Some changes after a car crash are hard to describe because they do not hurt. A task you could once do on autopilot starts to feel like a project. You walk into the kitchen and forget why. You read the same grocery list twice. Nobody around you may notice, and you may not notice either until you try to explain it to someone who has not been in your position.
This is an educational note for people in the St. Louis metro who are deciding whether to get examined this week. It is not a diagnosis, and it does not explain what is causing anything. It is a way to make your own observations clear enough to share with a licensed examiner, who can decide what they mean.
Why errands are a useful test
Routine tasks are useful because you already know how they should go. You have done them hundreds of times. When a familiar task takes longer, needs a second try, or leaves you slightly out of step, that difference is worth writing down. The goal is not to measure yourself against a standard. The goal is to notice what has changed from your own normal.
Pick three or four errands you do most weeks. Common examples include paying a bill online, cooking a simple meal, sorting mail, loading a dishwasher, or making a phone call with a list of questions. Choose tasks you can repeat, so you can compare one day to the next.
What to write down
For each errand, note the date, the time of day, and the task in a few words. Then write what happened, in plain sentences. You might write that it took twice as long as usual, that you had to reread a line, that you lost your place partway through, or that you finished but felt tired afterward. Stick to what you did and what you noticed. Avoid guessing at reasons.
It also helps to note how you felt before and after. Were you rested, hungry, distracted by noise, or already running late? Those details are not explanations. They are context that can make your log more useful to the person reading it.
Try to write each entry soon after the task, not a full day later. Memory tends to smooth out the rough parts, and the rough parts are often the information that matters most.
Keeping the log simple
A paper notebook or a note on your phone works fine. Use the same format each day so entries are easy to scan. A short line per errand is enough. Long essays are harder to read at a visit, and they make it difficult to find the one detail that stands out.
Avoid turning the log into a test you feel you must pass. If a day is slow, write that down too. A log with honest ordinary days is more helpful than one that only records the bad moments. Examiners generally want the full picture, including days that seemed normal.
Bringing the log to your visit
When you arrive, read the log in order, starting with the day of the crash if you remember it. Say which tasks were hardest and which ones you stopped doing altogether. If you had to ask someone else for help, mention that. Those choices often tell an examiner more than a single description can.
If a familiar task has become difficult to finish safely, such as driving to an errand or using the stove, tell the examiner at the start of the visit. Do not wait until the end of the appointment to raise it.
Keep your own copy of the log. It is useful at follow-up visits, and it lets you see patterns across weeks that are hard to notice day to day.
When to get help sooner
This note is for planning, not for emergencies. If you have new confusion, trouble speaking, weakness on one side of the body, a severe or sudden headache, vision changes, or difficulty staying awake, seek emergency care right away rather than waiting for a booked visit.