MINDSET / 17 JUNE 2023

How To Create Your Ideal Work Life Balance

What Are You Prioritising Right Now?

There is no one-size fits all approach when it comes to finding work-life balance.

This concept of balance is 100% subjective and will look different for each of us. There should be no pressure to fit into a specific schedule because of what other people around you may be doing.

You might absolutely love spending most of your time at work, kicking goals and feeling completely energised with the investment you want to make to achieve your future career goals. In this case, you don’t need to feel guilty about being dedicated to your job, justify your commitment to work or change anything at all unless you start seeing signs of unhappiness or resentment that could lead to potential burnout.

On the flip side, others might find the need to maintain a harmonious relationship between work and personal life. This will mean consciously managing your time and energy to meet both professional and personal commitments whilst also prioritising the things that nourish us. These could include things such as self-care rituals, reading, painting, socialising, sports or travelling.

Ultimately what matters most is finding the right work-life balance that makes you feel happy and fulfilled. To understand what this might look like for you, we have the perfect little exercise to help you get started using a simple tool called ‘The Wheel of Anything’

Let’s explore further.

What is the Wheel of Anything?

Have you ever heard of the tool, ‘The Wheel of Anything?’ or ‘The Wheel of Life?’

It is a simple visual tool that can help you quickly identify what is happening in your life and help gain some clarity or perspective. It doesn’t require anything fancy, just a pen and a piece of paper.

The original concept came from Paul J. Meyer in the 1960s a pioneer in the world of self-development looking to help people realise their goals. These days, it’s used widely as a valuable tool to explore what is happening in your life or to delve deeper into specific areas such as work, leadership, time management etc.

Time to get started!

How to use the wheel

Grab a piece of paper and draw a circle, any kind of circle, the bigger the better. Don’t worry if it’s not perfectly round or if it’s a little messy. Try to imagine the a circle or “wheel” as a representation of your whole life.

Tip: We’ve created a simple template below that can be downloaded for free here, if you prefer to use this then please skip this step. You can also do this digitally if you prefer, but we always find that using paper brings out a little more creativity.

Start to consider all the elements that form part of your deal work-life balance. Some elements might include health, finances, family, friends, etc. Once you have these noted down, divide the circle into the number of elements and assign each section with the relevant heading.

Tip: See an example of a circle divided into 8 segments below. Remember these are just a guide, you decide what you want to fill in each area.

Next, you’ll have to start considering how you would rank each area of your life from 0 to 10. With 0 = dissatisfied, 10 = most satisfied. This is your wheel so the level of satisfaction could represent anything you want it to, some common examples include time, energy or focus. Once you have a ranking for each segment, place a line where the number roughly lands.

Tip: It might help to ask yourself some of these questions when considering how you rank certain areas of your life.

Work Life Balance Self-Reflective Questions

Career: How satisfied am I with my current work life? Am I in a job that feels challenging for me? Do I enjoy the work that I do or do I feel like I am contributing meaningfully to the world through my work? How do I feel on a Monday morning?
Health & Wellbeing: What are my energy levels like? Do I get enough sleep every night? How happy am I with what I eat or how much I exercise?
Family: Do I have my ‘family’ I can share important times with and rely on? How do I spend time with loved ones? How well do I connect with family members? How well am I parenting my children? Am I fully present when spending time with family members?
Love: How satisfied am I with the quality of love in my life?
Finances: How comfortable am I with my current financial position? Do I have financial goals and if so, am I working towards them?
Fun: Do I have time and space for fun in my life? Am I pursuing any hobbies that bring me joy?
Self Development: Am I working actively on my personal development? How well do I know myself?

The Wheel of Anything: Template and Example

Now, connect each of the lines until you have a unique shape in the centre of your circle

An example of a completed wheel:

The Wheel of Anything can be a great tool to help provide clarity around what work life balance can mean for you

Take a moment to reflect on your shape.

Be kind to yourself and remember that there are no right or wrong answers.

Here are some reflective questions that you may want to ask yourself:

When you look at the shape of the wheel, how do you feel?
What do you notice?
What are you learning about yourself in that segment?
Why does that matter?
How would you like to change the shape of the inner wheel?
What surprises you the most?
What would a score of ten look and feel like?
Which area would you most like to improve?
What area would you most like to start with?

Once you’ve identified which areas of your life you want to focus on to find the right work-life balance for you, start to ask yourself some more in-depth questions to help support you in creating an action plan.

What do you need to improve the score in each area?
What small steps would have the most significant impact on your satisfaction?
Why does this area need attention?
What would it take to increase your satisfaction by one score?
How balanced do you feel in this area of your life?
Why did you give this score?
Is there anything missing from this area of your life that may affect your score?
Is there anything that might add value to this area of your life and change the score?
Could one single action improve more than one area?

Useful Resources

Hopefully, you’ve been able to use this little exercise to identify, reflect and create a set of clear actions to get you that little bit closer to a work life balance that is right for you.

To get access to our free downloadable template of the wheel of anything, follow the link below

the-wheel-of-anything-template Download