7-Step Exercise with Free Wheel of Life Template for Coaching

As a coach, guiding clients toward balance is essential. The Wheel of Life assessment helps identify imbalances in key areas like health, career, relationships, and personal growth. By visualizing these areas, your clients can pinpoint priorities and take actionable steps toward fulfillment. This tool not only fosters reflection but also drives change, creating a clear path to long-term balance.

In this article, we’ll show you how to use the Wheel of Life in your coaching practice. You’ll learn how to assess clients’ life situations, set meaningful goals, and develop structured plans for improvement, all while using a free downloadable Wheel of Life template to simplify the process.

What is the Wheel of Life Assessment

The Wheel of Life is a valuable self-assessment tool that helps your clients evaluate and visualize balance in key areas of their lives. By using a Wheel of Life template, they can rate their satisfaction in areas like health, career, and relationships. This simple yet powerful tool, first popularized by Paul J. Meyer, allows clients to pinpoint strengths and areas needing improvement, helping them gain clarity and focus. You can use a printable Wheel of Life template or PDF printable Wheel of Life template in your sessions to make this process more accessible.

The Wheel of Life works because it taps into the psychology of balance. It engages both the emotional and logical parts of your clients’ brains, giving them a clear visual representation of where they are in different life areas. This method highlights imbalances, sparking important conversations and helping clients prioritize areas for growth. As a coach, this visual feedback makes it easier to help clients set actionable, measurable goals.

Why it matters for coaches

The Wheel of Life assessment provides a structured framework that helps your clients gain clarity about where they currently stand in key areas of their lives. It not only boosts self-awareness but also gives them a visual roadmap to improve their satisfaction across multiple life dimensions. By using the Wheel of Life regularly, you can ensure that your clients stay on track, set realistic goals, and achieve a balanced, fulfilling life. Here’s how it benefits you as a coach:

Clarifies areas of imbalance: The Wheel of Life highlights areas where clients feel unsatisfied, allowing them to focus their efforts on meaningful change.
Facilitates goal-setting: It helps clients define concrete, achievable goals tailored to their needs, ensuring they progress in a structured way.
Enhances self-awareness: By reflecting on each life area, clients gain deeper insights into their priorities and values, enabling them to make more informed decisions.
Tracks progress over time: Revisiting the Wheel allows both you and your client to monitor improvements, refine goals, and celebrate progress.
Improves engagement: The visual nature of the Wheel keeps clients engaged and motivated as they track their personal growth and life satisfaction.

By integrating the Wheel of Life into your coaching practice, you provide a consistent framework that empowers your clients to take action, find balance, and experience continuous growth.

How to Choose the Right Categories for Your Wheel of Life

When using the Wheel of Life template with your clients, it’s essential to customize the categories to fit their unique needs. For example, a career professional may benefit from focusing on career growth and financial stability, while a life coach might prioritize personal growth and relationships. Tailoring the categories ensures the assessment is relevant and meaningful, helping your clients gain a clearer picture of their life balance.

1. Aligning categories with coaching objectives

Choosing the right categories is key to achieving your coaching objectives. As you work with clients, consider what they are hoping to achieve—whether it’s better work-life balance, improved health, or deeper relationships. By selecting the most impactful categories, you create a focused framework for goal-setting and personal growth. This alignment increases the effectiveness of your sessions, ensuring your clients get the most out of their Wheel of Life exercise.

2. Common categories to include

While each client’s Wheel of Life will be unique, some common categories that are useful include –

Health
Career
Relationships
Personal Growth

These categories address key life areas that most individuals can relate to, offering a solid foundation for any coaching conversation. For example, a focus on health helps clients assess their physical well-being, while career explores job satisfaction and professional growth. Including a balance of categories ensures that clients are addressing both personal and professional areas of their lives, helping them move towards a more balanced and fulfilling future.

Free Wheel of Life Templates

A Wheel of Life template offers a clear, visual snapshot of your client’s life balance, helping both of you to identify areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. This tool simplifies goal-setting and progress tracking, enhancing your coaching sessions. Download the templates below to get started:

Download Blank Wheel of Life Template PDF – A customizable, blank version to tailor for your clients’ specific needs.

Download Pre-Labeled Wheel of Life Template PDF – A ready-to-use template with common life categories pre-labeled for easy assessment.

11 Key Categories for a Customized Wheel of Life Coaching Template

The Wheel of Life is a great tool to assess different areas of a client’s life. By customizing the categories, you can ensure your coaching approach is specific and goal-oriented, helping clients achieve better balance. These categories allow you to understand your client’s life holistically, helping you create tailored strategies. With a personalized approach, you can guide clients to prioritize what matters most, leading to personal growth and fulfillment.

1. Health

Use the Wheel of Life to evaluate your client’s physical well-being and health goals. This helps them focus on fitness and nutrition for a balanced lifestyle.

