The Wheel of Life Keeps Turning

I was just reading BlogHer’s roundup of thoughts on New Year’s Resolutions. Varied responses, naturally. I don’t do resolutions anymore, but I do evaluate my goals quarterly and, hey, this is the end of a fiscal quarter in the PHAT Family.

For many years, I have worked with something called a Wheel of Life. It’s a simple tool to help you identify the areas of your life you want to improve and to help you find balance. You rank each life area on a scale of one to ten and see how bumpy the ride would be if it were a real wheel. As of January 2008, my Wheel of Life goes like this:

• Health: 8 I’m in good health, but I need to lose 20 pounds and cut down on my sugar consumption to guard against future health problems. Action plan: Exercise 3 days a week, 64 oz water daily, sugary food only once a day.
• Marriage: 8 The details here are private, so let’s just say I want to spend more quality time with my awesome husband.
• Family & Friends: 8 I’m much happier with the friendships in my life than I have been in the past, but I don’t spend enough time with my extended family due to distance. I also want to work on giving my kids my complete attention more often. Action plan: Try to visit family three times per year; put away my laptop, set aside the chores, and focus solely on the kids for at least an hour each day.
• Personal Growth: 10 I’m extremely satisfied with who I am and where I’m going in life.
• Career: 5 Um, I need one. I have an iron in the fire, but do I still have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? I think yes. Action plan: Set specific work time and stay focused during that time. Also - read more.
• Finance: 9 We’ve done our home improvements and we have two new cars. This year is devoted to paying off debt.
• Fun: 9 Scrapbooking, our pool, skiing, a trip to Disney… I’ve got a good amount of fun in my life. And every time I put this laptop on my lap, I am just tickled pink. Action plan: Take more time for scrapbooking and quiet time for myself.
• Environment: 7 I get disturbed by my environment because I am a neat freak and our house has more clutter than I care for. And the toys. The toys are everywhere. We have unfinished painting jobs that annoy me, yet I don’t see them getting done anytime soon. Action plan: Deal with it, I suppose. As long as the kids are young, I need to work on being a little more laid back.

There’s one area not addressed on the wheel: Homeschooling. I suppose it could fall under career, but I don’t really consider it my career. My goal for the next few months in the homeschooling arena is to do more with my daughter. Although she’s only 3, I’d like to work on her writing skills and game-playing / following-directions skills.

I’m pretty happy with my wheel. There’s only one major bump and I hope to have that smoothed out within the next three months. How’s your wheel looking this New Year’s?