5 Steps How To Do A Life Audit: Goal Setting and Prioritising
Take charge of your life, don't let it take charge of you...
If you want to be in charge of your life rather than let it take charge of you, then it may be time for a Life Audit... what's this we hear you say?
We spoke to Natalia Bojanic, co-founder of Method Movement, who has given us insight on how she transformed her life and achieved her goals.
Two years ago, for the first time, I did my own version of the Life Audit designed by Ximena Vengoechea, the digital philosopher. Her experience went viral and has helped thousands of people to transform their lives. Below is my version of it.
If you are a big dreamer but sometimes find bringing visions to reality a bit overwhelming, you will enjoy the process of projecting your thoughts into colourful Post-it notes.
Even more fun will be revisiting your goals (in a year or so) and seeing how magically things have shifted. Having a constant visual reminder to live an awesomely inspired life makes a huge difference - and makes directing your focus and energy much less daunting.
In January 2015 when I was a luxury PR Director, one of my goals was to do an online Nutrition course, something I had been procrastinating over for years. My master excuse - and I am not alone in this one, was, “I don’t have time”. A negative voice that brought self-doubting questions.
Questions like, “why would I do that?”, “how could I be so silly as to think I can follow my passions, dare to dream and become the CEO of my life?” and, “you do not have a plan, you have a safe career, why change?”.
Rationally staying in our comfort zone is always the safest option - it’s the nature of the body and mind to avoid pain. However, a deep urge to help others and a strong feeling that it was time to take the leap of faith. I quit my glamorous job nine months later and moved to the US to do a Healthy Holistic course at the Hippocrates Health Institute, and later studied Naturopath Biomedicine at CNM.
In January 2016, when I was living off my savings and panicking about how I was going to pay the rent on my lovely Chelsea flat, I wrote on my life audit board, “I want to employ and give opportunities to likeminded people who want to help others to live happier and healthier lives”. I could barely afford my bills with the amount of money I was making, but I was not short of ambition and drive!
Again, nine months later, in September 2016 I helped Joshua Clark to co-found METHOD Movement, a Fitness & Wellness Studio - a place to strengthen the body and the mind. Our vision is to offer fun and feasible solutions in an environment of good vibes.
How to do a Life Audit:
Here are some simple steps on how to do a Life Audit:
1. TAKE A STEP BACK AND CHECK IN:
Are you excited about life? Do you feel fulfilled? Are you bringing your unique vision to the world? Are you in alignment with your true self? Do you have the freedom to express your creativity and share your gifts? Schedule two hours with yourself, block out all distractions and take the time to reflect on your choices and revisit your core values, what drives and inspires you.2. WRITE YOUR WISHES AND POST-IT (Literally):
All you need to unleash your inner-genius is a board or wall, 100 or so Post-it notes and a pen. To start architecting life, use your first four Post-its and on each write down: Personal, Professional, Short-term, Long-term. Place the personal and professional Post-its as at the top of two vertical columns, then make your two rows - short-term and long-term. Write a wish on every Post-it, however major or minor. This is not the time to limit yourself, just let your imagination rip. There’s no right or wrong, it’s your journey, so choose the path that is natural to you. Continue until you reach 100 - or run out of wishes.3. DISPLAY YOUR MASTERPIECE:
Hang your board in a place you look at several times a day - even if that’s your fridge door! This giant collection of Post-its will work as a constant reminder of your priorities. It will provide clarity to action and inspire you to find ways of making your wishes your reality.4. MEASURE YOUR MEANINGFUL TIME:
Ask yourself these questions -
- What’s truly valuable to you in life? (write as many answers as you deem necessary)
- How much time are you dedicating towards these things?
- What can you do to create more time for these things?
Ask yourself how long you spend engaging with your passions (it’s probably less than you realise!). Ideally, the amount of time you’re spending on them increases as a result of this exercise. This can be a good time to reflect on where you’re wasting time and how you can end this bad habit.
It's so easy to lose focus with so many distractions going on around us daily and wasting energy on meaningless things (e.g. social media scrolling... we're guilty!).. This exercise should inspire you to improve your focus, reduce your distraction time and live a fuller life.
5. GAIN PERSPECTIVE AND FIND A MENTOR:
Look for cheerleader critics. A mentor or a sounding board who will tell not what you want to hear, but what you need to hear - someone whose true intention is to support your growth, not an easy and straightforward process. Look for someone who has achieved what you desire and someone whose opinion is valuable to you. With this person, you can create an action plan on what you need to do to achieve your goals, planning time against each one and realistic actions, then review these weekly/ monthly to assess your progress.I truly hope this article has been of service to you. Remember our only commitment in life is to happiness. To be happy and beyond is the true meaning of life.
Click here to read more on this topic.
