Energy Accounting

You know how you’d never spend your entire monthly budget on the first day and then wonder why you’re eating beans for the rest of the month? Energy accounting applies that same logic to your mental and physical energy.

Instead of just asking “do I have time for this?”, energy accounting asks the more important question: “do I have the energy for this — and what will it cost me later?”

If you’re neurodivergent, you probably already know that your energy doesn’t work like a typical 9-to-5 schedule. Some tasks that seem simple to others can completely wipe you out (looking at you, phone calls and social events). While other activities might actually recharge you, even if they look like “work” to everyone else.

Energy accounting means paying attention to these patterns and actually planning around them. Maybe you:

• Block out recovery time after draining activities
• Schedule challenging tasks for when your energy is naturally higher
• Give yourself permission to say no when you’re running low
• Actually track what gives you energy vs. what depletes it

Some people get really systematic about it — spreadsheets, colour-coded calendars, energy level ratings. Others just develop a better intuitive sense of their energy ebbs and flows.

The point isn’t to become obsessive about energy management. It’s to respect the fact that your energy is a genuine, limited resource that deserves to be used thoughtfully.

Because when you’re strategic about your energy instead of just powering through everything, you’re not just avoiding burnout — you’re setting yourself up to actually show up as your best self for the things and people that matter most.