Energy Management That Makes Sense: Honor Your Capacity, Not Just Your To-Do List
- Tori Flores
- Aug 1, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 2, 2025
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Energy Management Tips for Every Kind of Day
Ever felt like your brain is a half-charged phone trying to run five apps at once? Same. That low-buzz, slow-loading, can’t-even-empty-the-dishwasher kind of vibe is more than just a slump -it’s your energy tank waving a white flag.
Let’s talk about why that happens and what to do when it does. (Spoiler: You’re not broken, you’re just running on a rhythm that most people don’t see.) Whether you’re riding a glittery wave of productivity or barely scraping together enough oomph to clear off a dinner plate, honoring your energy levels is the ultimate act of self-respect.
🥄 Understanding Spoons, Sparkles, and Spurts
You may have heard of the "Spoon Theory" - the idea that we all start each day with a limited number of spoons (aka units of energy), and every task uses them up. For neurodivergent folks especially, spoons don’t show up in predictable amounts. One day you’re alphabetizing your pantry for fun, and the next, brushing your hair feels like a full-body workout.
✨ Then there’s the sparkle. That mysterious burst of clarity or excitement that shows up unannounced at 9:37 p.m. when you suddenly must color-code the bookshelf or start reorganizing your digital files.
These cycles aren’t flaws. They’re features of how your brain works - and recognizing them is the first step to better energy management.
🛋️ When the Tank Is Empty: Honor the Slowness
Low-spoon days aren’t just “lazy days.” They’re recovery days. Here are ways to honor them without guilt:
Clear just enough space on the dining table to eat a meal.
Tidy a corner of a surface instead of the whole room.
Watch a comfort show with zero multitasking.
Swap a to-do list for a “done one thing” celebration. One thing is enough today.
📝 Reset Tip: Make a 10-Minute List ahead of time—tiny tasks like wiping down the mirror or sorting one basket. When you're low on spoons, pick one and feel like a champion.
📸 Take a peek at my own 10-Minute List in the photo below. It’s not fancy—just a simple, no-pressure guide I can lean on when I’ve got barely a drop of energy left. Your list can be messy, colorful, scrawled on a random page of a notebook, scribbled on a napkin - whatever helps future-you feel seen and supported.
⚡ When the Sparkle Hits: Prep or Pounce
High-energy days are like snow leopards - rare, beautiful, and hard to predict. But when they show up, lean in:
Zone in on one area (a junk drawer, your car’s backseat) and go for it.
Try a Zone Session: spend 20–30 minutes deep cleaning or organizing a single space.
Use sparkle energy to prep for later - gather tools for a future project or make a list of “when-I’m-ready” goals.
💡 Pro Tip: Keep a “Sparkle Prep Bin” with everything you need for that next home project. Future you will thank you for not having to hunt for painter’s tape at midnight.
📦 Confession time: I realized while writing this that I don’t currently have a Prep Bin ready for my next big project - and that’s a problem. If a sparkle wave hits tonight, I’m not prepared…and that could mean missing my moment. So guess what’s going on my to-do list this week? Yep. Prep Bin, ASAP.
🔄 Middle Days: Work With the Meh
Not a sparkle. Not a slump. Just…meh.
These middle-of-the-road days are perfect for:
Tackling your Zone List: a menu of 20- to 30-minute tasks that feel doable but satisfying.
Doing a 10-Minute Dash in a high-traffic space -like your bathroom counter or entryway table.
Checking one thing off your digital list and calling it a win.
🌱 Remember: Progress doesn’t have to be powerful -it just has to be possible.
💬 Let’s Chat:
What’s your favorite “sparkle” task? Or your go-to survival move on a no-spoon day? Drop it in the comments - or email me. I’d love to share some of your tips in a future post (with credit, of course)!
TL;DR – Every Kind of Day Deserves a Strategy
Whether you’ve got ✨sparkles, 🥄spoons, or just enough gas to slide a dinner plate onto a clean patch of table, you’re doing okay.
You don’t need to chase motivation or force consistency. Real energy management starts with noticing how you feel -and picking tools that match.
🎯 Try This Today:
Leave a sticky note with one task from your 10-Minute List on your fridge or inside a cabinet. That visual nudge might be all you need to feel like a rockstar on a low-energy day.
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