Time for a Mid-Year Reset
Welcome, this is your mini mid-year reset guide.
Can you believe we're already halfway through the year? It's easy to get caught up in what you haven't accomplished yet, but let's be clear, it's never too late to start something new or go after your goals. There's no need to wait for January 1st, and you shouldn't feel like the year has been a waste. You still have six months to make great things happen.
This guide isn't about shaming you, telling you to start a 3AM productivity routine, or forcing you to read a dozen self-help books. Instead, it's an opportunity to pause, reflect on your year so far, and re-assess what truly matters to you.
I know how easy it is to wait for the "perfect" time to begin. But more often than not, the perfect time is right now. When you finally get started, you might even look back and wonder, "Why didn't I do this sooner?"
So, let's get into it. Here are five simple things you can do today to have a little refresh. ✨
It’s time. (Credit: dupe/kimberguillen)
Your vision board CHECK-IN
You’ve probably made a vision board at the start of the year.
A vision board is a visual collection of an individual’s aspirations (i.e., usually goals you’d like to achieve by December). It can include images, words, symbols, etc. Think of it like a bucket list; goals you want to work towards. It serves as a visual reminder and keeps you motivated.
Vision boards can facilitate imaginative thinking, link our subconscious desires to conscious goals (Burton & Lent, 2016; Waalkes et al., 2019), evoke positive emotions and hope, empower individuals to take control of their future narratives, enhance a sense of agency and active participation in defining and visualising goals (Burton and Lent, 2016). Furthermore, vision boards can be a valuable tool for promoting career development and self-awareness. Creating vision boards can help individuals to identify their strengths and interests, develop career goals, increase self-efficacy and motivation, and also help individuals feel more connected to culture and community (Waalkes et al., 2019).
Benedict (2021) suggests that creating and presenting vision boards can help individuals to reflect on their experiences, again, identify their strengths and weaknesses, set future goals, visualise success, gain inspiration, and learn from their own and others' experiences.
If you’ve made a vision board for this year, pull it up, take some time to review it, check your progress so far, have a think about:
What’s on there?
Have you achieved anything on there yet? (Well done if you have!)
What have you not achieved yet? (There’s still time to achieve!)
Why have you not been able to make any progress yet? (Find out what could be holding you back.)
Is there anything you’re not interested in/doesn’t resonate with you anymore? (Change it, remove it, or postpone it. It’s alright to have a change of heart. With a vision board, the thing is that you have the ability to change it. Your goals don’t have to be set in stone.)
If you haven’t made one, give it a try. You can make one for the rest of the year or you can make one to reflect your dreams and desires in general. Some people like to break their goals down by month, while others may go with the flow.
So how do you go about making a vision board? You can make a physical vision board or a digital one, whichever you prefer.
If you want to make a physical vision board, get a piece of paper or card. Print off some images and quotes that you like and stick it on the paper or card. It could look something like this:
On the other hand, if you want to make a digital vision board there are three main ways you can go about making one: A notes app (e.g., Apple Notes, Samsung Notes, Notion, Goodnotes, etc.); using online editing software (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Paint, Canva, etc.); or simply saving images in a folder in your gallery.
You can be as specific as you want, there are no rules. You can cover areas such as finance, relationship, career, lifestyle, and recreation. You could include things like:
Restaurants you want to go to;
A promotion you’d like;
A new skill you’d like to learn;
A clothing item you really want; or
A place you’d like to visit.
If you’d like to take your vision board a step further, you may even plan out the steps you’re going to take in order to achieve your goals. Start off small, what little things can help you get started today? Remember that things don’t usually come into fruition overnight and can take some time to prepare and execute.
wardrobe RESET: DECLUTTER AND REORGANISE
If there’s one thing that we all have in common in our day to day lives, that one thing has got to be deciding what to wear. Our wardrobe is an area of our life that has a large influence on us.
Find the time to go through your wardrobe and/or drawers and take a look at the clothes you have. As you do, ask yourself a few questions:
What do you wear most often and what do you genuinely love?
What clothing items don't serve you anymore, need some repair, or are just taking up space?
Have you rediscovered anything you totally forgot you owned?
In the UK, it’s summer in July (sorry if you’re reading from Australia).
