SPOON THEORY 2.0 for Counting Your Physical AND Mental Spoons
Approx. 2800 words
3 to 4 mental “spoons” per hour required to read and understand
Written by Julie Goodie
The ORIGINAL SPOON THEORY
In 2003, when Christine Miserandino came up with Spoon Theory, she was sitting in a diner with her best friend trying to explain to her what it felt like to live with Lupus (an autoimmune disease that can cause inflammation and pain in any and every part of your body). At first, she rambled on a bit about all the pills she had to take, about her aches and pains, all the while trying to find a better way to explain to her friend the extra steps she had to take each and every day to manage her life living with a chronic illness.
She glanced around the diner in search of inspiration… Then, she grabbed a total of 12 spoons off their table and surrounding tables which she handed over to her friend who was left with a quizzical look on her face. Next, Christine told her friend that:
“The difference in being sick and being healthy is having to make choices and consciously think about things…”
Christine and her friend proceeded to go through a pretend day. One in which the tables were turned. One in which her friend was the one living with a chronic illness and had a very limited amount of “spoons” to get her through her day. One in which every activity would cost her a certain amount of “spoons” (a certain amount of energy):
It would cost her one “spoon” for getting out of bed, eating breakfast, and taking her medication.
It would cost her one “spoon” for showering, washing her hair, and shaving her legs.
It would cost her one “spoon” for getting dressed.
And so on… And so forth…
As the pretend day progressed, her friend would have to make more and more difficult decisions about how she was going to use her remaining “spoons” to make sure that she would end the day with at least one “spoon” in reserve, with at least one leftover “spoon”.
And that is how Spoon Theory was born!!! That is how a whole movement was born!!!
Spoon Theory, the way Christine Miserandino intended it to be, is an awesome metaphor that Spoonies (people who identify with Spoon Theory) use to communicate what their energy levels are like. They use Spoon Theory to help them explain the limited amount of “spoons” they have to get them through each day. With the help of Christine’s Spoon Theory, Spoonies, who want to be better understood, have been known to say things like:
“I’m feeling strong… SPOONERGETIC!!!”
“I’m doing good… I’ve GOT A FEW LEFTOVER SPOONS!!!”
“I’m IN SPOON SAVING MODE!!!”
“Today’s gonna be a LOW SPOON DAY!!!”
“I’m ALL OUT OF SPOONS!!!”
Spoon Theory, in its original form, was never intended to be used to numerically count a person’s “spoons”: to calculate a person’s maximum “spoon” capacity or to calculate a person’s daily “spoon” expenditure. Christine, in her example to her friend, only used “spoons” as a symbol, as a figure of speech, to approximatively represent amounts of energy. Her intent was never to create an objective and reliable “spoon” counting system.
WHY COUNT SPOONS?
Though, counting “spoons”, as it turns out, can be extremely useful for Spoonies to help them better manage their energy, better pace themselves, and better communicate with others. It can help them determine their limits to make sure that they stop BEFORE they start to get seriously fatigued. It can help them prevent overtiredness, exhaustion, and lethargy. Especially, it can help them to avoid getting to the point of total collapse!!!
Many Spoonies are aware that counting “spoons” can help them with:
Determining their maximum daily capacity on good days, on not so good days, and on sick days,
Calculating their daily energy expenditure,
Making sure that they always spend less energy than their maximum capacity (to end each and every day with a few LEFTOVER SPOONS),
Balancing high “spoon” activities with low “spoon” activities,
Monitoring changes in their capacity over time, and
Providing their healthcare team with data with regards to their functional capacity and energy expenditure.
Because, health professionals can only do so much with statements such as: “I’m so tired!!!”, or “I don’t have enough energy for anything anymore!!!” Doctors and specialists don’t particularly do well with such vague statements. They prefer objective data. They prefer numbers. Data and numbers give health professionals more precise information relative to the extent of a person’s fatigue, and about the magnitude of person’s dysfunction:
“Is this person a quarter less functional than “normal”?”
“Is this person half as functional as other healthy adults in the same age group?”
Doctors and Spoonies want to know!!!
Spoonies, in wanting to be able to give their health care team, their friends, their family, and themselves more of an idea about the extent of their fatigue and exhaustion, over the years, have developed a series of “spoon” counting charts to: quantify their levels of fatigue, determine their “spoon” capacity, and calculate their daily “spoon” expenditure.
Following, you will find a typical “spoon” counting chart - a mix of 4 different Original Spoon Theory charts (before the advent of Spoon Theory 2.0):
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Let’s Play a Game!!!
Let’s play a game similar to the 7 errors game, but with a twist…
Instead of just looking for errors or problems in the above “spoon” counting chart, you will also look for positives!!!
Pretend you wanted to calculate how many “spoons” you expend on a typical day with the help of the above chart…
Knowing that it has at least 3 helpful and 4 not so helpful characteristics waiting to be revealed...
