I chart my mood with the NIMH LCM.

Since late January I have switched poles, going up. It started out as moderate but the last few weeks I have had pretty strong 1.5 days pretty strong, euphoric, mind hyperventilation- and tremor-inducing, radiating, "partial" mania (just making a fool of myself; no harm done) and 2.5 days post-mania depression, which is very uncommon.

I also tend to write down my moods in a more reduced form, which I think is more relevant than all the nuances of mood fluctuations and the exact time take (I just estimate a cycle length when I am stable enough to look back more clearly), where:

d = mild depression
m = pre-mania (or hypomania if you prefer; I think the term is badly chosen, because it could include depression as well as the highly unstable emotional states that can escalate)
M = mania
p = congruently psychotic mania (clearly noticeable in normal settings)
P = incongruently psychotic, manic period
~ = mixed state
. = brief stability (1 day to 2 weeks)
.. = longer stability
D = post-manic depression/recuperation

So, for example: dmMpP.P.~M (5 months), d..md (1 year), ...