Now is the perfect time to make your wardrobe work for you. If you're in a summer climate, bring your favourite warm-weather clothes to the front of your closet. Move those heavy knits, thick jumpers, and winter coats to the back or a different storage spot. This simple swap makes it easier to see and access the items you'll actually wear in the coming months. It can also help you avoid buying new things for a holiday that you may already have buried in the back.
Oh, and those clothes I told you to think about earlier that don’t serve you anymore - Let’s be real, they’re probably taking up space. With these, you can:
Replace them with something that fits your current needs and style;
Donate them to a local charity;
Sell them on a second-hand app like Vinted, Depop, or eBay;
Recycle them at a textile recycling centre;
Mend anything that just needs a little TLC.
Are you finding that outfit planning is quite a struggle at this time of year? If you find yourself in a rush in the morning and struggle to find an outfit for work, school, or in general then take the time to plan your outfits out the night before! You won’t believe how much time you’ll save.
You can even try putting together a capsule wardrobe, there are many benefits to having this system in place. A capsule wardrobe involves a curated collection of a few essential, versatile items that you can mix and match. It can simplify your decisions, help you save money on impulsive purchases, and make getting dressed feel less like a chore and more like a joy.
Exercise: GET YOUR BODY MOVING
Exercise/physical activity can provide us with a lot of benefits; it’s a great way to keep us not just physically healthy, but can also do wonders for our mental health as well.
The NHS (2025) recommends that 19-64 year olds take part in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week. According to a recent systematic review carried out by Huang and Wong (2025), featured in Frontiers in Psychology (Sec. Sport Psychology), ‘Exercise prescriptions for young people's emotional wellbeing’, it’s been suggested that: low-intensity exercises can help reduce negative emotions and increase mental toughness; moderate-intensity exercises can effectively reduce anxiety and increase vitality; short periods of running can enhance wellbeing; and 15–30 minutes of exercise can lead to lasting positive emotions.
Moreover, Trajković et al. (2023) discussed in a editorial titled ‘Effects of physical activity on psychological well-being’ that the positive psychological effects of exercise include increased life satisfaction, positive emotions, self-appraisal, self-efficacy, self-confidence, and physical competence. In addition, the authors comment that higher levels of physical activity is also associated with lower cortisol levels, lower negative mood, fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, and fewer sleep disturbances. They add that physical activity may be considered a protective factor for lower stress levels, depression, and poor eating habits.
Of course, you can tailor exercise to your own individual circumstances, what might work for someone else might not work for you. You don’t have to join a run club, sign up for a gym membership, start loading up on protein, buy a new Alo/lululemon set, neither a Peloton subscription. There are many things you can do to keep your body active such as:
Taking a walk (maybe in a shopping centre, at the park, the beach, etc.), especially when the weather is tolerable;
Playing with a pet;
Swimming;
Yoga; and even
Gentle stretches.
You can find hundreds of free guided workout videos on YouTube, with options for every fitness level. If getting active feels like a struggle, start with just a few minutes a day. The key is to start small and find something you genuinely enjoy.
If you find it hard to concentrate, find exercise quite boring, or if you’re nervous to exercise in a gym, try listening to your favourite music to boost your morale.
Journal: WRITE YOUR THOUGHTS DOWN
Speaking about keeping your body active, it’s also important to keep your mind active.
One simple way to do this is through journalling! Journalling is simply the act of writing down your thoughts, feelings, and ideas. It gives you a place to acknowledge them instead of having them just floating around in your mind (rent-free?).
Journalling can be an important tool for improving emotional and psychological wellbeing (Wurtz et al., 2022), and it’s pretty useful if you don’t have anyone to talk to or if you’re not comfortable sharing your feelings with others.
You can write in a notebook, a diary, a notes app, a journalling app, whatever you want. You can download PBMIF’s free 2025 digital journal here which includes many activities and questions to aid reflection.
To get started, try reviewing the first half of the year by reflecting on these questions:
What have you done so far that you're proud of?
What’s gone well for you, and what hasn’t gone so well?
What's made you happy or sad?
What are you grateful for?
What have you been putting off that you want to start now?
What has you feeling worried or restless?
