Section by Section - Health & Fitness

I added a Health & Fitness section into my personal planner back in August.  I used it faithfully until I hit Total Planner Chaos.  Now I am back to using it again, and it really does help me keep on top of things (I back filled all the information I skipped entering during my hiatus).  Since November is American Diabetes Month, I am going to show you specifically how I use my planner to manage my diabetes.  I know this won't apply to most of my readers, but I think the same process can be used to track other conditions or health information.  So here we go...

Health & Fitness Section

Medical List - This is a dated list of each medical appointment I have and the purpose of the appointment, or anything significant related to Medical (such as when I started taking a new medication)  This serves two purposes, first, it helps me at tax time to calculate my medical mileage and to make sure I have the necessary receipts.  Second, it is very helpful when talking to medical staff to quickly be able to give them information they need, such as last flu shot, or when I was diagnosed with something or started taking a medication.  This list gets archived into my medical binder at the end of each year.  I am also going to start capturing this information in Evernote so I can have access to previous years information on the go.

Medication List - I use a Filofax Cotton Cream To Do list Sheet, since it has double spacing.  For each medication I track the pharmacy, prescription number, medication name, dose, and when the prescription expires.  Sometimes I also include how many refills I have left.  I only list out medications that I take on a regular basis.

Vitamins List - I use a Filofax Cotton Cream To Do list sheet for this as well. I list the name and dose of any over-the-counter vitamins I take on a regular basis.

Medical Notes - I use Filofax white ruled note paper because it is thin (so I can keep a lot of it in my binder) and cheaper than cotton cream or colored paper.  This is just a running notebook of medical information.  If go to a doctor visit, I keep notes at the appointment, or I enter notes as soon after as I can.  I put the title (usually the doctor/company name), date, day of the week.  I also track any medically related phone calls and who I spoke to.  The notes mainly consist of what we talked about, any changes to my care, any procedures they did, and any specific medical condition or diagnosis information they give me.  Since it is a running notebook, my current page is marked with a custom fly-leaf I made with slotted holes so I can move it when needed without opening the rings.  It has a side tab so I can quickly get to the right page.  I also have a Leuchtturm pen loop attached to the fly leaf.  These pages get archived to my medical binder.

Diabetes , Fitness, and General Health Tracking (My Logbook) - I use bright quadrille paper from KiddyQualia. The paper is so bright and fun, and is thick enough to handle darker ink gel pens.  I have one page per day and track blood sugar readings, if the reading is 'off' then I highlight it and try to figure out why and write notes about that.  I include how I am feeling (stressed?  Headache?), nutrition information that may affect my diabetes, If I changed settings on my insulin pump (like suspending or temporary basal rate).  This page is also where I track exercise (since it has a large impact on my blood sugars), water and Diet Pepsi intake (I'm trying to quit this habit), and what day of the Infusion Set and Glucose Sensor I am on.  These pages get archived to my medical binder.

I have been tracking weight and my measurements and detailed nutrition information in a bound notebook, but I may end up moving them to this section as well.  Another idea is to record workout sessions, specific sets and reps, weights, etc.

Reports - This is specifically related to diabetes.  I upload all of my blood sugar and sensor readings online so that my doctors can access it.  I run reports, and then I shrink them to fit into Filofax Personal paper.  I print them out weekly (on Filofax Cotton Cream Paper) and then analyze the reports and write notes.  This helps me to spot patterns for when blood sugar readings are off.  I write notes on the back of the report and come up with ideas of what I want to focus on for the next week.  The reports are tiny but I can still read everything.  This is one of the main reasons I'm considering moving up to A5.

I am very pleased with how this section has kept me focused on my health, and has come in handy for taking with me to doctor appointments!

Other Sections (related to Health and Fitness)

Emergency Information Sheet - Name, contact info, medical conditions, emergency contacts, PCP, Allergies, Blood Type

Weekly Calendar - (Filofax Week Per Page + Notes)

I track days I have to do a set change or sensor change.  Since this isn't on set days of the week, it is hard to keep track.  So I use a Martha Stewart Dew Drop to indicate the next time I need to do a set change, and another one for sensor changes.  Once I have done the change, I put a little MarkIt Dot next to the date (Orange = Set Change, Green = Sensor Change), and  move the dew drop.

I also put my Fitness goals on the Notes page and tick off the boxes as I complete them.  If I miss them, I circle the box in red.  I also put MarkIt Dots next to the dates/times (Purple = Cardio, Blue = Strength Training)

I highlight any medical related appointments in pink and put Pd. next to them if I have paid my copay.

I write down when the next order of my medications need to be refilled

Info Section (I Use Day Runner A-Z tabs).  This holds doctor, pharmacy, and insurance company contact information, as well as my online account information for each of these places (user name and passwords are coded, not actual)

Whew, that was a long post. Thanks for reading!

~Tonya

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Section by Section - Tackling the To Do List

I thought it would be fun to take a look at my planner(s) section by section.  Since I was asked (quite a while ago - sorry) to do a post on how I manage my to do list, I thought I would start with my to do list section first.

I actually manage my to do lists differently for work versus personal.  This is because I have a lot more tasks for work than I do for personal, and it requires a lot more structure.  So this post will focus on work task management.

I have a section in my planner specifically for my to do list. I use the JEN action planner notebook pages and cut and punch to fit the A5 planner.  I like these pages specifically because each page is numbered, as well as each item on the list.  So if I want to refer to a task, I can do it by number (e.g. Page 4, line 3 I use Page:Line naming convention on the list). It also has a column next to the task where I can put a date completed.  I can quickly glance at a page and know which items are outstanding.

When I process meeting notes, any action items get transferred to my to do list. If I'm on a call, any action item goes on the to do list.  If I get an email, I move it to my @action folder in Outlook and add the task to my to do list.  Of course, if there is something I can take care of right away, I do it instead of writing it down.  The to do list is for tasks that I can't get to or complete immediately.

I don't usually schedule specific to do's for a specific time, I just block out chunks of time on my calendar to work on my to do list.  Then I scan through my list, pick the task that I need to work on, and start working.  When the task is complete, I put a checkmark through the number and write the complete date next to the task.

Here's a sample page and some of the conventions I use:

If I need to delegate a task, I circle the initial(s) of the person it has been delegated to.  Once the task is completed, I check off the number and write in the date completed.  If the task has a specific tracking number associated with it. I write down the number and highlight it with a Frixion highlighter.  Once the item is complete, I erase the highlight.  This makes it easy to see which ones are outstanding.

If I need to delete a task, I X out the number and draw a link through the column where I normally put the date.

If I need to postpone the task or move it to my 'someday/maybe' list, I draw an arrow through the whole number and column where I normally put the date.

Once a page of tasks is complete, I put the date I finished the page under the start date and draw a line through the page.  Usually I paperclip the completed pages together, and the paperclip also acts as a bookmark to mark my spot in the to do section.

Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions or want more info on my process.

~Tonya