Mid Year Check-in: Your Mental Health in 2024

Say hello to June! That’s right, almost half the year is over – and whether the past few months have flown by for you or if the days have just been crawling by, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on what’s happened over the past year. 

Taking stock of where you are in relation to the goals you’ve set for yourself this 2024, and more importantly your mental health, is an effective way of setting yourself up for success for the rest of the year. These are just a few ways you can check-in on how you’re feeling, so that you’re in the right headspace to take on the second half of 2024.

Mid Year 2

How to do a Check-In

It’s easy to lose sight of our goals and progress, when we’re caught in the hustle and bustle of daily life. As such, it’s important that we intentionally set aside time to review what’s happened in the first half of the year, so that we can identify what we may need to improve on or tweak in our current habits; as well as celebrate the wins (whether they’re big or small) that we’ve achieved in the year.

If you’re already working, think of this as a performance review – just that there are no corporate pressures or demanding bosses that you need to answer to! Take this exercise as a chance to really reflect on yourself, and be accountable to your own person.

Step 1: Review everything that happened

All of us probably have done more than we’d expected, especially if you don’t make it a regular habit to note down what you’ve accomplished or experienced. That’s why being intentional about your mid year check-in is important! Make sure to set aside a dedicated block of time to do this exercise, and minimise any possible distractions while you’re doing so.

The first thing you need to do in your check-in session is pull out your notebook or the Notes app on your phone, and list down everything that you’ve done in the year.

It could be accomplishments that you were aiming for at the start of the year; but it could also be new goals and side quests that popped up along the way. It can be helpful to have your Calendar app or planner beside you while you’re doing this, in case you miss out on anything.

Mid Year 3

Step 2: Reflect on your progress

Now that you’ve got everything listed down; take out the list of goals you’d planned for at the start of the year. Compare what you’ve done this year against what you’d wanted to do, and see if there are any gaps between your reality and your initial plans – it’s alright if there are huge differences, that’s what this review session is for, after all!

As you’re doing this, reflect on your emotions and actions through the year. Several guiding questions that you can ask yourself include:

  • Were there unexpected challenges that came up, while you were working towards your goals?
  • How were you feeling mentally and physically throughout the process?
  • Most importantly – do these goals still resonate with you?

Be open and honest about your feelings, and your successes and failures. Even if it may feel sheepish to look back on where we’ve failed, being able to identify the reasons for our lack of successes can help us develop and grow in the future. Remember that not everything may be a ‘win’ across the months, but learning from your losses how we progress.

Step 3: Realign your priorities

Once you’ve completed your reflection, take a look at whether the goals you’ve set out at the start of the year still align with the current person you are, with all your beliefs and experiences, 6-months on. It could be that certain goals are no longer meaningful to you, after you’ve tried to work towards them over the year.

Don’t be afraid of culling your initial plans, if they don’t seem to fit anymore, or tweaking and adjusting them so that they resonate better with who you now are; feel confident in introducing new priorities and areas of growth, based on your experiences over the year. Life is an open journey, and we shouldn’t expect our goals to remain static.

Once you’ve revised your goals and have a fresh set of objectives for the rest of the year, remember to outline a couple of tangible steps you’ll start to take. This can help you to overcome any possible inertia, so that you can dive straight into the rest of the year.

Mid Year 4

Strategies to Improve your Mental Health

In addition to evaluating your progress towards your goals, take time to reflect on your mental health as well, and if there’s anything you should do to put you in a better frame of mind. 

With the pressure of constantly being productive, it may be easy to slip into burnout, without realising it. Take note of how your mood has been over the half a year, and specifically the past few weeks; and if there has been anything specific that’s draining your energy or causing you grief. 

To help support your mental wellbeing, you can also adopt these healthy habits such as:

  • Practising journalling: It doesn’t have to be a long journal entry every day. However, pausing to jot down a few sentences about the day before you go to bed can help you be in better touch with your feelings and emotions.
  • Making time for your friends: As social creatures, we need human connection to feel better about our daily lives. It can be hard to find a common time to meet up with your friends; however, this can be as easy as dropping them a text or sending them a silly meme over Instagram.
  • Getting at least 7 hours of quality sleep every night: Sleep has a positive impact on both your mental and physical health; and supports your ability to regulate your emotions

 

Of course, if you’d like professional support with your goals for the year, you can reach out to any of our trained therapists and counsellors at A Space Between. Our team is here to help you with whatever needs you may have, so that you can have a brilliant time for the rest of 2024!

References

An experienced health & wellness writer, I am a story-teller at heart. For me, writing is a way of weaving together the little details that make our existence meaningful and significant into a beautiful, larger story.

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