Wheel of life: six areas to guide action
The wheel of life is a familiar self-reflection exercise: rate parts of your life, place the scores on a circle, and look at the shape. The drawing can help you see where you feel satisfied and where you want to pay attention. The useful part is what you do with that information next.
Many versions divide the circle into eight or more spokes. That can make the exercise feel thorough, but it can also give you a long list of scores without a clear decision. This version uses six broad areas and a second score for importance. You will finish with one small action instead of trying to improve every spoke at once.
If you want to compare this exercise with a fuller review process, see the life audit guide. This page is about drawing and reading the wheel; the life audit adds a monthly review. For background on the six areas, read the six roots explained.
What the wheel of life can and cannot tell you
The wheel is a prompt for reflection. It does not measure your life objectively, predict what will happen, or tell you what your priorities should be. A score of 5 means something only in relation to your own experience and the other areas you rated.
The exercise works best as a quick way to gather your thoughts. You rate your current satisfaction, note how important each area is, and look for a place where a small change might matter. It can also help you name something that is already going well so you can protect it.
Do not treat a flat or uneven drawing as a verdict about your life. A wheel is a visual aid. If the scores change next month, that is information about your circumstances and perspective, not a grade.
Draw a six-area wheel
You can draw this by hand or make a table. If you draw it, start with a circle and divide it into six equal sections. Label each section with one area. Add rings for scores from 1 near the centre to 10 near the edge. Mark your score for each area and connect the marks if you want to see the outline.
The six areas are:
- Self-direction: choices, routines, and follow-through.
- Connection and communication: relationships and everyday conversations.
- Financial clarity: how well you understand and manage your money choices.
- Growth and skill: learning and practice that matter to you.
- Purpose and meaning: how your attention reflects what you care about.
- Body and energy: the pace and conditions that shape your daily capacity.
These areas are broad on purpose. You can rename a label to fit your life. If parenting, community, or creative work needs its own place, write it in the margin and decide which larger area it connects to. The goal is to make a map you can use, not to follow a required template. For more on your routines, see the Self-Direction hub, the Financial Clarity hub, the Growth & Skill hub, and the Purpose & Meaning hub.
Rate satisfaction and importance separately
Give each area two scores from 1 to 10. Satisfaction answers, "How is this area working for me now?" Importance answers, "How much does this area matter to the life I want?"
Suppose you rate your work-related learning a 6 for satisfaction and a 9 for importance. That suggests something you value is receiving some attention, but not as much as you want. You might schedule one weekly practice session. If you rate a hobby a 4 for satisfaction and a 3 for importance, you may decide it does not need to be a priority this month.
Use the first number that feels honest. Do not spend several minutes deciding whether an area is a 5 or a 6. You can add a sentence beside the mark if you need to explain it. The scores are a starting point for a conversation with yourself.
A worked example
Imagine Sam has started a new role and wants to see what else needs attention. Sam rates the areas like this:
| Area | Satisfaction | Importance | What Sam notices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-direction | 5 | 8 | The workday starts with other people's requests |
| Connection | 7 | 7 | Friends are nearby, but plans happen rarely |
| Financial clarity | 6 | 8 | Regular costs are known, upcoming travel is not planned |
| Growth and skill | 4 | 9 | Sam wants to practise a skill but has no weekly slot |
| Purpose and meaning | 6 | 8 | The work matters, but the week has little community time |
| Body and energy | 5 | 7 | Long meetings leave no break before the commute |
The wheel makes the low satisfaction score for growth easy to see. The importance score helps Sam decide it is worth acting on. That does not mean growth is the only important part of the picture. The notes show where a first step could help.
Sam could create a large plan: change jobs, join a group, review finances, and rebuild the daily schedule. That would be too many projects to start at once. Instead, Sam chooses one action that fits the coming week: block 30 minutes on Tuesday to practise the skill. After the session, Sam can note whether that time worked or needs to move.
The wheel is useful because it turns "something feels off" into a few areas to inspect. It does not make the decision for Sam. The next step comes from what matters and what is possible now.
Choose one spoke to work on
Look for a high-importance area where satisfaction is lower. You can subtract satisfaction from importance to get a rough gap. A difference of 4 may catch your eye, but do not treat the number as a scientific threshold. Use it to start asking questions.
For your chosen area, write answers to these prompts:
- What is one recent moment that explains the score?
- What would a one-point improvement look like in real life?
- What is the smallest action I could take in the next seven days?
- When and where will I do it?
Make the action specific. "Take better care of my relationships" could become "Ask Priya if she wants to get coffee next Saturday." "Grow in my work" could become "Spend 20 minutes on the practice exercise after lunch on Wednesday." A clear action has a start and an end.
If several spokes have the same gap, choose the action you can actually do this week. If no action is available, write what you need first: a conversation, a date, a piece of information, or a decision. That can be your first step.
Common ways to make the exercise less useful
Scoring against someone else's life
The wheel is about your priorities. A friend may value travel more than you do. A colleague may care more about career progression. Their scores do not set the standard for yours.
Trying to fix all six areas at once
Each score can make you want to add a goal. Resist that urge for now. Pick one area and run one small experiment. You can return to the other sections next month.
Treating the drawing as the result
The picture may be satisfying to make, but the action is the part that changes your week. Put the next step in your calendar before you put the page away.
Using the same labels when they do not fit
If a category feels too broad, add a note or rename it. The wheel should match the life you want to understand. The six areas give you a starting map, not a rulebook.
Review the wheel after a month
Choose a review date about 30 days from now. When it arrives, look at the old scores and notes before rating again. Ask what changed, what stayed the same, and whether your priorities shifted.
You may find that the action helped. You may also find it exposed a different issue. If Sam's practice block repeatedly gets used for urgent work, perhaps the next experiment is to protect the calendar slot or choose a quieter time. Record what happened without turning it into a judgment about your character.
Repeat the wheel when you have a reason: a major change, a new season of work, or a feeling that your current routine no longer fits. There is no need to score yourself every week. A little distance helps you see patterns instead of reacting to each day.
Rooted offers a short assessment across six areas and a written report that names one place to begin. Take the free test if you want a guided version of this reflection.
Frequently asked questions
Does the wheel need to look round?
No. The drawing is a visual prompt. An uneven outline can help you spot differences, but it does not mean your life is broken or incomplete.
What should I do if every score is low?
Pick one area with a practical action available this week. If it is hard to choose, select the action that would reduce a current source of friction.
Can I use different categories?
Yes. Keep the categories broad enough to compare, but change the labels if another set describes your life more clearly.
Should I compare this month's wheel with last month's?
You can. Compare the notes as well as the numbers, and ask what changed in your circumstances or priorities. The comparison is for your learning, not for a score you need to beat.
See which of your six roots needs attention. Take the free self-assessment in the Rooted app.
