MGMT2005 CAREER PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT LECTURE ACTIVITY 8 The Wheel of Life Balance GENERAL DIRECTIONS: Your studies (and work) should – at least for the most part – interest, stimulate, and energise you. But it should also leave you enough time to enjoy and pursue the other essentials of life: family and friends, hobbies, exercise, spirituality, and so on. We work and live best when our lives are in balance. Balance means different things to different people – and at different points in their lives and careers. This worksheet is, thus, not about dictating a prescribed work-life balance, but only to bring into self-awareness where your time and energy are going, and how satisfied you are with the flow. PART I: Where are you in and out of balance? Instructions: Using this template (or your own graphic), divide the circle into equal segments, one for each major area you identify as comprising (your) life. Label the segments (e.g., Work, Studies, Health & fitness, Faith life, Love life, etc.). Then for each area, give yourself a satisfaction rating out of 10 with 1 being least satisfied with the time/energy I devote to this area (suffering) and 10 being most satisfied with the time/energy I devote to this area (thriving). Connect the dots in some manner as discussed in lecture (w/ colours, markers, etc.) PLEASE CONTINUE ON TO NEXT PAGE. Now take a step back: What do you notice? Where are you in balance (e.g., satisfied)? Where are you out of balance (e.g., dissatisfied)? I notice that I am mainly very satisfied with the areas of my life (e.g. uni, work, soccer, physical, financial and mental). Furthermore, I am mainly concerned with balancing soccer, uni and work, these are my top priorities and they are the most important areas of my life and they consume my time and energy predominantly. Currently, I am facing high demands from my work, university, and soccer commitments as I have impending assessments and exams are in the near future. In order to manage the rising cost of living, I have taken on additional shifts at work, which has increased my workload. Moreover, I have recently added an extra developmental training session to my soccer routine, which has elevated my training schedule to four times a week, in addition to a weekly game. I notice that social and well-being are just satisfactory. I am confident that my social and well-being will improve naturally as I start to free up more time by submitting my assignments and utilizing my social and well-being breaks to ease my study schedule during the exam period. PART II: Making changes Choices, priorities, boundaries, and compromises are ever-present in our day-to-day lives. To make changes will require alterations in likely-ingrained habits and routines. Please think about and respond to the questions below. 1. Look at your daily / weekly routines. Which habits and strategies are contributing to some of your current imbalances? - 2. What positives are you (consciously or unconsciously) getting from your current time management? - Examples: *excessive hours on social media? *prioritising work over health? *avoiding delegation to maintain control of your work? Examples: *Recognition? Reputation? Reward? Progress? Safety? Security? Control? Sheer survival? - Your response (dot points okay) excessive time spent on tiktok and social media which I could spend doing well-being activities instead an overly long to-do list, instead I’ll use the Stephen Convey method and focus on productivity over being busy by working on urgent and important tasks instead of an endless list As a means of balancing my life, I typically reward myself when completing difficult tasks. For instance, I allow myself to purchase something that I have been eyeing, or I’ll indulge in a treat to help me power through a packed day. Can you obtain those positives without undue suffering? 3. Finally, write down three simple action plans (START-STOP-CONTINUE) to address any of your ‘dissatisfactions’ from your Wheel of Life on the previous page and get closer to the balance you want for yourself. Capture the essence of your balance goals in a single sentence (e.g., I will START to spend more time volunteering for my community. OR I will CONTINUE to call my mum everyday). I will START using more well-being activities such as music and drawing ______________________________ I will STOP going on tiktok and social media mindlessly or as a procrastination activity _______________________________ I will CONTINUE to reward myself while working on difficult tasks __________________________ Note: This activity has been adapted from Dan Beverly’s Work-Life Balance Worksheet: Developing Self-Awareness for an Intentionally Designed Work/Life Balance.