How many are you able to identify?
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ORIGINAL SPOON THEORY CHARTS: THE PROS
PRO #1: The use of “spoons” as a unit of measure
The decision to use “spoons” as a unit of measure for energy was such a great idea!!! Thanks so much Christine!!! It’s brilliant!!! Such a great metaphor!!! No wonder the Original Spoon Theory has been adopted by so many Spoonies in the disability and chronic health communities. “Spoons” are such a great way of communicating what it’s like to live with limited and fluctuating daily energy levels.
PRO #2: The idea of dividing daily activities into 4 categories (or 4 columns)
Dividing common daily activities into 4 categories depending on the amount of “spoons” they require to perform (1 “spoon” activities, 2 “spoon” activities, 3 “spoon” activities, and 4 “spoon” activities) helps Spoonies greatly with pacing and task prioritization. By estimating how many “spoons”, or how much energy, different tasks require, Spoonies get a better sense of how much they will be able to get done in a day. They can also make sure that they balance high “spoon” activities with low “spoon” activities so they don’t exhaust themselves. Plus, they can better decide which activities to prioritize, which to delegate, and which to abandon.
PRO #3: The charts’ simplicity of use
The Original Spoon Theory charts are simple to understand, and they’re easy to use. They do not contain endless list of activities to search through. They also round up amounts of “spoons” required for an activity to the nearest whole number (no decimals required).
ORIGINAL SPOON THEORY CHARTS: THE CONS
CON #1: The charts’ oversimplification
The Original Spoon Theory charts’ lists of activities are usually a bit too short. They do not contain enough activity choices. They do not include complete enough lists: lists with all of the most common daily activities. Plus, they do not describe the different activities in enough detail. Like, for example, in simply stating “exercise” as an activity requiring 4 “spoons” when it is known that different types of exercises require different amounts of “spoons” to perform depending on the intensity of the exercise in question. Because, as we all know, walking at a slower pace, for example, does not require the same amount of energy per hour as walking at a much faster pace.
CON #2: Not taking into account an activity’s duration
The Original Spoon Theory charts neglect to take an activity’s duration into consideration when trying to estimate how much energy it takes to perform. And, as we all know, any lengthy activity will always take more energy than the same activity performed over a shorter amount of time. Like, for example, working on your computer for 4 hours will always take more energy than working on your computer for only 1 hour. And so on… And so forth…
CON #3: Calculating mental energy together with physical energy
The Original Spoon Theory charts do not separate physical activities from mental activities. Then, they try to estimate how much energy an activity takes, to determine in which column to place it (1 “spoon” activity, 2 “spoon” activity, 3 “spoon” activity, or 4 “spoon” activity), without taking into consideration that the amount of physical energy an activity takes is often very different from the amount of mental energy it takes to perform. Like, for example, writing a book will take much more mental energy (approximately 4 mental “spoons” per hour) than physical energy (approximately 2 physical “spoons” per hour) to perform.
CON #4: Not using valid, reliable & universally accepted measurement systems
Most Original Spoon Theory charts categorize activities in an extremely subjective manner. To the point where different charts (from different sources) have been found to place the same type of activity in different columns depending on their creators’ viewpoints. Like, for example, when it comes to the “study” activity, some Original Spoon Theory charts place it in the 2 “spoons” category, some in the 3 “spoons” category, and some in the 4 “spoons” category. There’s no consistency with regards to categorization of activities when comparing one Original Spoon Theory chart to the other. Probably because there is no general consensus in the Spoonie community with regards to the best measurement systems for counting physical “spoons” and mental “spoons”… Separately!!!
SPOON THEORY 2.0
As a dietitian with a Master of Science in Nutrition, I am quite used to calculating how many calories a person needs daily by calculating their basic metabolic rate (BMR), or the amount of energy they require just to survive at rest, multiplied by the appropriate activity factor for them depending on their activity level, using the following formula:
Calories = BMR* x Activity Factor**
* BMR for men = 66.5 + (13.75 × weight in kg) + (5.003 × height in cm) - (6.75 × age)
* BMR for women = 655.1 + (9.563 × weight in kg) + (1.850 × height in cm) - (4.676 × age)
** Activity Factors =
1.2 for a sedentary person (little to no exercise),
1.375 for a lightly active person (light exercise, sports 1-3 days/week),
1.55 for a moderately active person (moderate exercise, sports 4-5 days/week),
1.725 for a very active person (strenuous exercise, sports 6-7 days/week),
1.9 for an extra active person (very strenuous exercise, sports plus a physical job), and
2.3 for someone who trains as a professional athlete.
So, I am quite aware of the importance of using valid, reliable, and universally accepted methods for calculating energy. As part of my bachelor’s degree, I also had the “pleasure” of taking a couple physics courses where I learned that energy is normally calculated by multiplying power by time:
Energy* = Power** x Time***
* Where energy is the ability to do a certain type of work, or the amount of work that is feasible with a certain amount of energy.
