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Happy Monday, Reader and welcome to the Monday Minute!

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I learned a concept in grad school called "The Spoon Theory" from a patient I treated who had multiple sclerosis (MS). You can read more about The Spoon Theory here (please do).

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In short, the concept was coined by writer Christine Miserandino, who was living with a chronic illness. She used "spoons" to depict her finite amount of energy each day to live her life and complete the necessary daily tasks from eating and getting dressed to socializing to working out.

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To quote her: "In the theory, each spoon represents a finite unit of energy. Healthy people may have an unlimited supply of spoons, but people with chronic illnesses have to ration them just to get through the day. I start each day with 12 spoons, but depending on how I feel, the spoons are used differently. On a high-pain day, a relatively simple task of showering or getting ready for the day can take four spoons. On a low-pain day, that same task might take just one spoon. I have to balance what I need to do every day with how much energy I have. And when the spoons are all used up, there's no replenishing them."

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This theory was her method for allocating her energy and resources accordingly and to give a visual representation of that energy, which is incredibly helpful for those who were close to her.

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I've taught this theory to so many of my patients, those with chronic illness, those who had a concussion, those who were post-op, and the exhausted caregivers I worked with because I have found that it's an extremely effective way to visually represent how a person is feeling day-to-day and how much, or how little, they have to give and what their capacity is as a whole.

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And over the last week, I've talked about The Spoon Theory on my coaching calls as a way to help some of my clients prioritize their tasks and create tangible to-do lists as it relates to SEO, website edits, and more. By giving them a to-do list, they can save their spoons for execution of tasks, rather than deciding "wtf do I do"?

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So while The Spoon Theory was originally designed to describe the lived experience of those managing chronic illnesses, it also provides an incredibly useful framework for work, life, and decision-making, especially regarding when to outsource tasks, tackle them yourself, or adjust your approach to getting things done.

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Maybe it's useful to you, maybe it's not. But, now you know what it is.

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And a shameless plug: my expertise lies in making outsourcing and delegating feel like a hell yes. So, if you're ever looking for help with automating, streamlining tasks, or building your tech and deliverables suite for launches, email marketing, SEO, websites, pdf development, and more... Let's chat. I know that one of the hardest things is finding someone to outsource to that you can trust and searching for someone feels like it takes 50,000 spoons. I get it and I've got you.

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Alrighty, Reader, that's all I've got for you this week.

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Catch you next Monday,

Lex

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Check out my website: www.lexlancaster.com​

Listen to my podcast "Up In My Business"​
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