If you are looking for a new job, considering a career change or starting your own business, my Wheel of Work Life exercise will help you gain clarity on what is actually important to YOU about work, it will show you how your current work could be failing you and direct you to more fulfilling work.
The work we do has a significant impact on our lives and more often than not, it can take up a great amount of our time. Therefore, it is critical for us to review what work we do, how it enriches – or impoverishes - our lives and ensure it meets our personal needs.
I hope you find this Wheel of Work Life exercise helpful. There is a link to a downloadable PDF version at the end of this article.
The Wheel of Work Life
The Wheel of Life exercise is often used in life coaching to help people identify which areas of their life require attention and improvement. It is a simple yet powerful tool for observing areas which need adjusting or changing.
I have adapted this valuable exercise so you can specifically look at your work life; which factors of work are important to you; how your current work is performing against this importance; and offer direction in your quest to find more fulfilling work.
How will this exercise help you?
Once the exercise has been completed, you will:
Be able to take a holistic view of what work offers to you and your life
Clear the fog - this Wheel of Work Life exercise brings any underlying issues forward to your conscious mind
See which factors of work are truly important for you. If you decide to look for new work, keep these important elements in mind (and not be swayed by a big salary or fancy car if that’s not an important for you)
Be able to evaluate which factors of your current work need improvement, should you decide to stay with your current work
Clearly see which areas to keep a focus on if you decide to launch your own business
See which topics you can discuss with a coach to initiate either improvement or a change of mindset
This exercise can be completed on a monthly or quarterly basis, considering your work or your importance on each factor may change.
Areas of work for consideration
There are eight areas, or factors, of work for you to take into consideration:
Environment
This includes your desk or work space, the office or building you work in and the location
People
All the people you interact with at work; colleagues, clients, suppliers
Remuneration
As well as your pay/salary, this includes additional benefits you may receive from your employer such as health care, bonus scheme, car etc
Personal Development
This is how much your work develops your Self and your skills, for example training and development programs and career progression opportunities
Enjoyment
This is the general level of enjoyment the work brings you
Duties & Tasks
The actual work that you do, day-to-day
Hours
How long you spend at and on work (don’t forget to consider commuting and time spent working or answering emails at home)
Fulfillment
This is a way to score how much – or little - your current work fulfils you personally. Do you feel your work fulfils you, and is meaningful? Does it sync with your life mission or purpose?
Step 1 – How important is each factor to you?
This first step is to help you clarify how important each factor of any job or work is to you.
Take a moment to clear all thoughts of your current work from your mind; remember this step is a look at any work.
Then consider each factor and score it out of 10; 1 being not important at all and 10 being very important:
Environment _____ / 10
People _____ / 10
Remuneration _____ / 10
Personal Development _____ / 10
Enjoyment _____ / 10
Duties & Tasks _____ / 10
Hours _____ / 10
Fulfillment _____ / 10
Total _____ / 80
Step 2 – How is your current work performing?
This step is for you to see how your current work delivers against each factor.
On the diagram below, score each factor out of 10 on how well – or poorly – your current work fares; 1 being very poorly and 10 being very well.
Colour each factor from the centre outwards to your chosen score. For example, if you score the Environment of your current work at 6, colour from the centre of the circle out to the circle representing 6.
© Faith Hill, Spark Escapes Ltd
Step 3 – Comparing importance to performance
Now let’s compare the two; does your current work meet your importance score on each factor?
Step 4 – Reflection time
What have you noticed by completing this exercise?
Has it raised any questions in your mind? If so, what are the key questions?
If you have decided to look for new work, what are your three most important factors of work to look for in a new opportunity?
If you decide to stay with your current work, what can you do to change the factors of your current work which are not performing well against your importance score?
If you decide to set up your own business, which factors are important to you to keep at the forefront of your mind as you develop your business?
What step(s) will take next towards having fulfilling, meaningful work?
I have created a downloadable PDF of this exercise with space for you to write your personal answers. To access the PDF, please register to my free life coach resources library which includes other valuable downloads, videos & audio files.
What next?
Now you know what is truly important to YOU about what work brings to YOUR life. This is an excellent place from which to start your transition to better, more fulfilling and meaningful work.
If you have any questions about this exercise or would like to share your story, I would love to hear from you.
Have you considered working with a life coach to make your work transition or life change really happen? I am a life re-design expert who gives energy back to jaded or burnt out rat-racers struggling with a lack of balance and fulfillment or who have fears about making a significant change.
I offer New Direction Coaching to help you achieve clarity and confidence in direction and decisions; a holistic work life balance; and a pathway to successful and fulfilling work.
I am offering you a FREE 30-minute Coaching Discovery Call to help get you started. This is totally free, with no commitment required; just you and your thoughts and me and my coaching techniques & experience. To schedule a time and date which suits you, please use this link.
What can you do now?
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Book online NLP and life coaching sessions with me
Try a free 30-min Discovery Call with
Take my 1-hour online course ‘The Power of Positive Thinking: How To Think & Live Positively’
