Wheel of Life Worksheet: 8 Areas, Scoring and Next Steps
The wheel of life is a one-page self-assessment: you rate how satisfied you are in eight areas of life from 1 to 10, shade each segment of a circle to that level, and look at the shape that results. A smooth, full wheel suggests balance. A lopsided one shows where your attention is going and where it is not. This guide gives you the eight areas, the scoring method, a worked example and the questions that turn a picture into a plan.
What the wheel of life is for
The wheel does not tell you what to do. It makes a vague feeling ("things are okay but something is off") visible so you can talk about it or write about it. Coaches use it in a first session because it opens conversation quickly. You can also use it alone, once a quarter, as a check-in.
Two things are worth knowing before you start:
- It measures satisfaction, not success. You are not grading how well you are doing; you are noting how you feel about each area today.
- Balance is not the goal. A perfectly round wheel is not required. Some seasons of life ask you to lean into one area, and a dip elsewhere can be a choice.
The eight areas
There is no official list. This set works for most people:
| Area | What to think about when you score it |
|---|---|
| Career or work | Does your work feel meaningful, manageable and a good fit? |
| Money and finances | Do you feel at ease with how you earn, spend and save? |
| Health and energy | Do you have the energy you need for what matters? |
| Friends and family | Do you feel connected to the people you care about? |
| Partner or romance | Are you satisfied with this part of your life, whatever it looks like? |
| Personal growth | Are you learning and developing in ways you value? |
| Fun and recreation | Do you make time for enjoyment and rest? |
| Home and environment | Does the place you live support the way you want to live? |
Rename any area that does not fit. Swap "partner or romance" for "community" or "spirituality" if that matters more to you.
How to score it, step by step
- Draw the wheel. Draw a circle, divide it into eight equal slices like a pie, and label each slice. The centre of the circle is 1 and the outer edge is 10.
- Score on instinct. Read one area at a time and give it a number from 1 (very low satisfaction) to 10 (very high). Do not average good and bad weeks; ask how it feels now.
- Shade each slice from the centre out to its score.
- Look at the outline. Is it round, lumpy, or sharply uneven? Which edges stand out?
- Circle two areas that matter most to you in this season. They do not have to be the lowest scores.
- Describe "one point higher." For the first area, write what a score one point higher would look like in daily life. Keep it concrete and small.
A worked example
Say someone scores: Career 6, Money 4, Health 7, Friends and family 8, Partner 7, Personal growth 5, Fun 3, Home 6. Fun is the lowest. Rather than aiming for a 10, they ask what one point higher would look like, and decide on one planned evening a week that is just for enjoyment. That is a plan they can start this week.
How to read your wheel
- A big gap between neighbours (say 8 next to 3) often points to a trade-off you are making. Ask whether you chose it.
- Several low scores in a row can mean one root cause. Low energy, low fun and low growth may all trace back to being overstretched at work.
- A low score you do not mind is fine. Not every area needs a goal.
- A high score you have taken for granted can be a resource. What are you doing in that area that you could borrow elsewhere?
Questions to ask yourself afterward
- What did I notice when I looked at the whole shape?
- What surprised me?
- Which area, if it moved up one point, would lift others?
- What is the one small step I will take this week?
Write the answers down. The last question matters most: a wheel without a step is only a drawing.
Turning the wheel into a goal
Once you have picked an area and described "one point higher," move to a goal with a date and a first action. The goal setting worksheet guide walks through that step by step. If the wheel raised questions about what you want, the values worksheet helps you decide which areas deserve the most attention.
Using the wheel with a client
If you coach, the wheel is a good first-session tool and works as a repeating snapshot. Many coaches have clients fill in a version with their intake paperwork, then redo it every few months. See what a life coach does for where this fits in a session, and the coaching intake form guide for how to include a wheel snapshot section.
A word of care: the wheel is a reflection tool, not a diagnostic one. It does not assess mental or physical health, and a low score is not a signal of a condition. If someone's answers point to a serious concern, the kind response is to suggest a qualified professional.
Get the worksheet ready to use
Drawing the wheel by hand works, but a prepared page saves time. The ReadyCoach Kit includes a Wheel of Life worksheet as the first of its 50 coaching worksheets. It has a how-to box, a filled-in example, an illustration of an empty eight-segment wheel to shade, the eight-area 1-to-10 scale, prompts for your two focus areas and the "one point higher" description, then reflection questions and a "next small step" line. The worksheets are editable in Word and Google Docs, with printable PDFs, so you can rename the areas to suit you or your client. The kit's Client Intake Questionnaire also has a Wheel of Life snapshot section built in.