** Where power is the intensity with which, or the rate at which, work is done (power = work done ÷ time taken).
*** Where time is the duration over which the work is done.
When calculating energy, when determining a person’s energy requirements or functional capacity, all three elements in the above formula need to be taken into consideration...
In the context of improving on the Original Spoon Theory, on giving it a bit of a “scientific” makeover, that meant taking the following three things into account in creating Spoon Theory 2.0:
The type of energy or “spoons” to be counted (physical “spoons”?, OR mental “spoons”?),
The length of time over which an activity was or is to be performed (in hours), and
The power or amount of “spoons” required to perform a specific activity using a couple of universally accepted methods:
a) Metabolic Equivalents of Task (METs) for physical “spoons”, and
b) Bloom’s Taxonomy for mental “spoons”.
To objectively and reliably calculate people’s physical energy expenditure, and determine people’s functional capacity (people’s maximum physical capacity), researchers and health professionals regularly use Metabolic Equivalents of Task (or METs). For those not familiar with METs:
“Metabolic Equivalents of Task (METs) are a measure of how much energy a person needs to perform certain physical activities relative to their resting metabolic rate.”
Where one (1) MET is required for a person to perform an activity that is at the level of their resting metabolic rate (e.g. at rest), and more METs are required when wanting to perform more demanding or more intense activities.
To get a sense of how many METs are needed for different activities, a person can consult the Compendium of Physical Activities which contains MET values for hundreds of activities which are calculated using the following formula:
#METs = (kcal/min x 200) ÷ (3.5 x body weight in kg)
The following PHYSICAL SPOONS Equivalents Chart, for Spoon Theory 2.0, was produced by combining elements from the Original Spoon Theory with Metabolic Equivalents of Task (METs):
As far as mental energy goes, it turns out that it is not as easy to measure as is physical energy. Calories burnt per minute, used to measure physical energy, are not very useful in trying to measure mental energy, since complex mental tasks only burn a slightly higher number of calories than simple mental tasks do.
Unfortunately, therefore, at present, there is no agreed-upon measuring system for calculating mental energy. But what is known is that complex mental tasks - such as analyzing, evaluating, and creating - require much more brain power, and generate much more neural activity, than simpler mental tasks - such as remembering, understanding, and applying.
According to Bloom’s Taxonomy, a well-respected and widely utilized system, mental tasks can be hierarchized by order of complexity, and represented in the form of a pyramid where the least complex of tasks are at the bottom of the pyramid, and the most complex of tasks are way at the top. Usually, Bloom’s Taxonomy’s pyramid has 6 levels for each of the following from bottom to top: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.
In developing Spoon Theory 2.0, I took the liberty of reducing the pyramid’s number of levels from 6 to 4 to create the following simplified version of Bloom’s Taxonomy:
The above pyramid combined with elements from the Original Spoon Theory were used to produce the following MENTAL SPOONS Equivalents Chart for Spoon Theory 2.0:
The LEFTOVER SPOONS CHALLENGE
If you want to learn how to use the above Spoon Theory 2.0 charts to count your physical “spoons” separate from your mental “spoons”, I’ve created the The LEFTOVER SPOONS CHALLENGE. Its purpose is to help you learn how to better manage your energies ( both physical AND mental) toward A MORE ENERGETIC YOU!!!
The LEFTOVER SPOONS CHALLENGE will take you approximately 6 weeks to complete, and it will have you work through the following 9 simple steps:
STEP 1 where you will assess your levels of physical and mental fatigue,
STEP 2 where you will log your time spent in bed and sleeping,
STEP 3 where you will log your time spent on choice activities,
STEP 4 where you will log your time spent on essential activities,
STEP 5 where you will calculate your time needed for essentials,
STEP 6 where you will analyze how you spend your time,
STEP 7 where you will count your physical and mental “spoons”,
STEP 8 where you will select and prioritize your goals, and finally
STEP 9 where you will set up your accountability system.
If you’re short on time, know that STEPS 3 & 7 are enough, on their own, for you to learn how to count your “spoons” using the Spoon Theory 2.0 charts.
If you’re even shorter on time, know that the article entitled Managing Your MENTAL ENERGY with the Help of Spoon Theory 2.0 can help you learn how to use the above MENTAL SPOONS Equivalents Chart to manage your mental energy without ever having to numerically count your “spoons”.
Here’s to hoping that all I’m sharing with you here, on this website, will help you better manage your energy to LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE: to have more fun, to get things done, to take better care of your people, and to take better care of yourself!!!
And… Here’s to hoping that all of the above, and all that follows, will ignite a revolution - a generalized revamping of Spoon Theory - to the benefit of all Spoonies!!!
