Tangibly Planning & Tracking

I have been advised over these not-well years to keep a symptom diary, but have never managed to do it. I found it depressing. But I think I've found a system that will work for me: Tangible Plans™ {Starter Kit & Workshop}.

The Starter Kit & Workshop comes with the following: 
*Letter Size and Junque Journal* Size Templates
*Over 500 pre-made pieces divided into Sector folders
*Attatchers and Word Art scaled perfect size for this project
*All Sectors to build your own Templates if desired
*1 Tutorial on how to build your pages and 1 tutorial with binding ideas

I use Tangie's work a lot in my art journal, and it occurred to me that making a symptom diary visually interesting might help me stick with it. I've been playing with this for a couple of weeks now, and so far I am sticking with it. 

[More under the cut.]

This kit is designed to work both digitally and printed. It comes in two sizes, but of course you can adjust the sizes as you please digitally. I've used Circa notebooks for many years, and decided to continue using the junior (5 1/2 x 8 1/2) size Circa for this project, which also serves as my daily journal. It took me awhile to figure out how to print these in just the size I want on 8 1/2 x 11 paper:

 

Lots of cool options; each page can be completely distinctive. 

But, I've been experiencing some worse-than-usual cognitive difficulties lately, and need more structure than this. I decided to try rating my symptoms each day, but framed in a positive way. I also identified activities that make me feel better, and simple self-care activities that I've been having a hard time with, and track those as well:

 

 

I plundered my digital images stash for things that represent, for me, the things I want to track. This option adds really unlimited possibilities for these pages. 

I print on just one side of the page, and use the other side for journaling, doodles, whatever. I also make room on each page for some journaling.

I print the pages a few at a time, punch for Circa, and keep them at the back of my notebook to pull up each morning. This is definitely a project-in-progress; I've been making changes along the way as I discover what does and does not work for me.

Tangible Plans are designed for planning ahead, but work equally well for keeping track of feelings, symptoms, and activities as they happen. This is useful for someone like me, who needs some help not only to remember what's coming up, but also what I've just done. 

And – I am now printing my art journal pages and adding them to my regular journal. I'm liking this very much, having ... tangible ... art journal pages:

[Click the image to see credits & larger sizes at flickr.]