How to Do a Life Audit: Step-by-Step Guide to Realign Your Life

Have you ever looked around and thought, “Is this really the life I want to be living?”
It’s a big question — and it can feel overwhelming. But instead of ignoring that nudge, a life audit gives you a structured way to pause, reflect, and realign.

A life audit is like pressing the reset button. It helps you see what’s working, what isn’t, and where you want to go next. Think of it as an intentional check-in — a chance to step back from autopilot and make sure your daily actions match the bigger vision you have for your life.

Sometimes this big like realignment comes because its neccessary, from a disruption or major life change, but other times its simply because you feel stuck in life and need to find a new way forward.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to do a life audit step by step, plus share some reflective questions and tools to help you get started.

What Is a Life Audit?

A life audit is an intentional process of reviewing different areas of your life — from your health and relationships to your career and personal growth — to see where you feel aligned and where you might want to make changes.

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Why Do a Life Audit?

Life moves quickly. Between responsibilities, routines, and unexpected twists, it’s easy to lose sight of what matters most. Doing a life audit gives you:

• Clarity – You can rediscover or uncover what’s truly important to you.
• Awareness – You will notice habits, patterns, and areas of stress that may have been running on autopilot.
• Direction – You can create space to set intentional goals that reflect your values.
• Confidence – With a clear picture of your life, you can make changes without second-guessing yourself and that feels pretty darn good!.

Many people choose to do a life audit at the start of the year, around their birthday, or during seasons of change. But honestly? Anytime you feel stuck, restless, or ready for growth is the perfect time.

Personally, anytime that life feels like it’s in a bit of a slump feels like a good time for an audit to me but you don’t have to wait for the slump to happen. Mini life audits can be done anytime!

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Areas to Review in a Life Audit

When you sit down to do your life audit, it helps to break things into categories. You don’t need to cover every single one, but these areas are a great place to start:

• Health & Wellness – physical, mental, and emotional well-being
• Relationships – family, friends, partner, community
• Career & Work – job satisfaction, income, impact
• Finances – spending, saving, debt, financial goals
• Personal Growth – learning, hobbies, self-discovery
• Environment – home, workspace, surroundings
• Lifestyle & Fun – leisure, travel, adventure, creativity
• Spirituality & Inner Life – faith, mindfulness, connection to something bigger
• Contribution & Legacy – giving back, impact, how you want to be remembered

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Step-by-Step: How to Do a Life Audit

Alright, we’ve covered all the good reasons why its worth auditing your life, but let’s get into the juciy stuff… how to actually do it for yourself! There is no one way of doing this but this is the process I like to use when I do a life audit for myself. Adapt it to suit you!

1. Set the Scene

Choose a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted. Grab a journal or notebook… scrap paper… anything works and a pen or pencil. Light a candle, make tea, or any other things that get you focused and in the right zone, and set the intention to be honest with yourself.

2. Rate Each Area of Your Life

On a scale of 1–10, rate how satisfied you feel in each area (1 = completely unsatisfied, 10 = thriving). This gives you a quick snapshot of where things feel good and where you may want to focus. And be completely honest with yourself… that’s part of setting the scene.

Making sure you’re in a position where you’re ready to really dig deep and be honest with yourself on how you’re feeling.

3. Reflect with Questions

Once you’ve rated each area of your life, the next step is to dig deeper with reflection. Numbers alone don’t tell the full story — the real insight comes from the questions you ask yourself. These prompts help you uncover what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’d love to shift.

For each area, pause and ask:

• What’s working well?
  • What am I proud of in this area?
  • What routines, habits, or choices are helping me feel good?
  • What moments of joy or success have I experienced recently?
• What feels draining or out of alignment?
  • Where do I feel resistance, stress, or dissatisfaction?
  • Are there patterns I’ve noticed that leave me feeling stuck?
  • Am I living in a way that reflects my values, or am I just going through the motions?
• What do I want to change, let go of, or bring in?
  • What no longer serves me in this area?
  • If I could wave a magic wand, what would I remove or simplify?
  • What new habits, boundaries, or practices would make this area feel lighter or more fulfilling?
• What goals do I have currently, and how are they progressing?
  • Am I moving toward them consistently, or have I lost momentum?
  • Do these goals still feel meaningful, or do they need adjusting?
  • What’s one small step I could take this week to move forward?
• What does “ideal” look like for me in this area?
  • If I imagine my best version of this part of life, what would it look and feel like?
  • How different is that vision from my current reality?
  • What would bridging that gap require?

