Your Life Audit (and how to get started)

Take a Life Audit.
An exercise to get you started on making those positive changes.

Why wait until January to start evaluating what you want to change in your life?
Perhaps you know already, but are having a problem with your motivation.

If you want to make some changes, the most important part is to commit your goals to paper. Write them down.

Start your audit
I always suggest my clients start with an audit. You can draw up a checklist like the one above, or create a Wheel of Life. Simply draw a circle on a blank page. Now divide it into segments (like cutting a pie) - you'll need around 6 but it's not crucial to have 6. You can have 8 or more.

Give each segment a label, for example:

• Career
• Relationships
• Friends
• Hobbies
• Family
• Finances
• Health and Wellbeing
• Relaxation, 'me' time.

Okay, now you have to evaluate how satisfied you are with each of those. 

What does 'satisfied' mean?
By 'satisfied' I mean are you fulfilling your potential? Do you have more to give? Are you coasting? Have you tried to make changes and plateaued, so you are stuck and settling?
Is it just 'okay' but not really what you dreamed of? Would you like more or less of whatever it is? Be honest.

Score them out of 10. So, zero would be completely dissatisfied and 10 would be perfectly happy.

What's a 'good score'?
As a guide, I suggest that a score of 5 or less is an area you need to work on. But, it's your choice.

Choose one or two of your lower scores. What for you would be a good improvement? Moving from  2 to 5, 5 to 7? 6 to 8? 8 to 10? 

Your timescales
Coaching is nothing without a timescale. We can all dream... and dream on! But to live the dream you have to do stuff. Where would you be in a month if you took some action? Where could you be in 6 months? A year? 

What's stopping you?
You know what needs to change, but why can't you do it?

• Fear of failure
• Fear of success
• Motivation
• Others' opinions
• Money
• Time
• Indecision
• Lack of confidence
• Lack of structure 
• Location

Maybe you could add your own to this list if helpful?

Taking action
How about you choose one thing that would help you to make a positive change now?
It could be a change in your mental attitude (positive instead of negative); seeking out people who can help you;  reducing the number of biscuits you eat in a day....one tiny thing.

Being accountable
The beauty of being coached is that you become accountable to someone else. Me. You have said you want to make changes, you have a plan of sorts, so it's over to you now to follow through.
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Keep a record

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Keep a record. 
I always suggest you keep a diary or journal where you record all small achievements, every day.  If it helps, treat yourself to a pretty notebook instead of the cheapest. Come on - these are YOUR achievements so buy that notebook!

​I don't recommend keeping a journal online because, without being too new age about it all, there is energy in your handwriting. Whether it's fast and furious or slow and methodic, those entries say as much about you as the words.

​​What you write down
It might be something small, like refusing the office cake if they are trying to lose weight, to speaking up in a meeting if they lack confidence, or saying 'No' to someone asking a favour when they are really pushed for time.

It could be staying calm when faced with a stroppy teenager, or making dinner from scratch even when you are knackered.

It could be some networking or other marketing on a business that one day will bear fruit. Or walking a bit further to up your exercise. We're talking small, not world changing. (Though that's okay too.)

Try to write down 3 positive achievements every day. Ideally, a couple should be connected to your main goal. But if you've made fantastic chocolate brownies today as well as possibly updating your CV, applying for a job, going to an interview, or working on your negative thoughts, credit yourself for that too. 

At the end of each week, look back over your journal. You see; you've done one heck of a lot more than you imagined. You've got the idea? So, keep going.
​And if you need some help, get in touch.