If burnout is as real and impactful as we know it to be, we need to be mindful of knowing that it can happen again. And take measures to prevent that from happening. Managing your energy levels and being very careful about setting healthy boundaries with yourself and with others, is that the core of helping minimize the risk of future burnout. One great way that many neuro divergent people make sense of their energy levels is with spoons theory. Spoons theory is a widely recognized metaphor for managing energy. It was developed by Christine, Miserandino, who originally used it as a metaphor to explain her chronic illness to friend and uses spoons as a measure of daily energy. Each activity you do getting dressed, making breakfast, attending a social event requires you to spend spoons. The challenge for neurodivergent individuals is that spoons are limited and there are no more spoons when your spoons run out. How this works for me is that I might wake up and know that I have 10 spoons for the day. 

There are no more spoons once I've used them all. So I might think that working with a client or being on a meeting might use three spoons. Replying to emails might use two spoons. That's five spoons used by lunchtime. I need to think very carefully about how to use the rest. If I go to the supermarket that will use four of my spoons, which only leaves me with one spoon. And I really wanted to have coffee with a friend that daywhich will use another three. Something has to give. 

And to be honest, it's probably going to be the supermarket. What's important though, is that I only have the 10 spoons. And once we realize this is it's a great wake up call to stop pushing yourselves beyond a point where you can cope and which eventually might lead to burnout. If spins don't work for you, you could try using pebbles or these lovely, smooth stones that you can buy. And having a physical jar with stones in it, sitting in front of you, can be a great reminder of how many stones you have for the day. Once you've thought about how to think about your energy, whether that's spoons or stones, or thinking about a battery that only has so much charge in it, 

The next step is learning to set realistic limits. This involves prioritizing tasks, understanding your capacity, and letting go of what isn't essential. Think about how different activities affect you. So we can all get very overwhelmed by doing a lot of things in a day, feel exhausted at the end of the day, but not really pinpointing what is the problem. But have a think, are there things that consistently drain your energy? Are there other things that feel neutral? And are there some things in your life that feel replenishing? So being more conscious about this can allow you to really cut back on some of those things that are draining your energy and to think about how to bring healing or replenishing activities into your life. It's also important to build recovery time into your schedule. 

So instead of thinking that you can go on from one intense activity, something that might use three or four spoons and straight onto something else, try and schedule your day and week so that you're giving yourself some rest time in between. And that can go for things that we enjoy as well. So again, if we go back to my day with 10 spoons and I'm meeting somebody for a coffee, which is fun and it's enjoyable, it's still going to use three spoons. So, what I don't want to do is then have a doctor's appointment, which in my case might be using four spoons. I need to have some time to replenish from that activity. 

Boundaries are another crucial part of energy management. Without clear boundaries it's easy to overextend yourself and take on tasks or commitments that leave you depleted. Setting boundaries doesn't mean shutting others out. It means creating space to prioritize what matters the most. Saying no is one of the most powerful tools for setting boundaries, but it's also extremely hard. Many of us worry about disappointing others or being seen as unkind or losing friendships. However saying no, doesn't have to be harsh or abrupt. It can be as simple as acknowledging your limits and simply choosing to prioritize your wellbeing. 

When you're saying no to somebody, you don't have to overexplain. You don't have to over apologize. That doesn't mean being harsh and blunt. You can certainly do it in a very nice way. But remember that you're saying no so that you can look after yourself. And learning to say no really begins to give he that space to set healthy boundaries with other people. Communicating boundaries with others can feel intimidating, but it becomes a lot easier with practice. And remember, it's not about rejecting other people. 

It's about protecting your energy so that you can look after yourself, but also so that you can be there more fully for the things and people that matter most to you. 

There's a lot in the workplace that isn't always necessary to you being a good employee or doing a good job. And sometimes work environments have just grown up quite organically, but if there are things that really feel too much for you, it's worthwhile identifying that and talking about that and asking for any changes or accommodations that can be helpful. 

Setting boundaries with yourself is also a crucial part of managing your energy. One core feature of neurodivergence for many people is hyper fixation and becoming very involved with passions and interests. We tend to love our interests. We love finding out about them doing research. Perhaps collecting facts or physical artifacts. 

And it's a core part of who we are. And it brings a huge amount of satisfaction to most of us. But it sometimes comes at a cost and being up all night and getting so involved in certain things that other things are mounting up and becoming very stressful and unmanageable can lead to a horrible spiral of stress and frustration, which can then end up in burnout. Because becoming hyper-focused tends to be how our brain works, simply stepping back from our interests and passion can be very hard and it can make us feel even more stressed and really remove a core part of our identity. So we need to find ways of setting boundaries around our interests, if we feel that they're causing us exhaustion and fatigue. This could be setting regular reminders and making sure that you respond to reminders to take a break. It could be that you set time boundaries. So I have very strict time boundaries about not doing anything too interesting or stimulating in the evening. Otherwise I'm likely to be up all night.

Simply having an awareness that much as our brains might love that feeling of being wired to something that's exciting and all encompassingit can make us feel tired and exhausted if we don't find some ways to take breaks and set boundaries around it. 

Managing energy levels and setting boundaries is an ongoing process. It's something that we need to keep working at. Try new things and get feedback on what's working and what isn't working. Whether you connect with spoon theory, pebbles or another metaphor. The key is recognizing the energy is finite. And that you need to make intentional choices, about how to use it.

Setting boundaries isn't selfish. And just remind yourself of that. It's about looking after yourself. Which is absolutely crucial to avoid ending up in a state of burnout when you might have to take a lot more drastic measures, rather than being able to take some moderate, helpful measures at this stage around managing your boundaries and your energy.