PIP Diary - How to Keep a Daily Record That Wins Your Claim

A daily diary showing how your condition affects you is one of the most powerful pieces of PIP evidence because it captures what no single GP letter or assessment can: the reality of your life over weeks and months. Assessors see you for 45 minutes. Your diary shows what the other 10,079 minutes of the week look like.

What to Record Each Day

For each day, briefly note:

• Pain level: Score out of 10, and where the pain is
• What you couldn't do: "Couldn't shower," "Couldn't cook," "Didn't leave the house"
• What help you needed: "Partner dressed me," "Mum brought food," "Couldn't manage stairs without help"
• Medication taken and side effects: "Took codeine 30mg - drowsy all afternoon"
• Sleep: How many hours, how many times you woke up, why
• Falls, accidents, or near-misses: "Dropped pan of hot water," "Fell in shower," "Nearly fainted on stairs"
• Mental health: Mood, anxiety levels, panic attacks, self-harm urges
• Walking distance: If you went out, how far you managed

How Long to Keep a Diary

Two to four weeks is enough. You don't need months of records. The diary should cover a representative period - not your very worst fortnight, but a typical one that includes both better and worse days.

How to Format It

Keep it simple. A notebook works. A notes app on your phone works. Don't make it look too polished - a raw, honest diary is more convincing than a typed, formatted document. Write short entries rather than essays:

"Monday 5th: Pain 7/10. Didn't sleep - tinnitus kept me awake until 3am. Couldn't shower. Partner made breakfast. Stayed on sofa all day. Took codeine at 11am, made me drowsy until 4pm. Didn't eat dinner - too nauseous. Bad day."

"Tuesday 6th: Pain 5/10. Managed to shower sitting down - took 25 mins. Made toast but burned it because I forgot about it. Walked to front door to collect parcel - about 8 metres. Legs shaking afterwards. Slightly better day but still couldn't cook or go out."

What Makes a Diary Convincing

Variation. A diary that says "terrible day, pain 10/10, couldn't do anything" every single day looks exaggerated. Real conditions fluctuate. Include better days alongside worse ones - even on a "good" day, note what you still couldn't do.

Specifics. "Couldn't cook" is okay. "Tried to make pasta but couldn't stand at the hob for more than 3 minutes. Had to sit down twice. Gave up and ate cold cereal" is much better.

Incidents. Falls, burns, accidents, panic attacks, A&E visits - these are the entries that make the biggest impact. Record them with dates and details.

When to Submit It

Include your diary with your PIP2 form. If you're at the Mandatory Reconsideration or tribunal stage, a diary started after the original decision is still valuable - it shows ongoing difficulties. At tribunal, hand copies to the panel. They appreciate concrete, dated evidence rather than vague statements about "most days."