How to use the Wheel of Life to find greater balance

In today’s busy lives, it’s all too easy to find yourself off balance and not paying enough attention to important areas of your life. As coaches, we are taught to use various techniques to help our clients move forward. One great tool that I regularly use with my mum clients at the start of their coaching journey is the ‘Wheel of Life’.

It’s called the Wheel of Life because it is mapped out using the spokes of a wheel. This coaching model is widely attributed to Paul J. Meyer. Using the Wheel of Life enables you to take a helicopter view of your life to identify which areas are going well and which feel out of balance. It is a powerful tool because it gives you a visual representation of how your life currently looks. With that knowledge, you can create actions to bring about the change you desire.

Using the tool

Take a sheet of paper and draw a large circle. Divide the circle into eight segments. There are three ways of labelling each segment:

1. The roles you play in life – parent, son or daughter, brother or sister, friend, manager, colleague, neighbour, team member, volunteer or another role.
2. The areas of life that are important to you – personal development, relationships, family, health and well-being, money, career, fun and leisure, spiritual life or another area.
3. Your own combination of these, reflecting what is important to you.

Write these labels in the segments of the wheel.

Then, assess each area on a scale from one to 10, with one at the centre of the wheel and 10 at its outer edge. Shade each segment to reflect how fulfilled you currently feel in that area. A small amount of shading indicates that you feel less fulfilled, while a larger amount indicates that you feel more fulfilled.

Finally, look at the whole wheel. The challenge now is to move forward by taking steps towards achieving the balance you want and bringing about the change you desire.

Are there areas that feel out of balance, areas you are neglecting or areas to which you are devoting too much time? Decide what action you want to take. Think about what you want to do more of, what you want to do less of and choose some manageable actions.

Working with a coach can give you clarity and support as you create a manageable plan.