Structure blocks

Don’t build the questionnaire as a list. Build it as a sequence with a defined purpose. Order matters for a practical reason: drop-off is highest at the start. So what is most valuable comes first, and what takes the most effort (free text, photos) comes last, once the respondent has already invested time and tends to finish.

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Block 0 — Opening

This isn’t a question. It’s the questionnaire cover and the message that comes with the link. Its job is to remind the patient every week why this exists. Thirty seconds of context buy months of adherence.

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Block 1 — Global anchor (1 question)

One broad question that works as the chart’s main line and as a warm-up:

“On a scale of 0 to 10, how would you rate your past week overall?” (linear scale 0–10)

It’s easy to answer and it produces the most readable time series of all. It has a third use, too: it often diverges from the objective indicators, and that divergence is clinical material. A patient who did everything right and still rated the week a 4 is saying something no metric captures.

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Block 2 — Fixed core (4 to 6 questions)

The pillars you track from the first day to the last. This block does not change, and it’s what produces a comparable historical series. Choose pillars that are:

• Relevant to almost all of your patients.
• Sensitive to change over a window of weeks.
• Tied to something you can actually adjust.

In nutrition, the typical core is sleep, energy, plan adherence, hydration, bowel function, and stress. Six at most.

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Block 3 — Current cycle (2 to 3 questions)

The questions tied to what you agreed on at the last appointment. They rotate with each appointment. If you set “cut delivery orders from six to three a week”, that’s the cycle question, and it disappears once the goal is replaced. This block is what makes the questionnaire feel built for that specific person.

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Block 4 — Context and risk (1 to 2 questions)

Symptoms, adverse effects, out-of-the-ordinary events. This is the natural place for single choice with a required explanation on the alert option, so you only get free text when it matters. See how to set this up in Create questions.

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Block 5 — Reflection and optional items (1 to 3 questions)

Close with the question that does the most for self-awareness:

“Looking back at your past week, what do you want to do differently next week?” (open answer)

Tell the patient this answer is for them to think with, not a task you’ll grade every week. This is also where weight (metric, optional) and photos (optional, biweekly or monthly) belong, when they make sense.

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Architecture summary

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Next steps