Use our free online life balance wheel to do a wheel of life assessment to help you restore the balance in your life
The wheel of life is a useful tool to help you assess the balance in your life. It visually shows the balance in your life on a pie chart. At a glance, you can see where you are content and in which areas you have room for improvement. This is often a reflection of where you focus your attention.
We offer a free online wheel of life assessment to identify which areas of your life are being neglected to figure out where you need to focus in order to restore the balance.
Our free wheel of life maker is available both to individuals looking to find more balance in their lives and for life coaches who would like to use this as a tool for their clients. There are two versions: one version evaluates important areas of your life and the other important values.
Create a Wheel of Life
The Importance of Having Life in Balance
When life gets busy or we are dealing with a specific crisis or difficulty, we can find ourselves off balance. Suddenly, the urgent things take over the important things and we land up not focusing on things that are important but not urgent. We put our physical or mental well-being “on hold” and cause long-term damage that throws us off balance. When we don’t deal with the important things, then they become urgent in the future, but then it’s too late to deal with them (such as our health). See Sharpen the Saw
For example, when we have an important project to do at work, we might pay too much attention to work and not eat well or exercise. In this example, the section related to lifestyle choices such as food intake and physical activity might suffer. Even if we have a stressful job, it is important that we take care of ourselves by making sure that we are eating right, exercising often, taking breaks when needed, including time for ourselves, and getting enough sleep.
The Wheel of Life (or Life Wheel) is a great tool to visually reflect the balance in your life.
It should be noted that there are times when one area of our lives needs more attention than the others do – for example, if our careers are not going well then it might be worth spending more time at work trying to get it back on track. However, over time and in the long run, all areas need to get the focus that they require.
How to do a Wheel of Life Assessment
Online Assessment
All you need to do is answer a few questions and your life balance wheel will be created for you. Click either button to open the free wheel of life generator.
If there is an area that is not important to you, then skip that question to leave it blank.
Printable Wheel of Life Template
There are two versions of the printable templates. One has category names and one is blank to give you the option to select your categories.
If you use the blank template, then you will need to select the wheel of life categories that want to include. You can choose any 10 areas. The areas of life that you want to include in your life balance wheel can differ from person to person. See a list of optional areas of life below. However, the areas of life that you choose to include in your life balance wheel must be the areas that are important to you. For example, if self-fulfillment isn’t something that is important to you, then don’t include it.
- Fill in the 10 categories on the wheel of life template if you selected a blank template.
- Review each category and rank your level of satisfaction in each area. Use a scale of 1 (dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied).
- Review your completed wheel of life.
- Ask yourself the following questions: How do I feel about the balance? What is my ideal score in each category? Which areas need the most improvement? What can I do to improve the balance? What can I do to improve my satisfaction in each area?
- On the wheel of life worksheet, there is a section to add action items and steps you can take to improve your satisfaction in each area. The lower the score you got in each area the more action items you will include. For example, if you got a 4 in the finance category, then you will add 6 actions items (10-4=6). You add the number of steps required to bring each category to 10. Therefore, areas that have a higher score will have fewer items than those with a higher score.
- In the balance workbook, there are two kinds of planners: a weekly planner and a monthly planner. Add the action items to your planners to ensure that they are executed. Ideally, you will want to implement all the action items you write on your worksheet to improve your balance.
Assess your growth and progression periodically. If your wheel of balanced is pretty balanced, then you can create one once a year to ensure that your life stays balanced. If you notice an imbalance, then try to create a new wheel once a month or once every six months. You can then print a new template, assess each area of your life again, and check your action items to see which ones helped you bring balance. Repeat the effective steps and create new steps if you found some to be ineffective. Hopefully, you will see the progression and reach the right balance for you over time. If not, repeat the reflection stage and answer the questions on the worksheet to see how you can further improve your life balance.
Life Balance Wheel
Areas of Life
The life balance wheel is usually created to ensure balance in your life. The following areas are usually included but you can include the areas that are important to you.
Health
Health refers to the well-being of your body, mind, and soul. It includes not only our physical health but also our emotional health because it has a major impact on our physical self. To be balanced in this area, you have to take care of all things that can impact both your physical and emotional health, such as stress, diet, exercise, and mental health.
Family
This includes your relationship with your parents, siblings, and children.
Relationships
This includes intimate relationships or your relationship with your spouse.
Social
This includes friends, friendships, community, and group activities.
Financial
The financial category relates to your financial situation both in the present (your budget and how you manage your budget) and in the future (financial growth, savings, pension, etc).
Career/Business
This is your career or your business and all areas relating to your professional life.
Education
This could be your education if you are still acquiring an education. However, it could also mean enriching your education by reading and learning new skills.
Hobbies
This area relates to hobbies that people enjoy and the things they do in their spare time.
Fun, Leisure, and Recreation
This area relates to activities that people do for fun or in their free time. You could combine this category with hobbies.
Personal Growth
This area relates to personal development, long-term goals, and reaching one’s full potential.
Spirituality or Religion
Both religion and spirituality can have a positive impact on people’s mental health. In some ways, they provide the same impact. For example, Both religion and spirituality can help a person tolerate stress by generating peace, purpose, and forgiveness (source).
Contribution
This includes your contribution to society, volunteer work, or donations to causes that you believe in.
Creativity
We are all creative beings. We were created with purpose and with our own individual qualities that make us unique, which means we are all creative in our own ways. There are endless benefits to taking time out of your day to express your creativity (source). Having a creative outlet helps you deal with anxiety and stress, gives you a sense of purpose, and helps make space to overcome obstacles. For some people, despite the benefits of creativity, this will not be a category they consider adding to their wheel of life. For others, creativity is something they need to live a full life. Creative people often need a creative outlet in order to feel calm and fulfilled.
Values
Oprah Winfrey uses 12 values in her wheel of life instead of areas of life as is more commonly used. Oprah’s Life Planner, The Life You Want starts with a wheel of life with 12 sections. There is one value in each section. Each section of the planner is devoted to each of the values. These are the 12 values that Oprah considers essential to expanding our heart space and allowing us to step into the fullness of our authentic selves.
Integrity
Living an authentic life where you are yourself. Being true to yourself and aligning your actions with your beliefs. How true are you to yourself and to your values?
Vulnerability
Your willingness to share emotions, thoughts, and feelings even when it is uncomfortable or embarrassing. How willing are you to share your thoughts and feelings?
Connection
How would you rate the quality of the relationships in your life? Do you feel connected to people?
Mindfulness (Being Fully Present)
Your ability to be in the present without dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Are you present or do you spend a lot of time dwelling in the past or worrying about the future?
Resilience
Your ability to overcome challenges and adversity. How capable are you of overcoming challenges and adversity?
Compassion and Empathy
Do you show compassion and kindness to others and to yourself?
Forgiveness
Are you capable of forgiveness? Do you feel resentment, hold grudges or forgive and forget?
Renewal
How well do you take care of your physical and mental health? Do you give yourself the tools to recharge?
Service
How much do you contribute to the world? Are you satisfied with your contribution?
Gratitude
Do you appreciate what you have and give thanks for the small things in your life? Is gratitude something you think about on a daily basis?
Joy
Do you have enough happiness and joy in your life?
Reflection
Do you stop to reflect and examine your past and the progress you have made and decide what you want in the future?
Create a Wheel of Life10 Blank Categories
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