The two-week kanben card

Kanben (観便) is a Japanese term for looking at your poop before you flush. Try it on paper: circle a shape each day for two weeks, then look back at your notes. No app needed. What kanben is · The seven shapes, explained

Kanben 観便

A two-week card
Three seconds before you flush.

Get to know your pattern. How often you go and what it looks like vary from person to person. Use this card to record what you notice over two weeks.

Look. Before you flush, take a quick look. Which of the seven shapes below is closest?
Circle it. Circle the number for today. On a day without one, circle "None." Those days count too.
After 7 logged days, look back. Which number did you circle most? How many days had one? That's your normal, for now.

1Separate hard lumps

2Lumpy sausage

3Sausage with cracks

4Smooth and soft

5Soft blobs

6Mushy, ragged edges

7Watery

Day	Shape (circle one or more)							None
1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None
2	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None
3	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None
4	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None
5	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None
6	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None
7	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None

Day	Shape (circle one or more)							None
8	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None
9	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None
10	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None
11	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None
12	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None
13	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None
14	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	None

Note: one word is plenty. Coffee, travel, short night, more fiber. Went twice? Circle twice. Not sure between two shapes? Circle both. The days don't have to be in a row.

Days with a poop of logged days

The shape I circled mostType

Usually a day, or a week

That's your normal, for now. It isn't a grade. Everyone's is different, and yours may change with the seasons, travel, or what you eat. Knowing it makes a change easier to notice, and easier to describe if you ever talk to a doctor.

If you notice blood, or black, red or pale stools, or a change that keeps going, talk to a healthcare professional. This card is general information for personal record-keeping, not medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition.

Kanben card by Porcelain, a poop log for iPhone that stays on your phone. No account, no ads. The card works fine without it. porcelaingut.com/kanben.html