If writing's not your cup of tea, you can still reflect in other ways. At the end of the day (in bed), take a moment to think about one thing you're grateful for. It doesn't have to be a major event—it could be a small win, like finding the last item in stock that happened to be your size, getting a package in the mail, passing an exam, spending time with someone you love, or even just finding an extra chip at the bottom of your takeaway bag. Stuff like that, yeah?
Even better yet, hear me out. When you get some private time to yourself, whether it be first thing in the morning, when you’re driving, cleaning, in the shower, or even right before you go to bed, just have a little conversation with yourself (or you can speak to God, the universe, etc. if you prefer) aloud. You can even look out of the window and just speak whatever’s on your mind. Talk freely and openly. Ask questions. Your own thoughts may provide you breadcrumbs towards breakthroughs.
Digital Detox: GET RID OF UNNECESSARY DIGITAL CLUTTER
Our digital devices… so prominent in our lives. It’s only right to keep them clutter-free, right? Otherwise they just serve as a distraction.
When you’ve got notifications going off all the time, a load of screenshots of recipes you’ll probably never bother to try, 100+ unread emails, ridiculous content on your for you page, let’s be real, is this not annoying? What’s more, do you find yourself scrolling social media for hours on end?
Schraggeová and Bisaha (2025) describe a digital detox as . . . “a range of online and offline interventions aimed at improving wellbeing by optimising habits and behaviours associated with technology use, particularly smartphones”. A digital detox isn't about not using your digital devices. It's simply any effort you make to be more intentional with your technology use. It's about taking back control of your digital life so it serves you and your wellbeing.
Try and make your digital habits mindful and intentional. Here are a few things you can do to give your digital life a little clean up:
Clean up your feed: Unfollow any accounts that no longer serve you joy. On the flip side, follow accounts that are uplifting, inspiring, or genuinely useful. At the same time, unsubscribe from newsletters that clog up your inbox and delete old spam emails;
Declutter your phone: Delete old apps, screenshots, and notes you don’t use or need. If you have screenshots of things you'd like to do or try, put them on your vision board! If you find your screen time is out of control, consider setting app timers to help you use your time more mindfully;
Reconnect with what matters: Instead of endless scrolling, use your device for real connection. Maybe send a quick message to a friend or family member you haven't spoken to in a while. Or, put your phone down and start that new hobby you've been wanting to try;
Perform a digital check-up: Take a moment to save important photos and files to an external hard drive or cloud service. While you're at it, do a quick password check and update your passwords. Keep them somewhere safe.
And there you have it: five simple things you can do to give yourself a mid-year refresh. I hope this guide helps you take a step back, reset your focus, and approach the rest of the year feeling more intentional and inspired.
Thank you for reading. ;)
Benedict, B. C. (2021). Using Vision Boards to Reflect on Relevant Experiences and Envision Ideal Futures. College Teaching, 69(4), 231-232. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2020.1850411
Burton, L., & Lent, J. (2016). The use of vision boards as a therapeutic intervention. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 11, 52–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2015.1092901
Huang, W. & Wong, T. L. (2025). Exercise prescriptions for young people's emotional wellbeing: a systematic review of physical activity intensity, duration, and modality. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1552531. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1552531
NHS UK . (Accessed: 2025, Jul 16). Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64
Radtke, T., Apel, T., Schenkel, K., Keller, J., & von Lindern, E. (2021). Digital detox: An effective solution in the smartphone era? A systematic literature review. Mobile Media & Communication, 10(2), 190-215. https://doi.org/10.1177/20501579211028647
Schraggeová, M. & Bisaha, D. (2025). The effect of digital detox through digital minimalism using the MinimalistPhone [sic] app on the behavior of young users and their emotional experience. Computers in Human Behavior, 18, 100699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100699
Trajković, N., Mitić, P. M., Barić, R., & Bogataj, Š. (2023). Editorial: Effects of physical activity on psychological well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1121976. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1121976
Waalkes, P. L., Gonzalez, L. M., & Brunson, C. N. (2019). Vision Boards and Adolescent Career Counseling: A Culturally Responsive Approach. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 14(2), 205-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2019.1602092
Wurtz, H. M., Willen, S. S., & Mason, K. A. (2022). Introduction: Journaling and Mental Health during COVID-19: Insights from the Pandemic Journaling Project. SSM. Mental health, 2, 100141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100141
