Maybe it’s the accountant in me but what I’ve found helpful to stay motivated is tracking especially after Bone Marrow Transplant.
Right now I use a basic watch and app to track steps and sleep quality.
I also started to use Myfitnesspal app to track calories each day.
I also do a Saturday morning weigh in to check I’m maintaining weight.
I wonder if any others on the forum track progress to keep themselves motivated?
Hi @DuncanB.
What a great conversation to start. What you are doing sounds so positive!
I was an Assistant Head in a primary school until November last year and changed roles to work for the local authority in Special Educational needs.
After making the change, I made a conscious effort that my wellbeing was going to be a priority. I have spent years working evenings, weekends and holidays to stay on top of work. It wasn’t until I left the profession I loved after 28 years, that I realised what a toll it had taken.
I now set clear boundaries.
Since doing all of this:
I can’t wait to read what others do.
Thanks @DuncanB. It was so therapeutic writing down all of this down. Sometimes we don’t realise just how far we have come!
What a brilliant post @Nichola75
I think we can all relate to not being focused enough on Wellbeing when we are ingrained in a job.
I know when I worked in Accounting at a senior level I ended up doing lots a lot of long hours and trying to fix everything.
When I left my last role I set up my own business very much focused on helping others in their careers.
The training I did let me see a lot of skills and qualities I didn’t even really acknowledge.
This self awareness has really helped me through treatment.
The whole tracking thing for me is about seeing where I am now compared to where I was recovering from transplant.
I’m glad you found writing your post helpful 
Love this @DuncanB, I’m intrigued by how and what others do to chart our progress, and now I wonder if I was an accountant in a former life as I also seem to track much in my life haha!
I’ve used Myfitnesspal before and it really helped, especially with learning what calories different foods tend to have. More recently, despite not being much of a jewellery or tech type of person, I’ve used an Oura smart ring. It’s helped me get over my lifelong insomnia and now I have a bedtime routine for the first time! It really helps, doesn’t it @Nichola75, sticking to a bedtime and wakeup time, and it’s shown me I’m actually a morning person after all. News to me after being a total owl for decades! I love my sleep now.
Something else I do, which admittedly is more artsy, is keeping notes and photos of stuff that I’ve done or enjoyed, be it albums, films, concerts or day-to-day activities, and I save articles and books I’ve enjoyed reading. Then by the end of the year I compile a list to share with loved ones of my favourite things from the year prior. Over the years it’s sort of focused me on the ‘good’ stuff which somewhat outnumbers and offsets the not-so-good stuff!
Can I just say @Nichola75 how pleased I am to read of how therapeutic it was to share what you have, I love that you have more time for you now, and less stress from being assistant head. Wow what a lot of time that must have taken up, and how lovely to have that back now! Love your tech boundaries, I’m trying to get my other half to implement these too!!!
Love your response @Duncan
Bedtime routine is really important as you say.
I usually listen to some music. There’s even some songs that I seem to associate with getting ready for bed.
I try to get to bed around a similar time each night and not sleep in too late in the morning.
I’m definitely a morning person and like to do my exercise routine after my cuppa and porridge breakfast.
After that I get out for a walk. Sometimes another short walk in the afternoon.
Also later in the day for cooking and sometimes making soup.
I’ll never be on Masterchef but I do find cooking therapeutic 
So great @DuncanB, it feels like a necessity to get out in the fresh air for me too. I also cook in the afternoons if the recipe requires it, or over a couple of days to spare some energy—my bara brith recipe needs a good soak overnight!
I’m a big believer in nature therapy, even if we don’t go outside with that in mind or as our focus. A nice dose of nature-inspired awe does us good, I reckon! It’s such a privilege to have the time for it as other needs often tend to come first, especially around work, domestic and similar responsibilities. Now I see my outside time being as essential to tolerating Polycythaemia vera ('PV') as the medicines. Where I live there are doctors who prescribe outside time, imagine that on the NHS?!
Hi @Duncan I try and do batch cooking when I can.
Very lucky to have a good butcher although mainly poultry I cook with.
Fish van also comes up our street every Thursday. Smoked haddock for Kedgeree is something I do fairly frequently.
I agree about being outdoors. Love a walk on beach just listening to waves and looking out for sea glass and pottery which my wife collects.
My walking and steps is something I always mention in Haematology appointments. One of the Consultants I see a lot is in to her cycling so really gets the whole benefit of exercise
Oh that sounds lush! I’m mostly vegan now, but there’s so much great local fish that I’ll sometimes indulge when I get away from urbanity. I’m thinking of some cute old beach town fish restaurants around Bodega Bay where The Birds was filmed… Still tricky to find proper fish and chips though, I think because tilapia tends to be used. Your kedgeree sounds delicious, I love smoked fish. Lucky you to have fish brought to you, is that common in the Highlands?
What a great topic! Thank you all!
It’s so pertinent to me right now as my current situation is the pause and reflect, breaking the old bad workaholic stress head habits and ingraining some new ones until they are muscle memory, non-negotiable boundaries. There are some absolute gems in here that will work well for me so thank you 
In terms of tracking yes - I’ve been an Oura ring user for a year or so, I got it to observe my stress levels and to break my bad habits long before I was diagnosed- as I knew the way I was working/travelling/parenting was unsustainable- it gave me a little shift at the time, but the world works in mysterious ways and now it’s a fully intentional shift. I will not go back to being the bottom of my priority list.
Since starting treatment it’s been interesting- I add my chemo and dex days in and the patterns are so clear - it helps me realise that how I am feeling in that moment is explainable, I’m a data nerd too (30 years in Tech) so it all resonates.
