Neeraj's wheel and other things that I have found useful in my quest

[Joe Harder]

A few years after I started teaching Spirit of the New Workplace, I reconnected with a former Darden student (MBA '96) named Neeraj Bhagat, who was in the process of becoming an executive coach. One of the things that he shared with me is something that I now think of as "Neeraj's Wheel," although my colleague Jim Clawson (as well as many others, I'm sure) have their own approaches to it.

Essentially, you draw a circle and break it up into eight or so segments, each representing a different "zone" of your life. In the order that they just came to me, they might include zones such as:

- family, friends, pets, primary relationship
- health and wellness/exercise/habits
- career and professional
- material wealth/assets/lifestyle
- spirituality
- community/charitable/service
- hobbies and fun
- overall aliveness/energy/vitality/happiness

Did I leave anything out? Comments welcomed!

When I did this the first time (at lunch with Neeraj), the gaps between my honest assessment of where I was in several zones and what I desired was stark. Since then, all but one have improved drastically.

Thanks, Neeraj!