The short version
- A printable weekly diary to rate your energy in the morning, afternoon and evening, alongside your sleep, activity and rest.
- Keeping a fatigue diary helps you spot patterns and plan demanding tasks for when you have most energy.1
- Free to download and print. One landscape A4 page.
How to use it
- Three times a day, rate your energy from 0 (exhausted) to 10 (full of energy).
- Note your sleep, what activity you did and when you rested.
- Add treatment days and anything else that might affect your energy.
- After a week or two, look for patterns. When do you have most energy? What helps or makes it worse?
Using what you learn
- Plan important tasks for your best times of day.1
- Balance activity and rest, rather than doing a lot on good days and crashing afterwards. See energy pacing.
- Keep moving: gentle, regular activity is one of the best ways to reduce fatigue.1, 2
- Show your team, especially if fatigue isn’t improving. They can check for causes such as anaemia or thyroid problems.1
Related pages
Everyone’s treatment is different, so talk to your cancer team about what is right for you.
References
- Macmillan Cancer Support. Tiredness (fatigue) and cancer. www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/tiredness
- Cramp F, Byron-Daniel J. Exercise for the management of cancer-related fatigue in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2012;(11):CD006145. doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006145.pub3