Now to work out which of these new ideas to implement first! Thanks all xx
Are you in California @Duncan Oh for the sunshine 
Morning
It’s really interesting to hear how you’re managing things. It sounds like that “accountant” mindset is a real asset right now—having that bit of structure can be a huge help when everything feels a bit up in the air during treatment and investigations.
I can certainly relate to the comfort of the data. I know from my own experience, I used to be quite rigorous with it all. I tracked my water intake to the ml, did exactly 30 minutes of walking, and 30 minutes of yoga every single day. I had all the apps and the Apple Watch, but eventually, it all got a bit much.
I found that I was starting to punish myself if I missed a session, which isn’t what any of us need when we’re already dealing with so much. These days—especially now that I’m retired—I’ve moved towards a much more relaxed approach. I do things because I want to, not because the app tells me I have to.
Oddly enough, I’m more active than ever now and always on the go, but I enjoy it much more because the pressure is off. If I don’t get around to yoga one day, I just let it go. It’s been quite a relief to move from “monitoring” my life to just getting on with it!
For many of us seeing those steps or calories on paper (or an app) provides a sense of control when our health feels so unpredictable.
But being kind to yourself is importance too. I know, I did it. It’s easy to get caught in the trap of “failing” a daily goal. My husband always says “Remember that rest is just as productive as a walk, your body heals when it’s resting”
Having more time has actually made me busier! It’s lovely to be active, but important not to forget to enjoy the “nothing” time too. It’s a really interesting balance to strike.
Does anyone else find that tracking keeps them motivated during their treatment, investigations and recovery , or have you found it all a bit overwhelming like I did?
I LOVE A SPREADSHEET
Totally unrelated to staying motivated for me it soothes my brain (undiagnosed but pretty sure am autistic, adhd and ocd) I track everything, at the moment I’m losing weight so track my
Weight daily
Calories in (myfitnesspal)
Calories out (fit bit)
Water consumption (water tracker)
Steps (fit bit)
Zone minutes (fit bit)
Sleep (fit bit),
Also on the go since I had knee surgery I have tracked steps, zone minutes and sleep, then finishing times when I went back to work, end of this week I’ll have 9 months of data
3 months recovery at home
3 months office bound at work
3 months back on round (I’m a bin man), the first month after my op I did 107,918 steps the last week of work before my op I did
183,407
And one related to my Essential thrombocythemia ('ET') I track when I go to the my hospitals blood room, Date, Day, Ticket number, Room, Time there and time left and how long I was there
Yes I know fish is harder to source in USA @Duncan.
There are actually choices of fish vans here but the one I use goes around various streets in the village.
The guy who does it covers all of Sutherland and goes over to the West Coast one day too.
He told me he covers 1000 miles a week which I know is nothing in the States but our fish van guy doing a lot of single track roads.
Thanks so much @DuncanB for starting this post.
I have been so inspired by each and every one of the replies.
Basically I drink boiling water during the day and a hot chocolate before going to bed.
I eat a balanced meat or fish and 3-4 veg diet during the week plus a few treats at the weekend.
I try to take some fresh air exercise every day, with longer walks about 3-4 times a week. I brought myself ear pods for Christmas and my passion and therapy is music, anything from the 60’s onwards, heavy rock to romantics and my music or podcasts accompany me everywhere. We are very lucky to have a river and several big parks to walk around locally.
I am also a Pilates girl and I am about to start a weekly exercise, dance and meditation class.
I do manage my fatigue on a daily basis and sometimes have a nap in the afternoons. I do not usually do evenings, I am a mornings person and in a routine sleep wise.
When my husband was not well he had to weigh himself every day so I did the same and we have kept it going. I also have a very cheap watch which charts my steps and miles, calories, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen level and sleep pattern.
My therapy is also meeting up with good friends and really having a laugh. I am getting more choosy what I watch on TV and choosing programmes or box sets I really want to watch on ‘catch up’. I am also starting to set aside half an hour to actually read a book on my Kindle and not feeling as my father used to say lazy.
Look after yourselves everyone.
Good to read your post @Spangleystar
Breaking habits or changing habits always a challenge and I guess it all starts with awareness.
Sometimes it takes something major to make us stop, think and re-evaluate.
There’s definitely a balance to be struck @Jules
I’ve never really being obsessed about tracking. I do find it helpful to see that I’m getting enough calories in each especially on days when do a fair number of steps.
Rest and recovery is important too for sure.
Cancer diagnosis has definitely changed my walks. These days mainly on the flat or gentle gradients.
That’s amazing @Bearnasty
Doing a job like yours is physically demanding too.
Good thing is that spreadsheet and apps really help a lot.
Thanks for sharing
Love your response @Erica
I always start the day with a Clipper Green Tea.
Find it less harsh than some of the other brands.
I do Yoga Burn exercises using DVDs my wife purchased during COVID.
One of the sets of DVDs uses resistance bands.
The other set focuses on core.
Good thing is they are only about 15 minutes duration and I usually supplement with the Blood Cancer 10 Minute Cardio workout.
Sounds like you follow a really healthy diet too.
I too love listening to music and rarely have the TV.
The 80s is my era. I do however listen to a lot of folk artists. Some singers others all instrumental such as fiddle players.
Maybe a top 10 favourite songs or albums could be a fun topic for us
It’s so lovely reading all these posts!
Hi @DuncanB
Great question.
The former banker in me likes a number!
I track my weight, Wednesday mornings I weigh myself. Also, I do the gym three times a week and always make sure I complete 4 kilometres in under 40 minutes on the treadmill (walking, my running days are long gone!).
Beyond the above, I do look to see how many steps I’ve taken, my watch counts them. I have a daily aspirational level of 11000 steps and when I do my part time job in a local supermarket - I tend to reach 20000 steps (and my feet tell me all about it!)
Its good to little achievements and celebrate these daily.
Take good care
Mike.