2024 Annual Review
2,269 Sessions. The H.E.A.L. Method.
What 2024 Actually Looked Like.
People sometimes ask how a sole practitioner sustains a high-volume clinical practice without burning out. The honest answer is that I am not sure it can be explained β so I decided to document it instead.
The Numbers That Don’t Seem to Go Together
4 conferences. 3 weeks overseas. 2,269 sessions. The same year.
In 2024, I delivered 2,269 clinical sessions. Averaged across 366 days, that works out to just over six sessions per day. But the year also included three weeks of family travel β Tokyo Disneyland for Rofia’s birthday, two weeks in Taiwan β four professional conferences across five locations, 10 books read in three languages, and 2,301 hours with my children.
These things were not traded against each other in a simple way. They all had to fit inside the same year. That is what made 2024 worth looking at properly.
“Work, recovery, learning, and family treated as one system β not as competing demands.”
Month by Month
What the year actually looked like
The most concentrated period of professional development
May was dense. It began with the MMA National Conference in Tweed Heads, where I also attended a Dynamic Myofascial Release workshop focused on the lumbopelvic region. From there I travelled to Sydney for the ESSA Research to Practice Conference.
Back on the Gold Coast, I completed a two-day Rheumatology Ultrasound Course through the Australian Institute of Ultrasound β one of the most technically demanding courses I have attended, and one that directly expanded my assessment capability in clinic. First Aid recertification with St John Ambulance completed the month.
On 20 May, we flew to Japan. Rofia’s birthday was celebrated at Tokyo Disneyland on 22 and 23 May. On 25 May we continued to Taiwan for two weeks with family. On 12 June I flew to Melbourne β then Adelaide β then Alice Springs, where I was working again the next morning. All of this within a three-week stretch. The sessions continued either side of it.
Insight Therapies
Insight Therapies β a book that sat with me longer than most that year, and one I found myself returning to in practice in the months that followed.
Attention and focus
Peak Mind by Amishi Jha. A practical book on attention and focus that changed how I structure my clinical days and the space between them β useful both professionally and personally.
Melbourne and a concentrated period of reading
The SMA and ACSEP Conference in Melbourne. Four books completed across October β psychology, habit formation, financial literacy, and systems thinking. Atomic Habits was one I had read before but returned to with fresh eyes. Underlying Logic changed how I approach clinical reasoning. The Japanese-language title β γγγγγγγγγγε©γγ«θ‘γγ β was the most personally useful of the four.
Perth and the question of AI
The APA Focus Conference in Perth. Three books β two on artificial intelligence, one on productivity. I did not read them out of enthusiasm for technology, but because the question of how AI will reshape healthcare felt professionally necessary to take seriously. Code Dependent was sobering. Brave New Words was more measured.
Back to fundamentals
Technical Lifting: The Core and Hip. The year closed where it probably should β back to the body, back to what matters most clinically.
Time Breakdown
The breakdown of 8,784 hours
There are 8,784 hours in a leap year. Here is where they went in 2024.
| Category | Hours | % of Year |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep | 3,403 | 38.7% |
| With children and family | 2,301 | 26.2% |
| Direct clinical work | 2,218.5 | 25.3% |
| Admin + professional training | 381 | 4.3% |
| Other available time | 226.3 | 2.6% |
| Personal health and development | 126.2 | 1.4% |
| Household duties | 108 | 1.2% |
| Couple and personal time | 20 | 0.2% |
| Total | 8,784 | 100% |
Direct clinical work reflects hands-on session time only β not admin, travel, or training. Family category includes swimming, gymnastics coaching, story time, bike riding, school events, community activities, and travel. Clinical and family time were almost exactly the same size. That was not accidental.
The Number That Matters Most
Not from another practitioner.
Structured self-care, done consistently.
I am not sharing that to sound resilient. I am sharing it because it is one of the clearest tests I have of whether the H.E.A.L. method is actually sustainable in real life β across 2,269 sessions, four conferences, and three weeks of family travel.
Clinical Framework
What the H.E.A.L. method looks like when you apply it to yourself
The H.E.A.L. method β Holism, Effectiveness, Awareness, Lifestyle β is the framework I use with every client. But it did not begin in the clinic. It began in the process of rebuilding my own body from a childhood where 100 pills of medication per day was normal and physical activity was not possible until my mid-teens. Applied to my own 2024, it looked like this.
Holism
Clinical performance, family wellbeing, sleep quality, and professional development are not separate categories. They are one interconnected system. Neglecting any one eventually affects the others. The year was planned with that in mind.
Effectiveness
Not every professional development opportunity is worth attending. Not every book is worth finishing. Not every approach is worth adopting. The conferences and courses in 2024 were chosen because they directly expanded clinical capability. Effectiveness means being selective, not just busy.
Awareness
Knowing when the clinical load is approaching a threshold. Knowing when fatigue is accumulating before it becomes a problem. Knowing which sessions required more physical output and scheduling accordingly. This is not intuition β it is a skill developed through years of close attention.
Lifestyle
The 30 hours of self-treatment is not the impressive figure. What it reflects is a lifestyle in which the maintenance practices are already embedded β sleep structure, how I move through the day, physical activities I share with my children, breathing habits, the rhythm I maintain between sessions.
To help them find their own version of it. To fill in their own puzzle until the practices that keep them well become so embedded they no longer require conscious effort. That is what 2024 looked like for me β and it is what I am trying to help build for the people who come through the door.
Full Record
2024 Professional Development
Conferences
- MMA National Conference Tweed Heads, May 2024
- ESSA Research to Practice Conference Sydney, May 2024
- SMA & ACSEP Conference Melbourne, October 2024
- APA Focus Conference Perth, November 2024
Workshops & Courses
- Dynamic Myofascial Release: Lumbopelvic Region Workshop Tweed Heads, May 2024
- Rheumatology Ultrasound Course β 2 days, Australian Institute of Ultrasound Gold Coast, May 2024
- First Aid Recertification β St John Ambulance Australia May 2024
- Technical Lifting: The Core & Hip December 2024
Books Read
- Insight Therapies July
- Peak Mind β Amishi Jha August
- γγγγγγγγγγε©γγ«θ‘γγ β θͺεγζγεΏηε¦ (I Will Go to Rescue “Myself”: The Psychology of Self-Salvation) October
- Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School β Andrew Hallam October
- Atomic Habits β James Clear October
- Underlying Logic: How to See the Essence of Things October
- Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionise Education β Sal Khan November
- Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time β Brian Tracy November
- The Fundamental Logic and Survival Rules of the AI World November
- Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI β Madhumita Murgia December
Related reading on this site
Work With Hill
Your own version of H.E.A.L. starts with an assessment
Every person’s H.E.A.L. is different β different work, different body, different history. An assessment is the starting point for understanding what yours looks like.
Educational content only. Not medical advice. Individual results vary. Hill Yang is an ESSA Accredited Exercise Scientist (AES #17005) and Remedial Massage Therapist (MMA #031045). Always consult a qualified health professional for personal health concerns.
