The power of routine
Reading time - approximately 6 minutes
The summer holidays made me realise how much my routine is quietly managing my fatigue.
Much of my normal daily routine is built around commitments and necessity - school drop-off, work, lunch, school pick-up, dinner, bedtime. But somewhere along the way, I've built a rhythm around my life that helps protect my energy. It wasn't until the summer holidays disrupted that rhythm that I realised how much it was doing for me. Towards the end of the holidays, I had one particularly interesting day that really brought this home.
The day before had been quiet.
It was a Sunday and we had a slow day at home. My children played happily by themselves while I did a few jobs around the house and unpacked after our trip away. I took everything slowly and I rested quite a lot. There was no rushing around, no big plans, and nowhere to be. It was just a quiet, easy day.
The next morning, I had an unusually high level of energy.
My fatigue didn’t seem to be lingering in the background like it normally is. I felt as though I had enough energy to just get on with things. And so I did.
I ploughed through the day.
I got the girls dressed and ready for the day, sorted breakfast and then took them to the local swimming pool. We spent a long time playing in the water, I did some lengths, and we sat and played games and read books on the side.
We came home around lunchtime and I made lunch for us all. We then chatted to my mum on a video call for about an hour. After this I brought out some modelling clay. We put some music on and sat making things together for a couple of hours. Then I made dinner. Then came the start of the bedtime routine.
And somewhere around 7pm, it all caught up with me. I crashed. Hard.
I was suddenly completely exhausted: my back felt weak, my head was starting to hurt, and I had no energy left. I got into bed fully clothed. I hadn’t changed, and I hadn't brushed my teeth. I didn't have the energy to do any of those things.
Fortunately, my children are getting more independent so they brushed their teeth, got their pyjamas on, and my eldest was delighted to get to read a bedtime story to her little sister all by herself.
Normally, if I lie down for half an hour to an hour, I start to feel better. But this time, I didn't. My husband came home around 8.30pm. I stayed awake to see him, but I was also waiting for the point where I'd have enough energy to get up, get changed, brush my teeth and go properly to bed. It never came. Eventually, around 9pm, I struggled up to go to the bathroom, then went straight back to bed. I was completely worn out.
I knew why I had crashed - I had done exactly what I tell my clients not to do!
I hadn’t paced myself. I had pushed through. I suspect that having a quieter, more restful Sunday contributed to me having more energy on Monday. And despite telling the people I support about the importance of consistency when pacing, and the need to rest even on a good day, it was so refreshing to have a “normal” amount of energy for a day that I devoured every last drop til there was nothing left.
It was only afterwards that I realised my usual routine stops me from doing exactly that.
My routine is pacing me.
In a working week, and particularly when my children are at school, my days have a much more predictable rhythm.
Over time I have incorporated fatigue management strategies into my daily routine. I know my energy is generally better in the mornings, so I plan most of my activities then. After the morning school run, I give myself some time to recover before starting work, and then I take regular rest breaks away from my desk. I try not to schedule too much into the afternoons and instead plan in more rest time. I want enough energy left for the girls when they come home from school, so I try to keep something in reserve.
I have been doing this for several years now, so I forget that it is planned. It just feels like normal life. But actually, it's pacing.
My routine has taken a lot of the decision-making out of pacing for me.
I don't have to wake up every morning and consciously work out how I'm going to manage my energy. The structure of my week does some of that work in the background. I hadn't realised how valuable that was until my summer holidays took it away.
Ironically, one of the best things about the holidays is that routine disappears. There are no meetings, no deadlines, no school runs. There is no need to structure the day around getting everyone home for dinner and bedtime. We can have a slow morning, stay at the swimming pool longer or simply decide what we're doing as the day unfolds. I love that spontaneity and freedom, but without my usual structure, I lost some of the boundaries that normally protect my energy.
Also, on that Monday, unlike a normal day, because of my unusually high level of energy, my body wasn’t sending me signals to stop. So I got lost in the moment, enjoying both the freedom of the holidays and some rare freedom from fatigue. I didn’t stop to think: “I should rest now to save energy for later and prevent a crash.”
And that’s ok. We are allowed to make mistakes. We are allowed to have so much fun that we don’t notice we aren’t pacing.
Managing fatigue isn’t easy.
It’s a journey full of ups and downs, trial and error. But what this experience reminded me is that a routine built around your capacity can be a really useful fatigue-management tool. This isn't just something I've found helpful personally. It reflects the principles of energy management that we use in occupational therapy and that are supported by the wider evidence around fatigue management.
A routine can take some of the decision-making out of managing your energy. It can help you plan activities for when you have most energy, spread activity and rest throughout the day or week, and protect energy for the things that matter most to you.
If you're living with persistent fatigue, what does your weekly routine look like? Is it helping you manage your energy so you can do the things you enjoy?
If you would like support to incorporate fatigue management strategies into your daily routine, get in touch to find out how I can help.
References
Barakou I, Hackett KL, Hettinga FJ, Finch T (2026). Insights from healthcare professionals on enhancing fatigue management in chronic conditions: a qualitative study. Disability and Rehabilitation, 48(1) 117–127.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2021) Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management. London: NICE. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG206 Accessed on 09.09.26
Pendleton HM, Schultz-Krohn W (2024), Pedretti's Occupational Therapy:
practice skills for physical dysfunction [e-book] 9th ed. St Louis, MO: Elsevier,.
Available to RCOT members through the RCOT website at: http://www.rcot.co.uk
Accessed on 09.09.26
Royal College of Occupational Therapy (2023) How to manage your energy: practical advice for people recovering from illness or managing long-term health conditions. London: RCOT. Available at: https://www.rcot.co.uk/learn-about-occupational-therapy/ot-advice/lift-up/energy Accessed on 08.09.26
Taylor RR, Bowyer P, Fisher G (2024) Kielhofner’s Model of Human Occupation: theory and application. 6th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.
This blog post is intended for general information and reflects my own experience and professional perspective. It isn't a substitute for individual clinical advice.