Getting Back into Daily Activities

Fatigue Management

Energy Conservation

• Set priorities for the day.
• Plan your activities across the day and week so that you have a balance of work and rest periods, alternate easy and difficult tasks, avoid rushing and rest before you get tired.
• “Work smarter not harder” think about different areas of your life and consider ways of making tasks more manageable:
  • Self-Care: Sit to shower/ dress or dry yourself, use adaptive aids to help such as a dressing stick.
  • Work or productivity: Consider a gradual return to work i.e. work part time first then slowly build up your hours, allow for rest breaks. Talk with your doctor about continuing or returning to work.
  • Cooking: Use simple menus with fewer steps, prepare in bulk and freeze portions for use on busier days, buy pre-cut meats.
  • Cleaning: Don’t do it all at once, use long handled dustpans and buckets on wheels, sitting to iron.

Activity Enhancement

• Being active can reduce your fatigue. Talk to your doctor before starting any exercises. Inactivity can result in having less strength which then leads to feeling more fatigued.
• Consider a graded return to exercise such as starting with 5-10 minutes of light exercise 2-3 times per week, and slowly increasing it to 15-30 minutes 3-5 times per week.
• Consider talking to your OT or physiotherapists for an exercise program suitable for you.

Sleep

• Ensure you get enough sleep.
• Go to bed when feeling drowsy at night so that you “catch the sleep wave” but try and get up at the same time each morning to establish a routine.
• Prepare yourself for sleep by using a pre-sleep routine every night that helps you to relax.
• Minimise naps after 2pm in the afternoon.
• Reduce or eliminate alcohol, caffeine, nicotine or spicy foods. Ideally, try not to consume these after 4pm.

Stress Management

• Stress (worry, fear, frustration) can contribute to fatigue. It is important to recognise the situations that cause stress and how to reduce and manage stress better.
• Delegation – some people feel that unless they do the job, it won’t be done right. Perhaps re-examine this belief and allow others to help and assume responsibility rather than being a “superman” or “superwoman”.
• Distraction – do things you enjoy. Studies have shown that distracting activity can help decrease fatigue. It is therefore important to take time to do the things you enjoy.

Relaxation

• Relaxation can mean different things to different people. There are formal and informal ways to relax such as deep breathing, relaxing muscles, visualisation or listening to calming music.
• Consider talking to your OT, social worker or psychologist if you would like to know more about stress management and relaxation tips.