The Crash After Productivity: Managing Chronic Pain Come Downs
Hey Bestie!
Have you ever worked extremely had to accomplish a task, then as soon as you are successful, you start feeling - off?
No one talks enough about the after. The part where you finally push through, get a big project done, and then your body makes you pay for it. As a Fibromyalgia Girly its not just the physical — the mental crash hits just as hard. The guilt, the fog, the “why can’t I keep this up every day?” cycle.
Here’s what I’ve learned about handling those come downs so I don’t burn out completely:
1. Plan recovery into the work itself.
If I know I’m pushing through to finish something, I treat the recovery time as part of the project — not an afterthought. Example: if I have a deadline on Friday, I don’t schedule anything big for Saturday. That day is for ice packs, stretching, and quiet tasks.
2. Build “gentle tasks” for low-capacity days.
The comedown days can feel wasted if you’re stuck in bed, but I keep a list of light things I can still do: answering emails with saved templates, reading industry blogs, organizing files from my phone. It gives me a sense of progress without burning energy I don’t have.
3. Use your highs wisely.
I used to ride energy spikes like I was invincible — cleaning the house, knocking out five client tasks, overcommitting. Now, I choose one or two priorities during the “good window” and save the rest. Protecting that energy stretch means the crash isn’t as brutal.
4. Separate identity from output.
This is the mental side. A crash can feel like failure, like I wasted my momentum. But the truth is: the recovery is part of the process. Productivity with chronic pain is not linear — it’s waves. Learning to respect the down-cycle as much as the up has saved me from spiraling.
Real-life example: Last week I pushed hard to prep a client system build. I got it done in two days instead of four, but the flare hit right after — migraine, muscle pain, brain fog. Old me would’ve spiraled in guilt. Instead, I switched to recovery mode: voice notes instead of typing, batch naps between calls, and pre-scheduled posts to cover my bases. By midweek, I was back up without derailing the rest of my month.
The truth is, recovery isn’t optional when you live with chronic pain — it’s maintenance. Build it into your workflow the same way you build in deadlines, and you’ll avoid total collapse.
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Stay Focused,
LuLu 🩷
A flexible, mood-based approach to getting things done — without burning out.
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