Find Out How Unbalanced Your Life May Be
One of the first exercises we go through with each of our clients is The Balance Wheel. This simple but powerful tool helps gauge where you feel the most out of balance in your life and sets the foundation for where we can help you find balance again.
What is the Balance Wheel?
The Balance Wheel consists of a circle broken down into eight life categories you feel help keep you well-rounded and balanced. We suggest the following eight categories:
1. Physical Environment: The environment we surround ourselves with can have a large effect on our happiness. For some this may be more important than others.
2. Finances: Money makes the world go round sometimes, and therefore can become a major source of stress.
3. Fitness/Health: When you suffer from health issues it tends to multiply the stress and imbalance of everything else. Not all health issues are avoidable, but recognizing your current situation in this category can help you get on a path to a better life.
4. Business/Career: Another area of high stress if things aren’t going well here. Simple reflection on this topic can tell you if you should look for another job, keep up what you’re doing, or find something you enjoy more.
5. Fun & Recreation: It’s important to give yourself time to have fun. All work and no play makes for stress and unbalanced behavior.
6. Personal/Spiritual Growth Time for Reflection: We all have things that help us unwind and see our lives from a different perspective. Time to step back, slow down and reflect is crucial in progressing to where we want to end up.
7. Social – Friends/Family: Friends and family can have a very big impact on our happiness and well being. Suze Orman prioritizes this simply. “Relationships, then money, then things.”
8. Romance/Significant Other: Love is human nature and it would only make sense to include it as a priority of balance. When your romantic life is out of whack, it tends to affect other parts of your life as well
The Balance Wheel
How to Use the Balance Wheel:
Step 1: Block Out Half an Hour Of Uninterrupted Time
Although this seems like a simple exercise, it can provide profound insight if done sincerely and thoughtfully. You really do get out of this what you put into it.
Step 2: Select 8 Categories That Would Provide the Most Fulfillment If They Were at 100%
The categories we recommend have come from years of doing this, but you can make this as personal as you would like.
Step 2: Circle the Number You Feel Best Describes Where You Are At, and Be Honest
This will help you to connect the dots to see visually where your balance lies.
Step 3: Connect the Dots
A perfectly balanced individual will have a wheel shape come up, otherwise, it will be pretty obvious what you are doing well and what needs improvement.
Step 4: Write a Quick Summary of the 8 Points And What You Could Do to Show Progress
This is probably the most important part of the whole exercise, and where you really get the most value for yourself. If you have a significant other, go through it with them. It will help keep you on the mark to better balance your life and provide welcomed support.
How to Evaluate Your Wheel
After over a decade of experience in using this exercise we have come across several different wheel patterns, but a few tend to be more universal than others.
1. The Wheel Barrel: This shows up when someone has a good wheel shape but all the numbers fall below the half way mark. This means you probably don’t feel like anything in your life is going well and there is little hope. When this is the case, it helps to start working on an area of the wheel where you can start making changes fairly quickly and in turn, begin seeing results. For example, with family you could make a call today, for finances you can evaluate your budget, for business you can read a blog on an area you feel your abilities are lacking, etc.
2. The Broken Star: This happens when half of your points are really high and the other half are very low. This is good because you are doing some things exceptionally well, but there is still room for improvement. The best thing to do now is to focus on those low points to see what you can start doing to make them rise to the same level as the others. One pitfall you want to avoid is seeing the reverse starfish, which happens when you focus only on the lower points and risk having the points that you were doing well in, fall.
3. The Off-Roader’s Wheel: These are wheels that are generally high all around but not to 100%. You’re doing great. The best thing to do in this scenario is to ask yourself, “What do I need to have happen for me to feel I’m at the top notch in this category?” Keep it up and you’ll soon be on to our next wheel.
4. The Monster Truck Wheel: This is the fully maxed-out Balance Wheel. This is an ideal life, but just like any other tire, it will need regular maintenance and the air pressure adjusted from time to time. People who have the Monster Truck Wheel in their life are ecstatic about life, they are optimistic, they won’t stop smiling. They are the people everyone is jealous of. It’s a rare breed but you’ll know how they feel when you get there, if you aren’t already.
My Balance Wheel As An Example
I have provided an example of a wheel with a few other categories to give you some additional ideas.
As you can see, I have a broken star formation. I have some high points but also some areas that are a bit lower than I would like.
Fun and Recreation 6/10: I tend to give myself some time to have fun. I like to play games with friends, watch movies and read books. However, I am also pretty boring and don’t tend to do much variety in this regard. I’ve been putting off going camping, learning to dance, or other fun things that could improve this area.
Physical Environment 7/10: For the most part, I’m pretty satisfied with my physical environment. I couldn’t ask for a more beautiful work environment. Check out the pictures of the retreat where I work. My house is a bit cramped with two Chihuahua’s, a cat, my wife and I, and a roommate on the couch. Things are going up here since the roommate will be moving out soon, and in a few years we can afford a better place.
Business/Career 9/10: I’d put this at a 10 if this applied solely to my job. I’m very happy with the work I do and how my job helps so many people. As a marketing professional I’m learning so much that it would be hard for me to give myself a 10. In this career field there is always a need to learn and keep up with the changes.
Finances 4/10: The reason I put this at a 4 is because I see where I can be over time. My wife has had a rough health life and it has meant lots of medical bills. I tend to shy away from debt so this number reflects my feelings on where we are at. It’s much less debt than what my school loans would have been if I hadn’t made it through college on a full ride so it could be much worse. I am on my way in a great career and am seeing my pay go up as my results and experience increase. Everything is heading in the right direction for this section.
Health 9/10: Am I a muscle bound super athlete? No, quite the contrary. I am however relatively satisfied with my health and fitness. Having come from fighting Leukemia twice and now seeing it in remission for over 12 years gives me a much more optimistic view on where my health is at currently.
Family and Friends 8/10: My wife and I are both blessed to have family close by. We get to see them fairly regularly and have a ton of fun. Do we always get along? No, but we are pretty good for each other and could have been a lot worse off. We would also like to grow our family.
Romance 4/10: I’m probably the harshest on myself here but it’s because I know there is a ton I can do. My wife is a hair stylist whose busiest day is Saturdays so we typically only get Sundays together. Our Sundays are pretty busy with church, preparing for lessons, and seeing family, that we don’t often get to do much with just the two of us. Also, the previous job I had was in a very competitive sales position which made it hard to take any vacation. Balanced Worklife is forcing me to take vacation, so we are making plans to go to Yellowstone and hopefully some place else this winter.
Personal Growth 9/10: Getting into a career I love has been one of the most important accomplishments of my life. Seeing how many others in my area fared after college gives me a profound sense of gratitude. I’m growing at such a phenomenal rate. Again, it’s hard for me to give myself a 10 on something I don’t think can be completely mastered.
What to Do Next With Your Balance Wheel
- Comment: What ideas do you have about balancing work and family? Any tips for getting started on improvement? Share in the comments below.
- Share: Copy the link for this exercise on Balancing Work and Family on your blog so your friends or family can try it out.
- Discuss: Go over your Balance Wheels with those close to you and discuss what you would like to do to improve. Feel free to share your findings in the comments.
