Wheel of Life Questions: 5 to Ask for Each of the 8 Areas

How to Use These Questions

The wheel of life asks you to rate eight areas of life from 1 to 10 and see the result as a wheel. The ratings are only as useful as they are honest, and it is hard to give an honest number to something as big as "Relationships" or "Health" on a whim. These questions give each area some shape first.

Some ground rules that make the ratings more useful:

• Rate the last 30 days, not today's mood and not your intentions.
• Use your own standard. A 6 means "somewhat satisfied with where this is for my life", not "average compared with other people".
• Answer in a few words. A short answer is enough; you are looking for a number and a reason.
• Skip what does not fit. If a question does not apply to your life, move on.

Some of these questions touch health, mental wellbeing and money. They are prompts for reflection, not health, mental health or financial advice. For anything medical or financial, a qualified professional is the right person to ask.

The Questions for Each Area

Health

1. How is my energy on most days?
2. How do I feel in my body, and what would 'a bit better' look like?
3. What have I done for my health recently that I am glad about?
4. Is there something about my health I would like to look into or ask a professional about?
5. How do my usual habits around food, movement and sleep fit my life right now?

Mind

1. How often do I feel calm, and how often overloaded?
2. What do I do on a hard day, and does it help?
3. Do I have a way to put my thoughts down, such as a journal or a conversation?
4. When did I last feel curious or absorbed in something?
5. What would I like more of in my head, and less of?

Relationships

1. Who do I feel close to right now?
2. How often do I have a real conversation, not just a quick message?
3. Is there someone I would like to reconnect with?
4. Can I ask for help when I need it?
5. How do I feel about the balance between time with people and time alone?

Work

1. Do I know what matters most in my work this month?
2. Do my days feel engaged, flat or draining?
3. How much say do I have over my time?
4. Am I using what I am good at?
5. Is my workload sustainable for the next few months?

Finances

1. Do I have a rough picture of what comes in and what goes out?
2. How do I feel when I think about money: calm, uneasy, avoidant?
3. Do I have some cushion for a surprise expense?
4. Is there one money question I would like to understand better?
5. Do my spending choices reflect what I care about?

Learning

1. What have I learned in the last month?
2. Is there a skill or subject I want to build?
3. Do I have time and space for it?
4. How do I like to learn: reading, doing, talking it through?
5. What would I try if there were no pressure to be good at it?

Rest

1. How is my sleep on most nights, roughly?
2. When did I last do nothing on purpose?
3. Do I have an evening or a day with nothing scheduled?
4. What actually restores me, as opposed to what just fills the time?
5. Do I let myself rest when I need to?

Purpose

1. What felt meaningful to me recently?
2. What do I want my days to add up to?
3. Do my choices match what I say I value?
4. What gives me energy that has nothing to do with achievement?
5. If I look back on this year, what do I want to have spent time on?

How to Turn Answers Into a Score

After the questions, ask one more: how satisfied am I with this area right now, from 1 to 10? Let your answers inform the number, but go with your gut feeling once you have thought about it.

• A low score is information, not a verdict. It tells you where attention might help, or sometimes that an area simply matters less to you at this stage.
• A very high score in one area and a low one in several others is worth a look: it can mean one area is absorbing time the others need.
• Compare with your last wheel rather than with an ideal. A 6 that was a 4 last month tells a different story from a 6 that was a 9.

An Example, for Illustration

This is an invented example to show how answers become ratings and next steps, not a recommendation for anyone's life.

Area	Rating	One line on why	A small next step
Health	6	Energy is fine, but I have skipped planned walks	Put two short walks in my calendar this week
Mind	5	Often overloaded by Thursday	Do a ten-minute brain dump on Wednesday evening
Relationships	7	Close to family, out of touch with two friends	Message one friend this week
Work	7	Good projects, long hours lately	Protect one afternoon with no meetings
Finances	5	No clear picture of monthly spending	Look at last month's statement once, without judging it
Learning	4	Nothing new in months	Choose a course or book and book the first hour
Rest	4	Late nights, no unscheduled time	Keep one evening free of plans
Purpose	6	Meaningful at work, less at home	Name one thing I want to spend more time on

You would not act on all eight. Pick one or two to focus on and leave the rest as they are.

What to Do With the Result

1. Choose one or two areas. The lowest are an obvious place to start, but pick the ones that matter most to you.
2. Write one small next step for each, with a day and a place in your calendar.
3. Retake it in a month. Compare it with this one.
4. Fold it into a rhythm. The wheel is a snapshot; a personal review system makes it a regular habit, and a quarterly review is a good moment to retake it.

For how to read the shape of the wheel and what the idea is, see the wheel of life explained. For a deeper one-off pass, see how to do a life audit.

Try It

The free Wheel of Life tool takes a couple of minutes: move eight sliders from 1 to 10 and see the wheel. It needs no signup, and you can copy a link to your result or download it as an image.

If you want to track it over time, Xenith's Life Dimensions page uses the same eight areas. Each week you rate each one from 1 to 10 with a slider and see a four-week trend. See Life Dimensions.

Frequently Asked Questions