12 Quick Tips for Planning Your Day with Chronic Pain

Northern Pain Centre is committed to giving patient’s practical steps for managing many of the challenges they face as a result of their pain.  Welcome to our 12 Quick Tips Series.

 

 

Here are our 12 quick tips for planning your day when living with chronic pain:

  1. Learn from yesterday – what went well, what didn’t.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results (learn more about this here)
  2. Keep it simple – don’t pack too many things into your day.  Following through on the things you set for yourself build confidence and self-belief (learn more about the importance of keeping your promises to yourself here)
  3. Write a list and tick it off as you go.  This helps you keep motivated and feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day (learn more about checklists and motivation here)
  4. Remember your goals and the daily steps that help you achieve them.  It is the sum of daily efforts that leads to achieving longterm goals (learn more about daily steps to achieving goals here)
  5. Turn your day into windows of activity, rest, self-care and enjoyable moments.  Stick to these timeframes (learn more about pacing activity and rest here)
  6. Remember your passions and the things you love, like your hobbies (learn more about finding and using your strengths here)
  7. Change position and activity regularly to avoid additional pain (learn more about microbreaking here)
  8. Take short, frequent breaks before a flare in pain starts (learn more about taking breaks here)
  9. Eat a well-balanced diet.  Remember you are what you eat (learn more about nutrition here)
  10. Break big tasks up into smaller daily ones.  This helps to avoid flares in pain from overdoing things (learn more about pacing here)
  11. Don’t give up on challenging days or when things don’t go as planned.  Treat them as learning opportunities for the future (learn more about resilience here)
  12. Seek help – from your healthcare team for goal setting, planning and pacing, and your loved ones for assistance with tasks.

 

Free Resources

  • Download your free Northern Pain Centre goal-setting worksheet here
  • Download your free Northern Pain Centre pacing plan worksheet here
  • Download your free Northern Pain Centre planning your day worksheet here

 

Practical Steps for Planning your Day

 

Read More Quick Tips

 

Images courtesy of Unsplash
Written by Aimee Carter