People with chronic pain often do too much when they’re having good days and not enough when they’re having bad days.

Chronic pain can cause us to overprotect ourselves. Our natural reaction to pain is to avoid activities that worsen our discomfort or increase our perceived risk of further damage. When we become overly fearful and stop doing things in anticipation of pain, we can make things worse.

Inactivity reduces our functional ability and decreases our strength and stamina. It also prevents us from getting involved in the social, leisure, and work activities we enjoy.
 
Pacing/moderation has become a common tool for people living with chronic pain to help provide them with balance. It includes setting time limits, slowing down (start low, go slow), breaking up tasks, and taking frequent short breaks.
 
But be careful not to let pacing become an excuse for not being active or avoiding pain. Doing so can add more focus to the pain, worsen symptoms, and reduce physical stamina.

Pacing should instead be used to gradually increase what we can do, despite the pain. Stay consistent with your activity. 
 
The difference is in the goal and execution. Keep moving forward.
 
Learn more and do more

• Activity pacing: moving beyond taking breaks and slowing down
• The role of avoidance, pacing, and other activity patterns in chronic pain
• Activity Pacing
• Pacing and Goal Setting
• Tools for recovery – Boom or bust vs pacing
• Pacing For Pain
• Chronic pain self-management: Pacing and goal setting
• Goal Setting for Pain Rehabilitation​
• Pacing – how to manage your pain and stay active
• What Goals Have You Set Recently? 
• Effect of Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain
• Activity Pacing is Associated With Better and Worse Symptoms for Patients With Long-term Conditions​

Chronic pain can make it easy to feel overwhelmed, reduce our activity levels, and become isolated.  Goals help restore a sense of order, build self-efficacy and sense of control, improve mood, and provide direction by helping with planning daily activities.
 
One of the tools we learned at the Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center was goal setting to help us plan our days and keep us on track. We set goals each day. They didn't have to be massive, but they had to be SMART - specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
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• Specific – What do you want to do?  What action will you take?
• Measurable – How will you track progress and know when you’ve reached the finish line.
• Achievable – Is it something you can do? Do you have the necessary skills and resources?
• Relevant – Why is it important to you?
• Time-bound – When do you want to accomplish it?

Some SMART goal examples:

• Increase my step count by end of week to 5,000 steps a day.
• Do deep breathing for three minutes three times each day for the next week.
• Read three articles about cognitive behavioral therapy by end of the week.
• Plan a social event to visit in-person with friends and family this week.
• Lose 4 to 8 pounds of weight in the next 30 days.
• Volunteer 10 hours a week at the community center for the next month.

 
Did you notice none of the goal examples included pain reduction?
Our focus should be on reducing stress, improving our quality of life and increasing functional ability and activity, not pain reduction. Focusing on pain reduction is an easy trap to fall into - leading to frustration and depression.  Just as the homepage of my website says - we can live well, despite the pain. 

Celebrate!
While it's natural to celebrate big goals, be sure to celebrate milestones along the way, as well as smaller victories. These celebrations keep us motivated along the way and help instill confidence.

Resource

• Goal Setting for Pain Rehabilitation​