A Weekly Planner For the Rest Of Us

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I have a problem with most planners and calendars.  Planners are generally created with 'normal' people in mind; those whose days and weeks are filled with activities and numerous things to keep track of related to a busy life. 

They're not created with the realities of chronic illness in mind.  For example, there is seldom enough room for the notes that substitute for an astute memory when my fibro fog rolls around.  And my body does it's own good job of keeping track of it's aches and pains.  Realistically, as my art journal page below attempts to show, there are too many of them to write down anyway, so I don't need all that unused space on a typical planner page.  And looking at all that empty space would get a bit depressing too.

Fibromyalgia and Arthritis Pain - Oh my!

With all of that in mind, I've created a weekly planner for the rest of us!

In my planner, I've allowed space for four major or daily tasks.  I chose four because it's seldom that I can complete more than that on any given day.

There is a separate space for miscellaneous 'To Do's', and important for me, a place where I can note the things that need to be delegated.  Delegating is a must and having a place to note these tasks is essential.

Then, too, there is a small area in which to note appointments.

There's a special space for the Communication Queen in all of us, where we can note phone numbers, emails we need to send, make notes about our social networking sites or to jot down a url.

A Weekly Planner For the Rest Of Us

 
A larger area in which to note things related to self-care - and those can be anything from taking a nap or a short walk, to giving yourself a manicure, to making time for hobbies or art.
 
Since nutrition is always a 'hot topic' for me and I tend to forget to eat, and because good nutrition is essential to keeping my pain levels manageable, there's also space to note meals. 

Last, but far from least important, there is a decent amount of space for notes.

You'll find the days of the week and a place to write the date at the top of the planner, and underneath these, there is room to check off your top four tasks to show that you've completed them each day as well as space to mark off when you've taken your medications for the day.  There are additional spaces that you can personalize for other things that you might wish to keep track of on a daily basis.

If you think that the planner would work for you as well, I'd be happy to email you a copy for your personal use.  If you know of others who might appreciate it, please feel free to send them here.

To get a free copy (minus the watermarks!), simply leave a comment with your email - or, if you prefer not to have your email addie published here,  follow your comment up with an email to CreativeArtitude@hotmail.com, putting 'Weekly Planner' in the subject line. 

While I'll be providing the copies free of charge, I still ask that you honor my request above (it's the only way I have of tracking whether or not it's useful to others!) and respect my copyright by not distributing or sharing the non-watermarked copy without my permission.  Feel free to Pin or post the watermarked copy or share the link to this post.

Keeping A Food Journal

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I've been keeping a food journal for two weeks, which I've just turned in to my doctor, and my doctor visit was chock full of good news!  I am doing so well that I won't need medication to manage my cholesterol and blood sugar!  And, here's the shocker - I actually lost 7 pounds in two weeks!

I managed to follow her directions to eat 6 times a day.  Yes, six times a day - it's not a typo!  It was, without a doubt, the hardest part of the changes I've made.  I'm an old pro at dieting - usually what's termed 'starvation' dieting.  I'm also fantastically talented at skipping meals, sometimes for a day or more.  Eating three meals and three snacks a day made me feel, in the beginning, a bit like a cow standing at a feeding trough!

Photo via www.illumination.missouri.edu

I did miss a couple of breakfasts and a few snacks, but there are bound to be challenges to forming any new habits!  I splurged and had light cheesecake and even a handful of potato chips, but I'm told that it's okay to treat myself occasionally.

It's also going to be challenging to continue this on a food stamp budget, but not impossible.  This past month, I managed to have fresh fruits and vegetables through all but the last 2 days.  It took a lot of research, a lot of planning AND changing the way I shop and do things in the kitchen and I'll continue to 'tweak' things as I learn.

I've still been able to eat Italian and Mexican food. I can still have my occasional dessert. I AM learning which foods are a better value carbohydrate-wise and complex carbs tend to be found in healthier foods. I am NOT obsessively counting calories, just simply learning to make wiser choices for my body.
The changes nutritionally involve learning about, and trying to eat following this chart

Glycemic Index Food Pyramid  www.lowgidiet.net.au

And

• cutting down on white foods - white rice, white flour, white potatoes, sugar.  Notice I didn't say cutting them out - but cutting them down!
• Using less of those yummy, calorie dense dairy foods - butter, sour cream, cheese - and using them more wisely
• Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables
• Balancing complex carbs with proteins
• Using less oil - and when I do, using olive oil or cooking spray
• Using Stevia rather than sugar substitutes (which are full of dangerous chemicals!)
• Finding ways to add more legumes to recipes 

Here's a sample, taken directly from my food journal:

 

I'll be adding more sample menus, recipes, tips, etc in future posts so I hope that you'll follow along.  If you'd like to have the sample menu as a pdf file, let me know!