How to Record Your Output
Instead of choosing between good and bad, you record how much right now. You can record ambiguous moments just as they are.
The reason the medication diary doesn’t split status into just two categories is simple: the wide stretch between ON and OFF is the information a clinic visit needs most.
Whether you’re still rising, whether you’ve risen but not as high as usual, or whether you’re declining — splitting into just two categories crams all three into one. But what else needs to be looked at together differs across these three.
So here we use measuring instead of choosing. All you need to record is how high, within yourself, right now is. It isn’t a value compared against other people, and it doesn’t need to be precise. Recording with the same yardstick over several days is worth far more than getting it exactly right once.
Step by step
- Think about how your body is doing right now Put your best-moving day at the top and your hardest time at the bottom, and think about where right now falls in between.
- If you're unsure, just put it in the middle Being unsure is information too. Don't force it toward one side or the other.
- Pick one reference movement For example, pick one everyday movement, like walking to the kitchen, and it becomes easier to compare day to day.
- Record both your good times and your hard times If you only record the good times, the curve only shows its upper half.
Worth knowing
Frequently asked questions
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My standard for choosing a number seems to shift every time.
That's common. Picking one reference movement makes it much steadier. If you reframe it as how that movement was today, you'll end up using the same yardstick every day.
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What do I do when it's ambiguous whether it's good or bad?
Just record it in the middle, ambiguous as it is. That ambiguous stretch is actually the part with the most to talk about at a clinic visit.
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What about while I'm asleep?
You don't need to record it. The record from your waking hours is enough to show the shape of the day.