Daily Spoons Counter: Count Today's Spoons and Plan a Refill
Start with the spoons you woke up with, spend them on today's activities, add back what restores you, and plan one refill. For living with chronic illness, disability, or autistic and ADHD energy.
Use the client's own words for their energy, and don't turn spoons into a target to beat: the point is pacing and being understood.
More
Borrowing from tomorrow often means a crash later, so plan rest after a big day. A new or worsening drop in energy, or post-exertional crashes, needs a doctor's assessment. This counter does not measure anything medical.
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How to play- Tap how many spoons you woke up with (up to 12).
- Drag an activity into the spoon drawer (or onto Refill if it gives spoons back), or tap it and then tap where it goes.
- Tap the little spoons on an activity to set 1, 2 or 3.
- Plan one refill (and, if you want, pick one cost to shrink), then copy your spoons.
About the technique
About the techniqueSpoon theory is a metaphor, not a treatment. Christine Miserandino wrote it in 2003 to explain life with lupus to a friend: she handed her a bunch of spoons and took one away for each ordinary task, showing that energy is limited and every activity has a cost (Miserandino, 2003). It has since been adopted widely by people with chronic illness, disability and neurodivergence to describe limited energy to others. Energy accounting, developed by Maja Toudal and written up with Tony Attwood for autistic people, adds a ledger of what drains and what restores energy (Toudal & Attwood, 2024). This tool is independent and not affiliated with Christine Miserandino.
Used clinically, the metaphor gives clients a shared language for fatigue and a way to plan. Counting spoons makes trade-offs visible, supports pacing across a day or week, and helps clients explain their limits to family, employers and schools. Pacing within one’s energy limits is recommended in clinical guidance for fatigue conditions; for ME/CFS, NICE advises an individual energy management plan that also prepares for flare-ups (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2021). Neither the metaphor nor a spoon counter has been tested as an intervention, so the evidence is practice-based.
Use the client’s own words for energy and avoid turning spoons into a target to beat; the aim is pacing and being understood. Borrowing from tomorrow often leads to a crash, so plan recovery after big days. A new or worsening drop in energy, or crashes after exertion, need medical assessment. A counter does not measure anything medical.
For therapists: how to run it
For therapists: how to run itGoal
See where today's spoons go and protect one thing that gives some back.
In session
- Send the client link. Ask the client to explain their spoons in their own words first.
- Add the hidden costs: masking, sensory load, transitions, travel.
- Agree on one refill and one cost to shrink this week.
As homework
- Count your spoons at the end of a few days.
- Tap Copy for my therapist, then paste it into your therapist's secure messaging (client portal) or bring it to your next session. Nothing you type is saved, so copy before closing.
Based on spoon theory, written by Christine Miserandino in 2003 to explain to a friend what living with lupus is like: each day starts with a limited number of spoons, everything costs some, and when they run out you stop, or borrow from tomorrow. It comes from the chronic illness and disability community and is now used by many disabled, chronically ill, autistic and ADHD people to describe limited energy. It is a way to be understood and to pace kindly, not a productivity tool, and this counter is not a measure of anything medical. Her original essay is on butyoudontlooksick.com.
Worksheets that pair with this tool
Behavioral Activation Worksheet
The core activity-and-mood log and a seven-day planner grid, plus a guide to using them in session.
Self-Care Assessment Worksheet
Sixteen statements rated 1 to 5 across five areas, and a tips sheet with daily, weekly and monthly routine boxes.
Anger Coping Skills
Eight steps over two pages, from naming triggers and body signs to 4-4-4 breathing and a written coping plan.Sources & credibility
- Method
- Spoon theory, with energy accounting and pacing
- Developed by
- Spoon theory: Christine Miserandino (2003). Energy accounting: Maja Toudal, developed further with Tony Attwood
- Approach
- Community-developed self-advocacy concepts from the chronic illness, disability and autistic communities; occupational therapy pacing
- Evidence
- Practice-based (limited trials)Spoon theory is a metaphor, not a treatment: Christine Miserandino wrote it to help a friend understand life with lupus, and it is now widely used by chronically ill, disabled and neurodivergent people to explain limited energy. Pacing is a standard part of fatigue management. Neither the metaphor nor this counter has been tested as a treatment. Independent tool; not affiliated with or endorsed by Christine Miserandino or But You Don't Look Sick.
References
- Miserandino, C. (2003). The Spoon Theory. But You Don't Look Sick. Source
- Toudal M. & Attwood T. (2024). Energy Accounting: Stress Management and Mental Health Monitoring for Autism and Related Conditions. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2021). Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: Diagnosis and management (NICE guideline NG206). Source
How it was made
Built by the Mentalyc team from the original method and the published sources listed here. Nothing you enter is stored.
Questions people ask
Questions people askWhat is the spoon theory in simple terms?
Spoon theory, written by Christine Miserandino, uses spoons as units of energy: people with chronic illness start each day with a limited number, and every task costs some. It helps explain why energy has to be planned.
What is ADHD spoon theory?
Many people with ADHD or autism use spoon theory to describe how tasks like focusing, socializing or switching tasks use up limited energy. The idea is the same: budget spoons and plan rest.
Is spoon theory legit?
Spoon theory is a metaphor, not a scientific model, but it is widely used by patients and clinicians because it makes limited energy easy to explain and plan around.
How do therapists use spoon theory with clients?
It gives clients with chronic illness, fatigue or burnout a simple way to explain limited energy and plan a day: count today's spoons, price each task and protect some for rest. Christine Miserandino coined it as a personal metaphor, so it is a communication tool, not a tested treatment.
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