The four reliability questions
For every activity, the law says you must be able to do it "safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and within a reasonable time period" (The Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013).
- Safely means unlikely to cause harm to you or anyone else.
- Repeatedly means as often as the activity is reasonably required.
- A reasonable time period means no more than twice as long as it would take someone without your condition.
- Acceptable standard means done properly, not just attempted.
If the honest answer to any of the four is no, that attempt counts as evidence, write it down.
The 12 activities
Daily living
- Preparing food
- Taking nutrition (eating and drinking)
- Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition
- Washing and bathing
- Managing toilet needs or incontinence
- Dressing and undressing
- Communicating verbally
- Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words
- Engaging with other people face to face
- Making budgeting decisions
Mobility
- Planning and following journeys
- Moving around
The 7-day diary template
Day 1
- Date
- What I tried to do (which activity)
- What actually happened
- Help, prompting or aids I needed
- How long it took compared with most people
- How I felt afterwards (pain, fatigue, anxiety, recovery time)
- Could I have done it again that day?
Day 2
- Date
- What I tried to do (which activity)
- What actually happened
- Help, prompting or aids I needed
- How long it took compared with most people
- How I felt afterwards (pain, fatigue, anxiety, recovery time)
- Could I have done it again that day?
Day 3
- Date
- What I tried to do (which activity)
- What actually happened
- Help, prompting or aids I needed
- How long it took compared with most people
- How I felt afterwards (pain, fatigue, anxiety, recovery time)
- Could I have done it again that day?
Day 4
- Date
- What I tried to do (which activity)
- What actually happened
- Help, prompting or aids I needed
- How long it took compared with most people
- How I felt afterwards (pain, fatigue, anxiety, recovery time)
- Could I have done it again that day?
Day 5
- Date
- What I tried to do (which activity)
- What actually happened
- Help, prompting or aids I needed
- How long it took compared with most people
- How I felt afterwards (pain, fatigue, anxiety, recovery time)
- Could I have done it again that day?
Day 6
- Date
- What I tried to do (which activity)
- What actually happened
- Help, prompting or aids I needed
- How long it took compared with most people
- How I felt afterwards (pain, fatigue, anxiety, recovery time)
- Could I have done it again that day?
Day 7
- Date
- What I tried to do (which activity)
- What actually happened
- Help, prompting or aids I needed
- How long it took compared with most people
- How I felt afterwards (pain, fatigue, anxiety, recovery time)
- Could I have done it again that day?
What makes evidence strong
- Specific dates beat vague statements, "On 14 May I could not stand long enough to cook, I ate cereal instead" beats "I struggle to cook".
- Frequency matters, say "4 days out of 7" not "sometimes".
- Describe your typical day and your worst day, and say which is which.
- Aids count, note every time you use a stool, grab rail, timer, list, or another person's prompting.
- Aftermath counts, if a shower costs you two hours of recovery, that is evidence about repeatedly.
- Do not minimise, write what actually happens, not what you push through.
Descriptor checklist
For each activity, ask: "Can I do this safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and in a reasonable time? If no to any, write one dated example."
- Preparing food
- Taking nutrition (eating and drinking)
- Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition
- Washing and bathing
- Managing toilet needs or incontinence
- Dressing and undressing
- Communicating verbally
- Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words
- Engaging with other people face to face
- Making budgeting decisions
- Planning and following journeys
- Moving around