How to get your life back on track (A Simple Reset Plan)

So here we are.

It’s the second week of 2026. I’m really feeling a strong vibe of restarting energy.
I’m focusing on a quick reset or a meaningful refresh as I write this post.
Not just because it’s early in the new year, but because this is the first time in six months that I feel a bit better.
I’ll be honest, it has been rough.

But I’m here now, taking one step at a time and starting again with intention.

If you want a restart or refresh for any reason, stay with me.
You’ll learn my 5 simple steps to get life back on track after a setback.

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Life interruptions happen

And there’s nothing you can do to stop them.
It sounds harsh, but it’s the reality.

If you love to plan, you know how good it feels to have one, right?
You set your goals, map out your months, and plan your next move.
But you can’t plan the moment your body says, “Stop.”

I know this because six months ago, I was diagnosed with a rare medical issue.
One gland in my body went rogue and started creating havoc (this is me trying to make it sound less serious).
There was no warning or gradual symptoms.
It just happened.

And this taught me another life lesson.
Planning can only do so much.
It can help you prepare, but it cannot protect you when life happens in a serious way.
That said, it’s still good to plan, especially every three months.
Then do a quarterly reset, so you have something solid to stand on when life tests you.

The backstory

At the start of 2025, I thought it would be a great year again.
Twenty-twenty-four was one of the best years for me and my family.
We started to travel more together.
We went to Japan and Philippines plus a couple of interstate travels.
We had so much fun.
Life felt really good.

As soon as August came, I suddenly became ill.
My symptoms pointed to a possible heart problem, but thankfully my heart was healthy.
My other major organs checked out fine too.
But something in my blood was very wrong.
At every appointment, doctors found something else that was off.

It turned out it all tied back to one big problem.
And it wasn’t an ordinary one.
It was a rare case too.
The sad part?
Surgery was the only fix.

I went private, and I’m glad I did.
From the first medical check to the follow-up tests and scans, everything moved smoothly.
I skipped the public waiting list, and I got to pick my own doctors and surgeons too.

So the last six months were all about doctor’s visits, tests, scans, and a few emergency trips.
Ahhh, I felt like I dated Dracula every week.

I had surgery in October. It went well but it only fixed part of the problem.
Then I had a second surgery in December.
It was bigger and more painful than the first.

The rogue gland is finally gone. Yay!
Recovery will take time, but what matters now is that the hard part is over.
And it’s time to get my life back on track.

Rebuilding your life after a setback

As I say in my Personal Manifesto, life events happen at the right time. Not always when we choose.
And it’s true, they happen for us, not to us.

Maybe this happened so I could:

• be even more intentional with my life
• realise what really matters in this season of life I’m in
• align what I say with what I do
  (I say, “I’m taking breaks,” but honestly I feel I’m not taking enough breaks. When I’m in the flow, I just can’t stop).

How to reset your life

You don’t need a health issue like mine to want a reset.
In fact, I strongly suggest to try doing quarterly reset regularly in your normal season.
It’s help you live in the now, and more intentional with your goals and projects.

And I get it, sometimes life just gets a bit much, so things pile up and then you start to feel behind.
When that happens, don’t try to fix everything at once.

Try the following 5 get your life back on track.
This is the reset plan I made for myself before my surgeries.
I started using this after my first surgery and it has helped me a lot already.
You can use it to do a big reset or just a quick refresh, depending on how long you’ve been off your normal routine.

1. Stabilise first

Don’t try to fix everything. In fact, don’t start by fixing.
Keep yourself stable first, and when you’ve done that, planning the next steps will be easier.
Start with the basics and pick just one thing.
Choose the one that matters most right now.
Then stick to it until you find your footing.
Don’t rush.

Here’s what I did.

I focused on the basics only: my mindset, food, and sleep.
Rest was out of the question because my movement was limited anyway.
My meds also made me sleep a lot during the day.
So, in the first two weeks after surgery, I did whatever I felt like.
I was only strict about taking my meds and managing pain.

2. Do a life triage

The word “triage” is a term commonly used in hospitals.

It’s a quick first check to assess patients who:

• need care right away,
• can wait, and
• need a specific type of treatment.

