Tip #324 Keeping a Journal Part D: A semblance of Order

Hello again,

Okay, so my longwinded discussions about keeping a journal are finally over (almost :)  This is just one more entry to address what may be helpful when you are setting up your own journal for medical record keeping (and, as I said before, for a general sense of sanity), So here goes - after 8 journals in this bout of illness, this is what I find helpful to include:


The Journal itself:
     I suggest using a spiral journal with perforated removable pages (I get mine at staples for about $10),   and separate the sections that you'd like to have with sticky page tabs. Spiral journals are easier to use       if you are writing while in bed, and thick enough that if you are working with only one hand, it won't
be hard to hold open.
     How many pages per category? I would use 5 pages or so for categories that I don't use often, and 10 pages for each of the other categories.

Categories 

1. I find it helpful to have a category for each discipline (for each category of team members). So, if you have an occupational therapist, a dietician, family doctor, surgeon, pharmacist community nurse, physiotherapist, specialist, case manager or other. Again, one section (of 5-10 pages for each). I jot down all the outcomes so that I can report on that info to the other members of the team.
2. The last 10 pages are my address book. So, all the medical phone numbers and faxes go here, along with the family members you might need to contact in a hurry. You'll appreciate not having to dig for numbers. When you are done that journal, photocopy those pages, and tape them into the new journal (or put them in your smart phone etc. if you are technically inclined).
3. I suggest a small section for shopping. When you can't get out on your own much and are dependant on others getting you the things you need when they are available rather than when you are available, it's easy to forget what you need. And, it is also easy to remember what you are missing once your helper returns without the items you need! :)
4. A section for research is great. Here I put questions I have that I can solve by looking things up, and questions that I would like to ask various team members.  I put the answers here too, as usually the research affects more than just one discipline, and thus is easier to find here rather than in the discipline sections.
5. The personal section is very important too. It's easy to forget messages, appointment times, grocery reminders, etc. unless they are written down somewhere. Scrap pieces of paper are easy to lose in the covers of the bed you are in (providing you could find a piece of scrap paper to write it on in the first place!), This is also a good place to write your goals. Goals for recovery, for relationship, and for personal achievement are still important and worth working towards. 
6. The last section I recommend is for lemons and cherries. What? Yep, that's what I said.  A lemon is the worst thing that happened to you in the day, and a cherry is the best. You don't have to be extravagant in your descriptions of such events, however, I think it is important to write these periodically, and to take the time later to read them. They are a good way of getting things out during stressful periods of life (like illness/caregiving), and a good way of celebrating what you are actually accomplishing as well. Even if only sitting up for 10 minutes is accomplished, take that victory. Write it down. When you come back to it a month or a year later, you will be so proud of what you managed to do back then, but more importantly, you will see how far you've come. Including the cherry part of this exercise can also allow you, when looking back, to appreciate that no matter how hard things were - there was always some good happening in your life too. I think that happiness is a choice, and doing exercises like lemons and cherries helps me to be able to choose that happiness.

Well, I think that's it for now. Happy journaling!