Skip to content

Caregiver handout

Energy Conservation: The 4 Ps

When energy is limited, how you spend it matters as much as how much you have. Occupational therapists teach these strategies, often called the 4 Ps, so the energy you have goes to the things that matter most to you.

Prioritize

  • Decide what truly needs doing today, what can wait, and what someone else can do.
  • Spend your best energy hours on the activities that matter most to you, not just chores.

Plan

  • Spread heavy tasks across the week instead of stacking them in one day.
  • Gather everything you need before starting a task to avoid extra trips.
  • Alternate heavy and light activities, and schedule rest before you feel exhausted, not after.

Pace

  • Work at a steady, unhurried speed; rushing burns energy faster than the time it saves.
  • Take short rests before fatigue hits. Resting early is a strategy, not a failure.
  • Breathe steadily through tasks; exhale during the hard part of a movement, and never hold your breath.

Position

  • Sit for tasks when you can: showering, dressing, food prep, ironing.
  • Store frequently used items between waist and shoulder height to avoid bending and overhead reaching.
  • Use long-handled tools, wheeled carts, and sliding rather than lifting.

New or worsening shortness of breath, chest pain, or fatigue that is out of proportion to activity deserves a call to your care team; energy conservation manages fatigue, it does not treat its cause.

Therapist / contact: ______________________________ Date: ____________

Educational material from TheOTBench, reviewed with you by your therapist. It supplements, and never replaces, your care team's specific instructions. Source basis: American Occupational Therapy Association: consumer education on energy conservation and chronic condition management.