Making Every Spoon Count
Mastering Autistic Energy Accounting
Alan Walton
AutCon 2026About Alan
AuDHD self-diagnosed two years ago at age 38
18 years at tech companies
18 months recovering from autistic burnout
20+ years building measurement systems
What we're going to talk about
Level 1
Basic Spoon Counting
Enough, Not Enough
Level 2
Stoplight Measurement
Green, Yellow, Red
Level 3
Resource Bars
Health, Mana, Stamina
Plus: Notion + Google Sheets quick-starts at the end.
Level 1: Basic Spoon Counting
Do I have enough spoons?
Level 2: Stoplight Measurement
Relative anchors, moving targets
⇒ when you are doing better than normal
⇒ ~5 days per month
⇒ when you are doing okay
⇒ ~20 days per month
⇒ when you are doing worse than normal
⇒ ~5 days per month
Level 3: Resource Bars
Absolute anchors, measured results
⇒ stress capacity
⇒ tolerance for allostatic load
⇒ executive function
⇒ energy and neurotransmitter supplies in your brain
⇒ physical energy
⇒ energy supplies in your body
What we talked about
Level 1
Basic Spoon Counting
Enough, Not Enough
Level 2
Stoplight Measurement
Green, Yellow, Red
Level 3
Resource Bars
Health, Mana, Stamina
Plus: Notion + Google Sheets quick-starts at the end.
What's next
Templates at audhdalan.com
Notion + Google Sheets — starter scaffolds at all three levels
Stay in Touch
audhdalan.com