Do a life audit with me.
It's for our own good.
There’s nothing like returning to work after time off to really pull into focus exactly what areas of your life your ‘failing’ at.
I say that with all the self-compassion and non-judgement it deserves. Really. I’m not the kind of person who expects to be thriving in all respects, at all times. It’s a lesson I’ve learned well: where one area succeeds, another will take a hit.
And this year, surprisingly, the area of my life that is often the first to take a hit when things get busy, is thriving. But we’ll get to that.
In case this newsletter has come off slightly cryptic so far (I’m not sure whether ‘areas’ of life is a theme common to everyone or I’m rambling in my own language here), I’d like to introduce you to the ‘life audit wheel’.
The theory behind a life audit wheel is that anyone should be able to section off their life into different areas like career, health, self-development, fun, family etc. and rank exactly how they feel with each part of their lives, at any given time.
You could use the one I’ve shared above and rank from 1-10 how ‘well’ you see yourself going in each area right now. Unless you’re a superhuman there’s a good chance you will never rank 10 on every category. Priorities ebb and flow and we only have 24 hours in every day blah blah.
What has me thinking about the life audit wheel right now, is my return to work. With time off, ‘career’ completely disappears from a life wheel and the time you devote to that section can be redistributed between other values.
But it’s back on and my priorities of course have shifted to account for it.
As I mentioned earlier in this newsletter, usually, one section of my life will be the first to take a hit when things start getting busy.
That would be… my health and fitness!
But this year, that’s changed. I’ve decided it’s my first priority, and other areas can fall in afterward.
In my last newsletter, I recommended the self-help book to end all self-help books, Atomic Habits by James Clear.
I’m bringing it up again, not just because I’m a big fan, but because it helped me to change perspective on how I’m living.
There’s a particular learning I took from Atomic Habits that has thrown me completely, that many of our daily actions are done solely on autopilot.
Everyone has habits. They’re not all negative, or positive, plenty are neutral. But a lot of what we’re doing day-to-day is not done by conscious decision-making.
I will eat the chocolate that is in reach as a habit, triggered by seeing it at eye level on my pantry shelf.
This was eye-opening to me. To recognise how I fall back on habits to get me through the day.
And it was almost as simple as reading it, to change it.
Being conscious that I am not making my own decisions has empowered me to restructure my day to allow the right habits to be followed in autopilot.
I’m sure you’re wondering what this has to do with anything, though.
This year, health and fitness has become a priority because I decided it would be. I got a personal trainer. I scheduled in my workouts. I made it harder to not meet my goals than to skip them.
And it’s made me realise: the reason health and fitness was always the first value to fall to the wayside before, was because I was relying on less helpful habits.
Did I circle that back nicely enough?
Health and fitness is an important area of my life to prioritise because when it is doing well it makes other areas easier too.
When I feel strong and healthy, I feel more focused. I have more energy for socialising on the weekend.
Okay, maybe my bank takes a little hit for the investment in external motivators, but hey, I can’t meet every value at a 10.
My point, long-winded as it may be, is that you can be in control of your life priorities. Do not expect to have them all work together seamlessly and easily, but decide what combination will make you feel most fulfilled and allow time for them.
On my return to work, family, friends, leisure and finances have taken a slight back foot. And that’s just fine.
If you’re wanting to prioritise growth in 2023, doing a life audit and reevaluating my habits has been the two strongest factors that are helping me meet my goals. Maybe you’d like to do the same.
Or, maybe 2023 is your year of rest, intuition and self-compassion in which case, take this with a grain of salt.
No reccos this week! See ya next time. X