The purpose is to decide who needs help first, because every patient needs a different level of care.
And not everyone needs to be treated right away.
Doing a life triage uses the same concept.
The only difference is you’re dealing with life demands, not patients.
Now, it’s entirely up to you how you set your prioritisation method.
But one thing I’d ask you to remember when doing a life triage is this:

When I started to feel better and felt ready to look at my to-do list, I did a “life triage.”
I started with my life domains first.
I’ve always grouped them into three anyway, so the prioritisation was easy:

1. Life
2. Day job
3. Side business

At that point, I knew I only needed to focus on my life domain.
My day job and side business were put aside until I was ready.

Then I triaged my to-do list:

• Must do now: anything time-sensitive, or with real consequences if I ignored it (health admin, bills, family needs).
• Can wait: important, but not urgent (most blog tasks, improvements, plans, tidying up).
• Not mine or not now: things I could delegate, pause, or simply stop doing.

I focused only on the “must do now” list and didn’t stress about the rest.
I’ll get to the “can wait” and “not now” tasks when I’m ready.

3. Keep a clear head

It’s easy to forget to keep a clear head, but it matters more than you think.
Giving your mind a break from all kinds of noise helps you think straight again.

The idea is not to feel positive all the time.
The aim is to feel steady and calm enough to handle what’s in front of you without panicking or shutting down.

Even after doing a life triage, I still found myself thinking about a lot of things during rest time.
Even reading physical books didn’t cut it, and at times, it felt like everything was spinning at once.

So I did a brain dump. This time, I didn’t time myself.
I just kept writing until my head felt empty.
When I finished, I left it at that and avoided the temptation to process anything.
And it felt so good knowing that whatever was swirling in my head was now in a safe place.
I could return to it when I was ready.

4. Pick one focus area

Choose only one part of your life to put your energy into first.
The purpose is to make small progress.
After life interruptions, you might feel like everything is important because you feel behind on everything.

That’s certainly how I felt.
But I knew that if I tried to fix it all at once,
I would end up not fixing anything.

In my case, I had to pick between health and finance,

Health and wellbeing (recovery) had to be the priority.
But finances mattered too.
Because while both surgeries were covered by my Private Health Insurance, the out of pocket was still huge.
Thankfully my family is mindful with money so, we’re still debt free after everything.

As of writing this, I’m feeling much better so from health, the main focus is slowly inching more into finance.

5. Create a weekly plan

Now that you’ve picked one focus area, it’s time to plan and execute.
Do this in that order.
Plan first by creating a weekly plan.
Then execute by planning your days intentionally.

I’ve always kept my weekly plan in a bullet journal.
But after the surgery, I couldn’t write well.
My right arm was always tired, and it affected my handwriting.
It wasn’t as neat as before.
So I recreated my bullet journal weekly plan in Notion. Then continued with quarterly reset.
I chose my priority focus area and made it my “main thing” for several weeks.

Here’s how I prioritised:

• Health: recovery, sleep, food, appointments, gentle movement.
• Home: meals, laundry, basic reset, a calmer space. I’m grateful for my loving husband and my wonderful kids. Each of them stepped up in a big way. They handled all the household chores, even when I was ready to do light tasks.
• Money: lower expenses, catch up on admin, reduce subscriptions.
• Work/blog: one focus area, one goal, and one system
• Relationships: fewer but better connections

Execute with intention

You’re almost set.
The last bit is deciding on one habit that will help you keep the momentum.
This habit should be small, simple, and easy to do even on low-energy days.

It could be:

• drink one glass of water in the morning
• write your top 3 must-dos for today
• check your calendar before doing anything else

In my case, the one habit that keeps me going is simple:
I open my Daily Dashboard in Notion every morning where my Weekly Planner is connected to.
This is my digital workspace where I can adjust the things I need to do based on my capacity on a particular day.
I can do less or more, but there’s no pressure at all.

Wrapping it all up

I’m sharing this from the middle where I’m still healing and rebuilding things.
Not from the “it’s done” standpoint.

This is the reset plan I’m going to fall back to every time I get distracted or when I go off track.

I also know that things will be messy again.
I’ll feel tired and stuck again.
And that’s ok.

I’ll just follow these steps again, and again.

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Other posts related to getting back on track:
Quarterly planning process
How to reset for a more present life