and that's the point.
References
- National Autistic Society. Autistic fatigue: a guide for autistic adults. autism.org.uk
- SBS Voices. How spoons became a powerful symbol for invisible disability. sbs.com.au
- Attwood & Garnett Events. Energy Accounting and Autism. attwoodandgarnettevents.com