2. Career and business

Assess career satisfaction and professional growth. The tool helps clients set clear goals and achieve better work-life balance.

3. Relationships

Help clients evaluate their relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners. Use the tool to guide them in fostering healthier, more meaningful connections.

4. Personal growth

Support clients in their journey of self-awareness and development. The Wheel of Life helps identify areas where they can grow personally and spiritually.

5. Finances

Evaluate financial health, savings, and investments. Help clients set financial goals and build effective budgeting strategies for greater financial stability.

6. Fun and recreation

Balance work with fun by helping clients incorporate leisure activities and hobbies into their routine, ensuring they relax and recharge.

7. Spirituality

Guide clients in exploring their spiritual connection and practices. This area can greatly enhance their sense of purpose and overall well-being.

8. Environment

Assess how your client’s living and working spaces impact their productivity and happiness. Help them create environments that support their goals.

9. Social impact

Encourage clients to engage in social causes and community activities. The Wheel of Life helps them integrate social responsibility into their lives for greater fulfillment.

10. Family

Help clients evaluate their family dynamics and roles. The tool helps them balance family commitments with their personal and professional aspirations.

11. Mental health

Support clients in managing emotional well-being and stress. The Wheel of Life helps them prioritize mental health and resilience-building practices.

Read: A 6-Step Template to Deliver a Powerful Life Coaching Session

The 7 Steps to Effectively Use the Wheel of Life Exercise

Using the Wheel of Life is one of the most impactful ways to help your clients achieve balance and clarity in their lives. The exercise allows individuals to assess their current satisfaction in key areas, such as health, relationships, finances, and career. As a coach, guiding your clients through this exercise can create actionable insights that drive personal growth and goal achievement.

In this section, we’ll break down the 7 steps you need to follow when using the Wheel of Life template with your clients. These steps are designed to help them evaluate their current life situation, identify areas for improvement, and create a structured action plan for meaningful change.

Step 1: Start with reflection – Assess life using the wheel

Before diving into the Wheel of Life, encourage your clients to take a moment for self-reflection. Ask them to think about their current state of balance in different areas of their life. This step helps them gain clarity and sets the stage for identifying where they might feel out of balance.

Actionable tip: Suggest to your client that they journal their thoughts briefly about where they feel fulfilled and where they sense dissatisfaction before using the template.

Step 2: Select the right categories for your wheel

The next step is to choose the categories that best reflect the areas of life they wish to assess. While there are common categories like Health, Career, Relationships, and Finances, it’s important to tailor the Wheel of Life template to your client’s unique life circumstances and coaching goals.

Actionable tip: Take time to discuss with your client which categories resonate most with their current life focus. For example, a business professional might want to emphasize Career & Business, while someone going through a life transition might focus on Relationships or Personal Growth. Help them customize these categories for a more targeted assessment.

Step 3: Rate each category on a scale of 1-10

Have your client rate each category on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 represents total dissatisfaction and 10 indicates complete satisfaction. This step gives both you and your client a visual representation of their life’s current balance.

Actionable tip: Encourage your client to be honest and thoughtful when rating each category. The rating should reflect their true feelings, not what they feel they “should” say. This step is all about authentic self-assessment.

Step 4: Reflect on the ratings and identify imbalances

Once the ratings are complete, ask your client to reflect on the scores. This is a critical moment for self-awareness. Have them explore why certain categories are rated lower than others. For example, if Career & Business received a low score, is it due to job dissatisfaction, lack of career progression, or burnout?

Actionable tip: Guide your client to reflect on how their dissatisfaction in one area (like finances or relationships) may be affecting other areas of their life. This holistic view will give you more insights into what truly needs attention.

Step 5: Set clear, specific goals for improvement

With the insights gathered from the ratings and reflection, the next step is to help your client set clear, specific goals for the areas they rated the lowest. It’s essential that these goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).

Actionable tip: For example, if your client rated Health low, help them set a goal like “I will exercise for 30 minutes, three times a week, for the next month” instead of a vague goal like “I will get healthier.” The clearer and more actionable the goal, the easier it will be for your client to make progress.

Step 6: Create actionable steps and develop an action plan

Once the goals are in place, break them down into actionable steps. Each step should be simple, realistic, and easy to track. This part of the process ensures that clients aren’t overwhelmed but feel empowered with small, manageable tasks that build momentum.

Actionable tip: Use the Wheel of Life template to map out each goal and create a timeline for completion. For instance, if improving health is a goal, break it down into smaller steps such as “schedule a health check-up” or “join a fitness class.” This creates tangible actions that move your client toward their desired outcome.

Step 7: Review progress and reassess regularly

The final step involves periodic check-ins to track progress and reassess goals. Life circumstances can change, and it’s important to ensure that clients stay on track with their goals. Schedule follow-up sessions to revisit the Wheel of Life template and reflect on any new challenges or shifts in priorities.

