A Life Audit, like a financial one, is a process of reviewing “assets and liabilities” across various areas of your life. It’s a framework for checking in with yourself, noting how you're feeling and functioning relative to your goals and needs. Here are 5 steps to guide you through this process of checking in with yourself along your journey.
time for a
life audit?
Here are 5 steps to help you check in with your own goals and practices in different life areas.
Step 1: Choose the categories of your life that are important to you
You can select the parts of your life that matter most to you. I recommend keeping it simple, choosing major life areas such as: health, relationships, finances, intellectual pursuits, play/hobbies, spirituality, and work/school life.
Step 2: Create a Visual
If you are a visual thinker, there are a few ways you may want to capture your life audit. One option is with a bar graph: write each category along a line (an “X” axis) and then draw a bar representing your level of satisfaction or fulfillment in that life area (the “Y” axis). You could also use a pie chart, allowing each slice of the pie the amount of space that it represents in your life, in terms of importance. Or, you might choose to create a web, with different circles representing the areas of your life, sized according to their value or time. The idea is to “see” the parts that form the whole of your life, in a way that helps you think about how much time and energy you spend on each, their relative value, and your level of satisfaction in each area.
Step 3: Engage in Self-Inquiry
Check in with yourself with some open-ended questions for any given life area, such as “How do I feel about my financial life right now? Am I attending to important aspects of my health, or have I been putting them off? How much time would I like to spend each week on my relationships? Do I have clear intentions and pathways to meet them (in the near and distant future)? “
Step 4: Rate your current level of fulfillment or satisfaction in each area
(you can use a 5 or 10-point scale for ease). Now take a moment to see the relative satisfaction or fulfillment you feel with each area. Your ratings will change over time and the relative ratings will help to show you where you’ve been putting attention, and which areas may benefit from more intentional energy.
Step 5: Name steps for growth
For each category, ask yourself, “what is one step I can take to improve my satisfaction in this life area?” The step should be specific and measurable, and something you can do now or soon (see our upcoming post on SMART goals for more about effective goal-setting). Once you’ve named actionable, small steps in each life area, choose where to begin, whether it’s one area, or a few, and then set a date/time to take that next step.
Revisit your Audit Periodically
You can check in seasonally with your life audit, or choose one area each month to focus on. You will notice change as you revisit your audit over time. Here’s to your continued growth!
