I am convinced that a key element to my recovery is the day schedule that I designed and use for several weeks now. I advise you to consider using this tool, because it will help you to find a balance between your activities and enough rest in between (yes, back to pacing indeed). At first this whole idea seemed somewhat dull and unnessary to me. Perhaps because I was simply too exhausted to set myself to the task of planning my day. Or because I couldn’t find an example and didn’t fully understand the concept…

Before I designed my day schedule, I was not able to reach a balance in my energy levels, because I consistently overdid things. Of course I genuinely tried to listen to my body, take enough rest or stop with an activity as soon as I noticed I was getting tired. But clearly, trying was not enough. My overdoing was often simply a result of being very enthusiastic about something, or being stupidly stubborn to finish a task no matter what…

Although I mostly didn’t realise I was pushing myself too far, you can imagine this was not at all favorable to my recovery! If you are familiar with these situations, and lack the talent of listening to your body or recognising your limits, then let’s start planning your day!

What does a day schedule mean? It is nothing more then a well-designed personal plan of your whole day from getting up to going to bed. It will show you all your different physical and mental activities, with enough resting periods in between. Before designing your schedule, you should consider which activities you want to include and how long you can perform them without overdoing things, what gives you energy and what drains your energy, how much sleep and rest you probably need in between, all based on your own recent experiences. Then you start putting all those elements carefully in a simple chart. 

Don't forget to puzzle around a little, to optimise the flow of your day. For example, do you tend to have the most energy in the morning? Then you might put a more intensive task there, whereas lighter activities fit better in your afternoon... 

Another reason for me to use this tool during my illness, is that it makes me feel a little less useless, and that my day seems more exciting and meaningful. And of course, on those days where Mr. Covid is overshadowing everything… and you feel drained from the moment you get up, it is so much easier to just have a glance at your schedule than having to figure out what to do yourself.

Below you will find an example of my personal day schedule (A = Activity, R = Rest):

I hope this post has convinced you of the benefits and will encourage you to design a schedule of your own. If you do so, here are my final important recommendations:

1. Please take your time for drawing your schedule. It may seem easy, but depending on your energy levels, it might take a while. You might even need to take little breaks if you attempt to practice pacing.
2. Don’t get discouraged if you have to adjust it a couple of times before it really works. You will notice soon enough that you need to puzzle and switch or swap a little.
3. Please use your imagination and creativity to fill out your schedule according to your personality and taste. My day may seem extremely boring to you… Or maybe your living situation is very different from mine, that changes a lot in your schedule.
4. Of course a day schedule is not fixed. I believe it works best if you use it with a flexible mind. More importantly, it demands a change from time to time, once you regain more strength and energy or in case of a relapse…

Hooray for today!

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_{Images by myself}