Here’s How to Do a Life Audit
Photo by Jeffery Erhunse on Unsplash
Figure out what it is in life you don’t do well, and then don’t do it. — Douglas Coupland
It is so common for people to want to reach their goals faster, and more efficiently to overall progress and improve their lives.
In my most recent experience as a life coach, I’ve learned how often people have the want and desire just to be better than what they already are.
But how do you expect to improve if you’re unaware of your current state?
There’s no way for you to improve if you don’t know and understand where you already are in life.
Therefore, understanding how to successfully perform a life audit and learning how to apply those tools and skills, can be a crucial part of your growth.
What is a Life Audit?
A life audit aims to bring clarity to yourself, about yourself, for yourself.
An audit, (done in most businesses) determines if every action in that organization matches the outcome (money, product, etc.). This is similar to a life audit.
A life audit is like a spring cleaning for the soul.
It is a self-reflection process that helps rid the distractions, align your goals, and overall allows you to get your crap together.
Why is it important?
Life auditing allows you to identify the things that matter most so that you can focus on creating a life you love.
Life auditing can be an effective tool when going through life transformations such as career changes, new relationships, identity discovery/change, environment changes, etc.
I began life auditing not too long ago and it started fairly confusing, but by the end, I had a much better understanding of the potential gaps in my life. With this understanding, I was able to compose new goals that better aligned with my values and desires.
Major benefits of life auditing
Doing life audits forced me to be more intentional with myself, my time, my money, and my energy.
One of the best parts of life auditing is that you can do it anytime you feel unfulfilled or if your life ever feels “out of whack” or “off track.”
A few other major benefits of life auditing include:
It allows you to see where you are in the process of accomplishing your goals.
It can bring deliberateness to your life.
It allows you some true “me” time.
It can bring motivation.
What you need before you start:
Undisturbed ‘you’ time to process thoughts & emotions.
A safe space to be completely BLUNT with yourself.
A journal for your thoughts.
The steps
Step 1: Reflect on your happiness in all areas of your life.
The first step to doing a life audit is to identify the essential areas of your life and rate them on The Wheel of Life.
Think of these specific areas:
Work-Life/ Career
Relationships (family, friends, romance, etc.)
Home life/ environment
Finances/Money
Daily life/ Hobbies
Physical Health
Emotional Health
Mental Health
Then ask yourself:
1. What is going well in this area?
2. Why do you enjoy it?
3. Why is it going well? Why is it not?
4. What could be improved in this area? Why?
5. What could be different? What could you do differently?
The key to doing this is taking time and being as specific with your answers as possible.
Step 2: Set new goals.
Ask yourself these two essential questions:
Where do you see yourself 12 months from now?
What does that life look like?
Once you’ve figured out the areas of your life in need of improvement, creating new SMART goals will increase your chances of filling in those gaps hindering you from a better, more loved life.
SMART goals:
Specific. Overgeneralized goals don’t provide you with any direction. Making my goals specific allowed me to understand the end game and track my progress.
Measurable. You want to be able to measure your goals to measure the degree of your success. For example, if your goal is to save more money to travel more, make it measurable by saying “I want to save $1200 for travel expenses” Being able to measure your money amount allows to you see progress numerically.
Attainable. Be sure the goals you’ve set are possible to accomplish. Setting a goal, you can’t achieve could hinder your motivation and decrease your confidence. Also, steer clear of setting goals that are too easy. Simple goals won’t allow you to reach your full potential.
Time-bound. Set goals with deadlines! This helps you stay focused and on task. This also gives you something to look forward to celebrating after your hard work.
Step 3: Create a Vision Board
Having vision boards helps remind me daily of all my goals and wants. Having them visually available gives me that extra motivation I need to get through the rough parts of life.
There are 2 ways I create vision boards:
Virtually
Handmade
Neither way is better than the other! Both can be equally effective in giving you the necessary drive to accomplish your goals.
I have a total of 2 vision boards currently. 1 virtual and 1 hand-made:
Photos on each board are taken from magazines, newspapers, and online sources.
Created by Author
To create the hand-made board, I searched through old magazines and printed out random pictures from Pinterest and Google that I resonated with and that resonated with my new goals.
I added a few of my favorite affirmations I want to live by this year by writing them on the sides and the bottom. This board hangs on the wall of my bedroom facing my bed.
Seeing this board every day before I get up and every night before I go to sleep gives me that extra reminder of what I’m striving for and why.
Choosing to hand-make your vision board can turn into an art project amongst friends or a self-care project you do for yourself. Your pictures don’t have to make sense to anyone but you!
The virtual board was created on Canva. I, again, took photos from my phone, Google, and Pinterest and aligned them the way I wanted. This vision board is the background wallpaper and lock screen of my computer.
Seeing this every time I open my computer to work or write brings an increased level of motivation and determination to get the tasks done.
Super simple task!
Step 4: Take action.
Once you’ve set your goals and made your vision board(s), make a plan and start ASAP!
As an over-thinker, I sometimes spend so much time planning that I forget to do it. I used to struggle with wanting my plans to be perfect when in reality, that isn’t possible.
Don’t wait! Take those necessary steps to get the things you want!
Thanks for reading!!! If you’re able, I’d appreciate it if you brought me a coffee.
Disclaimer: I am not a therapist or medical professional. As a Mental Health & Wellness Coach, I am not providing medical, or therapy services or attempting to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any physical, mental, or emotional issue.
