Managing Energy Levels in Academia: Expanding the Conversation on Long COVID Pacing Technologies

This report shares the experiences of two researchers who live with Long COVID (LC). LC is a chronic condition where COVID-19 symptoms linger for over 3 months. Like many other chronic illnesses and post-infectious syndromes, LC limits a person’s energy and managing the condition often focuses on “pacing”, i.e. regularly reducing activity levels to avoid post-exertion malaises. Pacing is difficult to implement, and so is the general recognition and management of LC symptoms. We report our experience with tools to help manage energy levels in an academic work context. We reflect on the recent work on pacing technologies and contribute our perspectives to advance HCI’s understanding of Long COVID and other complex, fluctuating chronic illnesses. As disabled scholars, we advocate for technology that supports pacing, an emerging topic in HCI and accessibility spaces.