Remote working & Wheel of Life balance
One of the tools that we use in our rehabilitation programmes with those who have persistent pain or fatigue is called the Wheel of Life. Each segment is indicative of the different aspects of an average person’s life, e.g:
Leisure and Social
Friends and family
Finance
Learning
Spiritual or wellbeing
Health
Personal relationships
Work (paid or unpaid)
We ask our clients to fill in the wheel with a score out of ten to indicate how satisfied with each life area they are. The Wheel of life can be as flexible as you wish. You could fill in your own 'themes' or, you can ask someone who knows you well to complete the scores for you. Sometimes, it might be helpful to have anothers view of your life’s balance. If using it in a therapeutic context as we do, discuss with the client which segments seem to be the most relevant. The idea is to try to ‘balance’ out the numbers, so the segments which are scored lower could be addressed more formally in order to start to match other higher scoring areas. There is no ‘right or wrong’ and this tool is purely used as a guide. Situations change and life changes are constant. Currently, there may be plenty of areas of our life that are ‘outside’ of our control; by using the Wheel of life, we might start to recognise those areas, alongside those that we do have some influence over.
Some people find this exercise helps to clarify priorities for goal-setting, allowing more planning to accord with a definition of balance, whatever that means for each person. Balance is personal and unique to each individual – what may be balanced for some may be stressful or boring for others. The balance must be assessed over time. So, a regular check on how balanced you are can highlight useful patterns and help you learn even more about yourself. Balance is crucial for our wellbeing because the body produces various hormones in response to certain types of activities, such as:
Achievement stimulates dopamine
Purposeful activity stimulates serotonin
Connecting with others stimulates oxytocin
Exercise stimulates endorphins
Balance applies to all areas: physical, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional health.
Balance during lockdown
This is all especially crucial now, as we adjust our lives in accordance with the restrictions imposed through the Coronavirus pandemic. Many people have switched to remote working and this can bring with it some new challenges, especially around maintaining boundaries and switching between ‘work’ and ‘home’ modes, sometimes with children also at home, which adds another dimension.
Does it mean that our wheel of life may be a bit different at the moment than it may usually be, because of lockdown? For instance, if we identify a low score for physical fitness, we could look for online exercise classes and build them into our routine. There are endless options available - Joe Wicks comes instantly to mind! - but there are also pilates, dance, and yoga classes, among others. Many local gyms and instructors have turned to offering online classes, some of which are freely available. The 'Couch to 5k' app is a good, gradual introduction to running which may be doable in this environment.
Other areas that may leave us out of balance could be 'connecting with others'. Again, we have all had to get creative with this one. I have attended virtual coffee mornings with friends as well as quiz nights and regular catch-ups with family. However, this form of 'connection' may satisfy one person’s need but not another’s - it's very subjective.
The emphasis in the Wheel of life is on scoring each area and then choosing one or two priority areas to address. It is worth considering what level of control we have over each area at the time. For example, someone may wish to address 'finances' but in the current situation, this could be impossible if there are just too many unknowns. However, for someone who has been furloughed perhaps, while still an uncertain time, this may be an ideal opportunity to stop and reflect on their career. Each situation is different.
So using the Wheel of Life can be a useful tool to help identify aspects of life that are within our control, and therefore the things to focus on for now. What we all know now is that ‘change is constant’. So let’s focus on the things we can have some influence over, rather than the things we can’t.
One of the really helpful resources that we are utilising is the ‘Face Covid’ model based on the principles of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
“The single most useful thing anyone can do in any type of crisis - corona-related or otherwise - is to focus on what’s in your control”
— Dr R Harris
Written by one of our specialist clinicians