“New year, new me” might sound like a cliché, but there is something magical about hitting the reset button on your life as the calendar turns. What if 2025 could be your best year yet – not by chance, but by design? That’s where the life audit comes in.
A life audit isn’t just a performance review of 2024 but also the blueprint for 2025. This guide will help you set a crystal clear vision for the year ahead.
Ready? Grab your notebook and let’s make 2025 the year everything changes.
Edited: 12 December 2024
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What is a life audit?
First, let’s start with the basics.
A life audit is a process in which you reflect on your life and plan your future. It is a full review and evaluation of your current circumstances concerning relationships, finances, career, health, etc.
It is a tool that you can use frequently to check back in with yourself and to take note if you are still on track with your action plan.
Resources to do a life audit
There is no right way to do a life audit, however, I do suggest using the following resources and tips:
- Put time aside: A life audit shouldn’t be rushed in order to get the most out of it.
- Do it in complete silence: Get rid of any distractions. It should just be you and your mind.
- A journal or notebook: This step-by-step process will be the most effective if you write it down. Not only can it be used as motivation when you feel down in the dumps, but it is also important to keep it safe so you can look back at it at your next life audit.
- Other resources: a goal planner journal, Canva vision board template, and a 2025 digital planner
- Stationary: Have your pens, highlighters, stickers, etc ready. We all love making journals pretty!
- A cup of brew: No life audit is complete without a cup of coffee!
How to do a life audit in 2024
Now that we have the nitty gritty behind us, we can move on to the fun part. The actual step-by-step guide to the ultimate life audit!
1. Score your year
I recently discovered the ‘wheel of life’. It is the perfect concept to begin your annual life audit with.
The wheel of life is a visual representation in which you can score all aspects of your life and evaluate where improvements are needed.
Edit: I’ve just written a FULL guide to the Wheel of Life AND it includes a *new version* of the FREE printable! Check it out here.
Rate all these categories based on your satisfaction with them this year on a scale of 1-10.
- Career – fulfillment with work
- Physical – happiness regarding physical health, eating and sleeping habits, etc
- Finance – satisfaction with spending habits, budgets, etc
- Mental – mental health wellbeing
- Spiritual – satisfaction with relationship with God
- Recreational – happiness with leisure time, hobbies, and memories made
- Social/relationships – satisfaction with connections and social life
- Environmental – satisfaction with immediate surroundings
I made a *FREE* printable of the “Wheel of Life” for you to download! Feel free to use it as an aid in your life audit.
2. Life audit reflective questions
Another way to put 365 days into perspective is via reflective questions.
Pick up your journal and take some time to reflect on these questions. We have to evaluate the past before we can, efficiently, plan the future.
- What were your wins and losses this year?
- Describe 2024 in one word.
- What was your biggest lesson?
- What was your proudest moment?
- Do you have any habits you need to change?
- Name 5 things you are grateful for.
- Do you have any regrets? How can you change that next year?
- Are you happy right now?
3. Evaluate last year’s vision board and goals
Check which goals you achieved and which you didn’t. Elaborate why you might have missed some goals.
I use goal categories to make it easier to look back on and evaluate, such as:
- Mental health
- Spirituality
- Personal
- Career
- Finance
- Physical Health
Reflect on those categories, respectively, in three lines. All you need to write for each category is:
- What did I accomplish?
- What didn’t I?
- Why?
You do not have to write an essay on every goal you set.
4. Reply to your letter
I wanted to share this one as a bonus with you. I didn’t realize the impact this would have on my life when I wrote myself a letter at the start of the year to read at the end of this year.
In January 2024, I wrote my future self a letter. When I read it, I laughed and cried simultaneously.
I didn’t realize how far I’d come in one year. If you wrote yourself a letter, reply to it.
Don’t know how to write a letter to your future self? I just finished a step-by-step guide with an example to guide you through it! Check it out here.
5. What does your level 10 life look like?
I could write pages and pages about all my dreams! There is no shortage.
I don’t want you to limit yourself. Write anything and everything your heart desires.
This exercise might sound redundant in a life audit, but it is actually essential.
- It will guide you when you start planning your 2025 goals to stay on the right track.
- It also serves as a remembrance and motivation for why you are doing certain things.
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6. Plan your goals (finally)
Now that we reflected on our past and dreamt about our futures, we can plan the stepping stones for a successful year.
Write down your goals per category. You can use the categories I stated above or customize them to your life.
A hot tip:
- Use the SMART method. I’ll touch on it briefly because I already covered it here. But, basically, the SMART method is five key points your goals must align with to be optimal.
- S – Specific
- M – Measurable
- A – Achievable
- R – Relevant
- T – Time-bound
- Use the SMART method. I’ll touch on it briefly because I already covered it here. But, basically, the SMART method is five key points your goals must align with to be optimal.
Use this method to create a game plan. Goals are just dreams if you do not have a plan to execute them.
7. Word of the year
Oh, I love doing this!
I choose a word or a theme every year. See it as the title to a new chapter in my life’s book.
This word summarises all my main goals into one emotion or feeling. For example, my word for 2023 was “content” – meaning in a state of peace, because my main goal surrounded mental well-being. My word for 2024 is “determination” because my main goal is based on my career.
Comment your word of the year down below!
8. Make your vision board
This is by far my favorite part!
A vision board is a visual representation of your goals to serve as a reminder and motivation of what you want out of life.
A lot of sources will talk about it as a tool of manifestation or a law of attraction, but I do not believe in any of that. My vision board serves only one goal. And that is to motivate me.
There is no wrong way to make a vision board. I have a vision board series right now if you are interested and want to know more!
- 10 Aesthetic Vision Board Quotes – Free Printables For A Great Year
- How to Make a Vision Board | The Ultimate Guide
- How To Make A Digital Vision Board | With FREE Template
Here is my 2024 vision board for some inspiration <3.
9. Write yourself a letter
Of course, we need to write a letter again!
You can only open this letter in December 2025. It doesn’t need to be long.
Let me know if you want a guide on how to write a letter to yourself! I can make that happen ♥. (And I did).
10. Create a plan for consistency
Setting goals and creating a vision board is inspiring, but let’s face it: sticking to them is a real challenge.
Here is how you can maintain momentum:
- Get an accountability partner to keep you on track
- Build new habits via habit stacking to reach your goals
- Track your progress with a habit tracker or goal tracker
- Schedule your future check-ins
- Plan for obstacles – life happens
11. Pray
Pray.
Ask for God’s blessing over the goals you set. Ask Him to guide you.
I want to pray with you.
God, O Mighty
I ask Your blessing over every person reading this article.
I pray that You will guide them through 2025. That You will carry them over any mountain that may come their way.
I pray that You will show them their purpose and the God-given talents You gave them to accomplish it.
May we honor you in everything we do.
In God’s name alone.
Amen.
Conclusion
We are at the end of our 2024 life audit! I cannot believe how the time flies.
I hope this life audit guide was useful and helpful to you. Remember to send this to your accountability partner!
Remember to become part of the family for weekly updates, exclusive access to my resource library, and a 15% discount on all my Etsy products as thank you for subscribing!
Have a great day wherever you are in the world!
Love, Steph <3
