The Wheel of Life®

When life is busy, or all your energy is focused on a special project, it's all too easy to find yourself off balance, not paying enough attention to important areas of your life. While you need to have drive and focus if you're going to get things done, taking this too far can lead to frustration and intense stress.

That's when it's time to take a "helicopter view" of your life, so that you can bring things back into balance.

This is where the Wheel of Life® (or Life Wheel) can help. Commonly used by professional life coaches, it helps you consider each area of your life in turn and assess what's off balance. As such, it helps you to identify areas that need more attention.

Figure 1 below shows an example wheel of life with example "dimensions" (we'll explain how to choose the right areas of life or dimensions for you below).

Figure 1 – Wheel of Life Example

 

The Wheel of Life is powerful because it gives you a vivid visual representation of the way your life is currently, compared with the way you'd ideally like it to be. It is called the "Wheel of Life" because each area of your life is mapped on a circle, like the spokes of a wheel. The concept was originally created by Paul J. Meyer, founder of Success Motivation® Institute, Inc.

How to Use the Wheel of Life

First of all, you need to create your own Wheel of Life! One way is to use our free interactive tool below. 

Or you could use one of several Wheel of Life apps on your device. Alternatively, you can use the following steps to create your Life Wheel by hand and assess your balance. (This allows you to define your own dimensions.)

Start by downloading our free worksheet which contains a blank Wheel of Life diagram as shown in figure 2, below.

Figure 2 – Wheel of Life Template

 

1. Brainstorm Life Areas

Start by brainstorming the six to eight dimensions of your life that are important for you. Different approaches to this are:

• The roles you play in life, for example: husband/wife, father/mother, manager, colleague, team member, sports player, community leader, or friend.
• Areas of life that are important to you, for example: artistic expression, positive attitude, career, education, family, friends, financial freedom, physical challenge, pleasure, or public service.
• Your own combination of these (or different) things, reflecting the things that are your priorities in life.

Finding This Article Useful?

You can learn another 79 stress management skills, like this, by joining the Mind Tools Club.

Join the Mind Tools Club Today!

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Receive new career skills every week, plus get our latest offers and a free downloadable Personal Development Plan workbook.

Read our Privacy Policy

2. Write These Down on the Wheel of Life

Write down these dimensions on the diagram, one on each spoke of the life wheel.

3. Assess Each Area of the Life Wheel

This approach assumes that you will be happy and fulfilled if you can find the right balance of attention for each of these dimensions. And different areas of your life will need different levels of attention at different times. So the next step is to assess the amount of attention you're currently devoting to each area.

Consider each dimension in turn, and on a scale of 0 (low) – to 10 (high), write down the amount of attention you're devoting to that area of your life. Mark each score on the appropriate spoke of your Life Wheel.

4. Join up the Marks

Now join up the marks around the circle. Does your life wheel look and feel balanced?

5. Think About Your Ideal Level for Life Balance

Next it's time to consider your ideal level in each area of your life. A balanced life does not mean getting 5 in each life area: some areas need more attention and focus than others at any time. And inevitably you will need to make choices and compromises, as your time and energy are not in unlimited supply!

So the question is, what would the ideal level of attention be for you in each life area?

Plot the "ideal" scores around your life wheel too.

6. Take Action

Now you have a visual representation of your current life balance and your ideal life balance. Where are the gaps? These are the areas of your life that need attention.

And remember that gaps can go both ways. There are almost certainly areas that are not getting as much attention as you'd like. However, there may also be areas where you're putting in more effort than you'd ideally like. These areas are sapping energy and enthusiasm that may better be directed elsewhere.

Once you have identified the areas that need attention, it's time to plan the actions needed to work on regaining balance. Starting with the neglected areas, what things do you need to start doing to regain balance? In the areas that currently sap your energy and time, what can you stop doing or reprioritize or delegate to someone else? Make a commitment to these actions by writing them on your worksheet.

Wheel of Life Infographic

Click on the image below to see the Wheel of Life represented in an infographic:

Download Worksheet