Your goal is to pace yourself by balancing your activity and rest so you can do what you need and want to do. Manage your energy levels throughout the day by planning and pacing your activities. 

By doing so, you can maintain a stable activity level and continue participating in what you enjoy. Remember to prepare yourself for the day ahead so that you have the energy you need to tackle all of your tasks.

Listening to your body's signals helps manage your health. Individuals who understand their patterns of fatigue, pain, or fluctuations in energy levels can plan activities effectively, allocating energy wisely. 

This increased awareness allows people with chronic illnesses to make informed decisions about their daily routines, helping them avoid triggers and adopt lifestyle modifications that can positively affect their well-being.

Your body is experiencing changes, but one thing that hasn’t changed is your need for exercise. Over time, regular exercise can have enormous health benefits in addition to helping you manage your scleroderma. Keeping yourself healthy provides a stronger foundation for managing scleroderma.

In addition to “standard” exercises, it is vital to add stretching exercises. Daily range-of-motion/stretching exercises for fingers and other joints must be started early in the course of the disease before motion becomes limited. 

Adequate rest is essential for managing common scleroderma symptoms, including pain, fatigue, sleep issues, and stress. Rest allows the body to repair, regenerate, and conserve energy. 

Consistent and quality rest is linked to improved mental health. It provides a crucial foundation for coping with the emotional toll that often accompanies chronic illnesses.

Recognizing the importance of rest is crucial in managing one's overall health, having a better quality of life, and being more resilient.

One of the most common concerns of people with scleroderma is that people close to them without scleroderma do not understand what they are going through. This can be terribly frustrating and a source of misunderstanding or conflict. 

Remember, a person without scleroderma may never fully understand what it is like to live with scleroderma. This perspective reflects the reality that scleroderma is a complex disease that is difficult to understand. It also reminds the person living with scleroderma that they cannot assume their family or friends will know how they feel.

Most people in our society would say they are too busy and tired, but you are different. Your disease symptoms really affect your day-to-day energy. Simplifying your life becomes even more critical when you have scleroderma because you tire more quickly and need to manage your energy. It is harder to "push through" the fatigue to get things done than it was before your diagnosis. 

To make the most of your available energy, reviewing all your activities and removing any unnecessary tasks is beneficial. By pruning these activities, you can focus on the most important tasks and do things you need to and enjoy doing.