Rest. Reduce.
Pace. Expand.
You don’t always need to push forward. Sometimes the useful next step is recovery. Sometimes it is lowering the load. Sometimes it is finding a sustainable pace. And sometimes there is enough stability to gently explore what may be possible.
Rest
Let the system settle.Protect recovery when capacity is low, symptoms are high or your system has had too much.
Go to Rest ↓Reduce
Lower unnecessary load.Look at what is using capacity and what can be removed, simplified, changed or supported.
Go to Reduce ↓Pace
Make life more sustainable.Match activity and demands to the capacity that is actually available.
Go to Pace ↓Expand
Explore what may be possible.When there is enough stability, gently explore participation, skills, independence or meaningful activity.
Go to Expand ↓It isn’t a staircase.
Rest, Reduce, Pace and Expand are not four stages you have to complete. They are different responses that may be useful at different times.
You may move forwards, backwards or between them. Changes in illness, symptoms, stress, sensory load, sleep, responsibilities or circumstances may change what is useful.
The aim is not always to do more. The aim is to respond more appropriately to the capacity and circumstances that exist now.
Give recovery some room.
Rest is not only sleep. It can also mean reducing how much your body, brain and nervous system are being asked to process.
- Sleep and physical rest
- Quiet and sensory rest
- Cognitive rest
- Recovery after exertion
- Comfort and positioning
- Food and fluids
- Time without demands
- Co-regulation or safe connection
Lower the load.
Sometimes the environment, expectations, responsibilities or number of demands need to change.
- Reduce sensory input
- Simplify tasks
- Reduce decisions
- Reduce unnecessary commitments
- Change the environment
- Use equipment or practical supports
- Ask someone else to take something over
- Reduce conflict during overload
- Adjust expectations to current capacity
Work with the capacity you have.
Everything your system has to process can contribute to load. A sustainable day considers the whole picture.
- Plan around current capacity
- Break tasks into smaller pieces
- Build in recovery time
- Leave buffers around demanding activities
- Notice delayed effects
- Alternate different kinds of demand where useful
- Adjust plans when capacity changes
- Avoid repeatedly borrowing from tomorrow
What is using capacity?
Physical exertion is only one part of the picture. ALPIMS pacing looks at the different kinds of load that may be drawing from the capacity available.
What can help me do this?
Sometimes knowing what would help is not enough. You may need professional care, practical assistance, family support, accommodations, equipment or changes to the environment to make Rest, Reduce, Pace or Expand possible.
Professional Care
Assessment, diagnosis, treatment, allied health, therapy, management plans and preparing for appointments.
Explore Professional Care →Family & Support
Helping without taking over, communication, shared responsibility, boundaries, relationship repair and support-person capacity.
COMING SOONNDIS & Alternatives
NDIS, support workers, community services, private assistance, funding alternatives and other ways of getting practical help.
COMING SOONEnvironment & Accommodations
Change surroundings, expectations or access so everyday life places fewer unnecessary demands on capacity.
Explore Environment →Devices & Equipment
Tools and equipment that may conserve effort, improve access, reduce load or support independence.
Explore Devices →Practical Tools
Check-ins, planners, downloads and everyday tools that can make the next step easier to carry out.
Find Practical Tools →Support can help at every point in the cycle.
Family, professional care, disability support, accommodations, equipment and environmental changes are not separate from the Care Cycle. They can make it possible to rest when rest is needed, reduce unnecessary demands, pace more sustainably and participate more when capacity allows.
What might I need right now?
You don’t have to choose perfectly. Start with the question that sounds closest to what is happening.
Am I depleted, unwell, overloaded or still recovering from too much?
Is something making my current load unnecessarily high?
Am I doing reasonable things, but more than my current capacity can sustainably manage?
Am I reasonably stable and interested in gently exploring what else may be possible?
More from ALPIMS
These resources are here when they are useful. You do not need to work through all of them.