These reflections don’t need to be rushed. Take your time, journal freely, and be honest with yourself. The goal isn’t perfection — it’s awareness. Awareness creates space for intentional change.

4. Look for Patterns

Once you’ve rated and reflected on each area of your life, take a step back and look at the bigger picture. This is where the real insight often comes in. A life audit isn’t just about individual categories — it’s about noticing how they connect.

Patterns highlight the root causes of imbalance. Instead of trying to “fix” everything all at once, you can often make meaningful shifts by focusing on the area that’s influencing the rest.

👉 Ask yourself:

• Which areas seem to be connected?
• Is one challenge creating ripple effects elsewhere?
• Where could a small change have the biggest positive impact?

When you figure out these patterns helps you focus more effectively on the right things and makes the process of realignment feel less overwhelming.

5. Define Your Priorities

You don’t need to overhaul everything at once. This is important! Changing everything at once is downright terrifying.

When you look at the results of your life audit, it’s easy to feel like you need to change everything. But that approach usually leads to overwhelm — and burnout.

Instead, give yourself permission to focus. Choose one to three areas that feel the most important or urgent right now. These are the places where a little energy and attention will create the biggest ripple effect in your life.

Ask yourself:

• Which areas, if improved, would positively influence other parts of my life?
• Where do I feel the most out of alignment?
• What matters most to me in this season of life?

By narrowing your focus, you avoid spreading yourself too thin and avoiding the dreaded overwhelm.

It’s far better to make meaningful progress in a few areas than to barely scratch the surface in many. Remember — this is an ongoing practice. You can always revisit your life audit later and shift your priorities as you grow.

Think of it as planting seeds: choose a few to nurture now, knowing that with time and care, you’ll have space to plant more.

6. Create Action Steps

Reflection gives you clarity, but action is what creates change. Once you’ve chosen your top priorities, translate them into clear, realistic steps you can take in daily life. You might have heard the concept of SMART goals. This can apply with your action steps too.

The key is to keep actions:

• Specific – Clear and detailed, so you know exactly what you’re aiming for.
• Measurable – Easy to track, so you can see your progress.
• Achievable – Realistic for your current season of life, not overly ambitious.
• Relevant – Connected to your bigger vision and aligned with your values.
• Time-bound – Tied to a clear deadline or timeframe.

For example:

• If health is your focus → instead of “get fitter,” try “walk for 20 minutes, three times a week, for the next month.”
• If relationships matter → rather than “spend more time with friends,” try “schedule one coffee date each week for the next 8 weeks.”
• If finances need attention → instead of “save money,” commit to “save $100 by the end of the month by cooking at home 3 nights a week.”

👉 Think of this as creating a roadmap: each small step is a marker pointing you in the direction you want to go.

You don’t need to map out the whole journey right now — just the next few steps that move you forward. Over time, you’ll adjust, add new goals, and celebrate the progress you’ve made.

Remember, action steps are about building momentum. Even tiny, consistent changes have the power to shift how your life feels.

7. Schedule Check-Ins

A life audit isn’t something you do once and forget. Plan to revisit your reflections monthly or quarterly to see how things are evolving. Change where you need to, pivot or lean into what is working!

Questions to Ask During a Life Audit

Here are some journaling prompts you can use:

• What brings me joy right now?
• What drains my energy most?
• Where am I proud of myself?
• Where do I feel stuck or frustrated?
• What do I want more of in my life?
• What do I need to let go of?
• If I imagined my ideal day, how different is it from today?

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Tools for Your Life Audit

• Monthly Reset – Do a monthly reset for structure for your week.
• Journaling Prompts – try these goal-setting prompts .
• Habit Trackers – to support small daily changes (like your 100 day challenge tracker).
• Monthly or Weekly Reflections – try these reflection prompts to stay aligned.

Doing a life audit isn’t about being hard on yourself or aiming for perfection. It’s about awareness, alignment, and giving yourself permission to grow in the direction that feels right.

When you pause to reflect on your life, you step out of autopilot and into intention. And that’s where the magic happens — when your daily choices finally start to reflect the life you truly want to live.

So grab your journal (or download my printable worksheet), take a deep breath, and ask yourself: How does my life feel right now, and how do I want it to feel moving forward?