How To Use The Wheel Of Life For Personal Progress

Written by Michelle Ong | October 27, 2024 | Growth, Productivity

Learn how to use the Wheel of Life self-assessment tool to evaluate your life, set actionable goals, and boost personal progress.

Setting goals, whether at work or in personal life, can feel daunting, especially when you’re stuck wondering, “Where do I start?” and “What should I do?” I’ve been there too. That’s where the Wheel of Life comes in—it’s a great tool to help you perform a self-assessment and gain clarity on what areas need attention. This post will guide you through using this wheel to answer those questions and kickstart your goal-setting journey.

Types Of Personal Goals

Goals come in all shapes and sizes – major, minor, short-term, long-term, personal, professional, and even those that we strive to avoid or approach.

Personal goals can be categorized into various key types. Here are several of them:

Achievement goals, focusing on specific accomplishments like career milestones, educational achievements, or personal awards.
Developmental goals involve enhancing personal qualities or skills, such as learning a new language, improving communication skills, or developing leadership abilities.
Lifestyle goals encompass aspirations related to health, wellness, and lifestyle changes, such as adopting a fitness routine, maintaining a balanced diet, or achieving work-life balance.
Relationship goals involve nurturing relationships with family, friends, or significant others, aiming for better communication, increased quality time, or deeper connections.

Wheel Of Life

“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.”
John Dewey

John Dewey’s quote really resonates with me, emphasizing that growth comes from reflecting on our experiences, not just living through them. We often hear people say, “at least we learned something,” after a bad experience, but that’s not always true—many keep repeating the same mistakes. That’s why the Wheel of Life is so valuable. It helps us reflect on past experiences and consciously work toward positive change. I use this tool and find it incredibly useful. If you’re new to this or have seen different versions, here’s a quick overview.

Standard Wheel of Life: Divided into sections like career, health, relationships, finances, and personal growth, this variant provides a broad overview of life balance.
Life Balance Wheel: Focuses on achieving balance across multiple aspects of life, emphasizing harmony and well-being.
Business Wheel: Tailored for professionals, it helps assess business-related areas such as career development, leadership, and financial performance.
Wellness Wheel: Concentrates on various aspects of wellness, including physical, emotional, and spiritual health, to promote overall well-being.
Coaching Wheel: Used by coaches to help clients set and achieve goals, this variant focuses on personal and professional development.

Whether you’re looking to enhance overall balance or focus on specific areas, exploring these variants can offer tailored insights and guide you towards your goals.

How To Use This Wheel

Here’s a step-by-step guide to using the Standard Wheel of Life:

Draw the Wheel: Create a circle and divide it into segments, each representing a different life domain like career, health, relationships, and finances.
Rate Your Satisfaction: For each segment, rate your satisfaction on a scale from 1 to 10—1 being least satisfied and 10 being very satisfied.
Connect the Dots: Once you’ve rated each area, connect the dots to create a visual representation of your ‘Life Wheel.’
Evaluate and Reflect: Look at your completed wheel to see which areas are doing well and which ones need more attention. Identify areas where you are satisfied but could strive for better, as well as those that require improvement.
Prioritize and Set Goals: Use the visual to pinpoint key areas for goal-setting and improvement. This will help you focus on where to put your efforts for a more balanced and fulfilling life.

By following these steps, you’ll gain clear insights into your life balance and can make more informed decisions about where to direct your energy.

What To Do Next

“Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.”
Epictetus

Once you’ve completed the Wheel of Life self-assessment, you’ll see which areas are thriving and which need more attention. For areas where you’re doing well, consider scaling back to maintain balance, and direct your energy toward areas that need improvement, especially those that are lacking.

If you’ve identified several areas that need work but feel overwhelmed by the thought of tackling them all at once, don’t worry. Start by prioritizing and picking one or two areas to focus on first. Set specific, actionable goals for these areas and choose a reasonable timeframe to work on them. This helps you manage your efforts without spreading yourself too thin. Once you make progress, schedule time to tackle other areas. Check out this post for goal-setting principles to guide your planning.

Breaking tasks into manageable steps reduces overwhelm and helps you improve steadily. To keep goals realistic, avoid overambition and aim for tasks just outside your comfort zone for a balanced challenge. For more tips on setting realistic goals, check out my post on common mistakes to avoid when setting goals.

Lastly, to ensure your goals stay relevant, perform regular reviews—something I personally do quarterly to adjust goals based on changing life circumstances.

Check out the Pinterest pins below for more articles on productivity.

Design Your Personal Progress Wheel

To take your personal growth to the next level, I suggest designing your own progress wheel. Choose 6-8 areas that resonate with your life aspirations and focus on improving them. Follow the steps outlined above for a self-assessment using the wheel, then craft specific goals and create a plan of action.

For further guidance, check out my posts on goal-setting methods, planning routines and tips to reduce procrastination and boost motivation. These resources will help you kickstart your journey and stay on track for meaningful progress.

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