How to do a *life audit* and get your life together 🌱
“I want to do everything so I do nothing.” We’ve all heard this. We’ve all experienced it. The feeling that eats away at you to do everything but also prevents you from moving forward. I’ve experienced it one to many times and after all the time that I have lost due to this persistent pondering, I’ve come to an understanding that wanting to do everything is the precise reason that you do nothing.
Now there is nothing wrong with wanting to do big things, the problems arise when your desire to do everything paralyzes you to the point that you can’t even move and do the things that are required of you to do.
And after a much needed season of trial and error, I have come to the conclusion that the only way to escape this torturous way of living is by doing a life audit.
By definition, a life audit is a structured way of self-evaluation of different areas of your life—such as goals, relationship, finances/career, health and more—to see what’s working and what’s not.
Now in my opinion, there are two types of life audit, one is similar to the definition that I have mentioned above. But the one I am going to be sharing today is a different one. One I have come up with myself sitting at my calc lecture. This one is different because it doesn’t need you to break down and focus on every area but choose the ones that are going to move the needle the most.
Gone are the days that you procrastinate and sabotage yourself from doing the things that need to get done because in this edition of my blog, I’ll be sharing with you, How to do a life audit, *Tsion style.*
1. Write down all the things you want to accomplish in your life
I want you to get out a piece of paper or even you notes app. Divide it vertically, then, brain-dump everything you want to get in life. You want to own a house in Taiwan, write it down. You want to move to California and live in Beverly hills, write it down. You want to be the next Mansa Musa, write it down. Don’t limit yourself by thinking its unrealistic, instead write everything down. When I did this, I wrote about 30 things and let me tell you, they were big. Again don’t limit yourself.
2. Use the other side
Then on the other side, I wrote down all the things I was currently doing to make sure that that dream became a reality. Simply put, dreams vs. current actions. I had about 12 written down. I then took a green and a red pen and put dots on each one of them. If I was doing well in the area, I put down a green, if it wasn’t very green worthy, I put down a red. By the end of the process, I had placed a green dot on 1 thing on the whole list. That wasn’t a very delightful experience.
3. Go over them
After you see how many greens and reds you have, in your head or preferably on the space next to it, write down why it isn’t working for the red dots you have placed. This isn’t to make you feel guilty, thats far from the point, its to make you see how much you have on your plate and how you are managing it. For me it wasn’t going very well and I acknowledged that without beating myself up for it.
If you’re stuck, you can use reflective prompts such as
Am I consistent?
Do I actually prioritize this?
Is it pushing me towards my goals or distracting me?
Is it something I truly want?
After you’re done reflecting, go to your green dots and do the same thing.
4. Move the needle
Now to the fun part, I know you’ve heard this a million time but pick 3. Not five or ten. If you end up picking more, you will feel overwhelmed and find yourself at the same place you are currently in and well, you can only read an article so many times. So only pick three. You should also take your sweet time doing this because these are the main goals/habits you are going to be focusing on for the next three months. These will be the ones that are going to move the needle for you. You can pick areas like heath, school, business ventures or even rest.
Think of these three as your anchors. If you give them your full focus, then everything else will eventually will fall into place.
Now, don’t neglect your other areas just because these three are your main focus. Work on them as you need but they are not your priority, meaning that they should not add to your plate but serve as a reminder that you’re still moving forward, just not at the same pace you previously were.
5. Trabajar
Lastly, get to work. Deciding and planning can only take you so far. Turn these three areas that you have chosen into daily habits/actions that you can practice. For each one, write out 1 daily action that you can do to push you forward.
If your #1 was health - walk for 20 minutes or go to workout class.
If #2 was school - Have a non-negotiable 2-hour study session everyday.
If #3 was self-improvement - Read 5 pages everyday and reflect on it.
Focus on progress and not so much on perfection. Show up, everyday, no matter what you are feeling or thinking. Small actions are what compound to big results over time.
And that my dear is how you do a life audit, *Tsion Style*. I hope you enjoyed this and Remember: You are the only one that can take yourself where you want to go.
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I hope this brought you some clarity and inspiration. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next edition. Until then, keep growing and showing up for yourself.