How are you feeling today?
It's a small question, maybe even a cliché, but it holds a lot of power. In daily life, most of us brush past it. We say we're fine, we keep going. But what if you made a habit of actually checking in with yourself? What might you notice?
As a therapist, one of the things I often encourage is emotional awareness — not just in the heat of the moment, but over time. One very simple, very doable practice that can help with that is mood tracking.
It's the regular practice of noting how you're feeling. That could mean once a day, a couple of times a week, or just whenever you remember. Some people write a sentence or two. Others rate their day on a scale. Some colour-code their calendar or use apps. There's no one right way to do it.
The key is building the habit of checking in. Giving yourself a few seconds to ask: What's going on in me today?
Because patterns tell stories.
When you track your mood over time, you start to notice things. Dips in energy, subtle anxiety spikes, moments of calm or unexpected joy. You might begin to connect those changes with what's happening around you—your routines, your relationships, your workload, your sleep.
It doesn't take long before you start to get a clearer picture of what's supporting your mental health and what might be draining it.
And just to say, you don't have to be struggling for this to be helpful. Mood tracking often reveals that things aren't quite as bad (or quite as good) as we assume in the moment. It brings perspective. Clarity.
To be clear, this isn't about being perfectly consistent or collecting a mountain of data. This is not another task to guilt yourself over. Mood tracking works best when it's light, curious, and without judgement. Even jotting down three words about your day can be enough.
Think of it as a way to build a small bridge between you and your emotional world.
If this sounds like something you'd like to try, keep it simple. You don't need a special journal or app. A scrap of paper or a quick note on your phone is enough. Just go with what feels easy.
However, if you'd like to do this in a more structured way, I have a video on YouTube breaking it all down that includes a free mood tracking template to get you started.
What happens when we step outside the culture we were raised in? Between Worlds: Reflections on Culture, Identity, and Living Abroad is a five-part series exploring how life abroad reshapes our sense of self, belonging, and how we relate to others.
If you've just returned from studying abroad, how are you? No, really. How are you doing?
What happens when we step outside the culture we were raised in? Between Worlds: Reflections on Culture, Identity, and Living Abroad is a five-part series exploring how life abroad reshapes our sense of self, belonging, and how we relate to others.