Actionable tip: After the first review, encourage your client to make adjustments to their action plan if needed. This keeps them motivated and ensures that their goals remain relevant and achievable as they progress.

By following these 7 steps, you provide your clients with a structured, actionable approach to assessing their life balance. This exercise empowers them to take meaningful action and make lasting improvements in their overall growth .

Preparing for the Wheel of Life Exercise: Key Considerations

To ensure that your Wheel of Life exercise is effective and impactful, it’s essential to guide your clients through some key preparation steps. Here are the top considerations to make the process as beneficial as possible:

1. Mental preparation: Set the right environment

Create a calm, distraction-free space: A peaceful environment allows clients to focus deeply on the exercise and gain clear insights. Encourage them to eliminate distractions like phones or noise during the session.
Clear the mind: Suggest clients take a few moments to meditate, breathe deeply, or relax before starting the exercise. This helps them focus and enter the session with a clear mind.

2. Time commitment: Allocate sufficient time

Set aside dedicated time: The Wheel of Life exercise should not be rushed. Recommend clients schedule at least an hour for the session to fully reflect on their current life areas.
Avoid rushed decisions: Encourage clients to pace themselves throughout the process, allowing time for deep reflection and honest self-assessment. Rushed decisions may lead to superficial insights.

3. Mindset: Cultivate an open, non-judgmental approach

Embrace self-awareness: Remind your clients that the Wheel of Life exercise is about understanding where they currently stand, not about judging themselves. This mindset will help them approach the tool with curiosity and openness.
Be compassionate: Encourage them to avoid self-criticism. This exercise is meant to empower and guide, not to point out failures. A non-judgmental mindset will lead to more accurate insights and effective goal setting.

Using the Wheel of Life for Coaching Clients: Best Practices

The Wheel of Life is a powerful tool in coaching, allowing you to gain a holistic view of your clients’ lives. By integrating this exercise into your sessions and following best practices, you can help clients achieve balanced growth across multiple life areas. Here’s how you can use it most effectively:

1. How you can integrate it into sessions

One-on-one sessions: Incorporate the Wheel of Life early in the coaching process to assess a client’s current situation. Use it as a foundational tool to establish a baseline and identify which areas need focus. During follow-up sessions, revisit the Wheel to measure progress and recalibrate goals.
Group coaching: In group settings, use the Wheel of Life to encourage shared reflections and open discussions. Have each participant assess their life balance and share insights with the group. This can lead to valuable peer support, shared learning, and community-building among participants.
Introductory or reflection sessions: Consider using the Wheel of Life as an introduction to your coaching program or as a mid-course check-in. It helps clients recognize their strengths and areas for improvement, setting a clear direction for the sessions ahead.

2. Maximizing client engagement

Collaborative reviews: Keep clients engaged by reviewing their Wheel of Life progress in each session. Ask them to reflect on what has changed since their last assessment. Encourage clients to share their successes and challenges, making the exercise feel dynamic rather than static.
Actionable insights: After completing the Wheel, guide your clients to set actionable goals for the areas they wish to improve. Make sure these goals are measurable and achievable, so clients feel motivated to take tangible steps towards achieving them.
Accountability and reassessment: Incorporate follow-up sessions where clients reassess their progress on the Wheel. Having regular check-ins helps keep them motivated and ensures that progress continues. Set aside time to modify action plans if certain areas are not improving as expected.

3. Tracking progress over time

Documenting the journey: Use the Wheel of Life template to create a visual tracking tool for clients. After each session, update the Wheel to reflect any changes in satisfaction or balance. This provides both you and your clients with a tangible record of progress over time.
Adjusting strategies: Based on the progress or lack thereof in specific areas, adjust your coaching strategies. If a client continues to struggle with an area (e.g., finances or relationships), this is a cue for a deeper conversation or a shift in focus during sessions.
Celebrate successes: Make sure to acknowledge and celebrate improvements. When clients see the positive changes reflected on their Wheel of Life, it boosts their confidence and reinforces their commitment to their goals.

Conclusion

The Wheel of Life assessment is a transformative tool that can help both coaches and clients achieve a more balanced, fulfilling life. By visualizing different areas of life—such as health, career, relationships, and finances—this exercise offers valuable insights into which areas need attention and improvement. As a coach, using the Wheel of Life template enables you to guide your clients toward better self-awareness, actionable goal setting, and long-term success.Now that you’ve learned how to use the Wheel of Life in your coaching practice, it’s time to put it into action.

Download your free Wheel of Life template today and start integrating this powerful tool into your sessions. Help your clients identify imbalances, set meaningful goals, and track their progress for continuous growth.Want to see how Simply.Coach can streamline your coaching practice?

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