Stop the daily drain: Your guide to a mid-year routine reset

We've reached the half of the year, and with it, is the inevitable urge to audit our lives. But what if we resisted the pressure to turn the mid-year mark into a checklist of accomplishments?

Instead of asking, “What have I achieved so far?” try asking: “How am I feeling right now?”

One important thing to recognize is whether you're feeling stressed or already experiencing burnout.

Lanz Paolo Olegario, a registered psychologist and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-informed psychotherapist, said stress is often temporary, while burnout is more persistent and can leave people emotionally exhausted and detached.

"Stress often feels like having too much to carry. Burnout can feel like having nothing left to give," he said.

Olegario, who tackled similar themes in his book, I Am Still Struggling But I Choose a Life of Purpose Anyway, also reminded people that recovery isn't always as polished as social media makes it seem.

He added that self-care goes beyond vacations or expensive experiences. For others, "it means having an honest conversation, allowing yourself to rest without earning it, or letting go of unrealistic expectations," while recovery, he said, is about reconnecting with what matters most.

Habits that slowly drain you

Just as self-care is found in the small moments, burnout often starts there, too. It's the small, everyday habits we barely notice that drain our energy. Olegario noticed that routines we think as harmless—like overcommitting and losing sleep to constantly checking notifications and feeling pressured to say yes all the time—can gradually take a toll on mental and physical well-being.

"During recovery, it can help to stop asking, 'How can I do more?' and begin asking, 'What truly matters, and what is no longer sustainable?'" he said.

Naya Punto, founder of professional organizer services Klozet Kemist, added that clutter in the home can also be mentally draining. "One of the biggest ones is making the same decisions over and over again. Looking for lost items, deciding what to wear, digging through cluttered drawers, moving piles from one place to another, or constantly putting off small tasks," she told L!fe.

"They don’t seem significant on their own, but they quietly consume a surprising amount of mental energy," she added.

If you're thinking of doing a "reset" to make the most of the rest of the year, here are tips on how to "declutter" your daily routine.

Make recovery part of your daily routine

Olegario recognizes that not everyone can afford to take long breaks, so recovery may need to come through small but consistent changes.

He recommended creating brief moments of genuine rest, protecting sleep, reducing unnecessary responsibilities, and setting clearer work boundaries, which include prioritizing which tasks need your best effort and which can be done well enough. He added that making time for meaningful activities outside work, whether through movement, prayer, creativity, or quiet reflection, can contribute to recovery.

"The goal is not to remove all stress—it is to build enough space to recover while continuing to live according to what matters," he said.

Punto echoed this, stressing the importance of making fewer decisions, even in household tasks.

"Keep frequently used items in consistent homes. Lay out tomorrow’s clothes the night before. Meal plan a few days ahead. Keep one calendar instead of several. Batch similar errands together instead of making multiple trips," she said. "Small systems save far more time than people realize," she added.