12 Essential life areas to focus on if you want to create your dream life
Most people try to change their lives by fixing one thing: a new job, a better fitness routine, a fresh start in a relationship. But life doesn’t change in silos.
Every choice you make touches other parts of your life. Neglect one area for too long, and it eventually spills over into the rest. That’s why creating your dream life starts with understanding where you’re at in all 12 life areas, so you can see where you’re thriving, what’s draining you, and where to focus next.
This page will help you:
See the bigger picture of your life instead of chasing random improvements
Reflect on what’s working and what’s not
Take small, intentional steps in the areas that matter most to you
Go deeper when you’re ready to design your dream life for real
New here? Welcome.
I’m Michelle, a life coach, course creator, and recovering overachiever who finally got tired of chasing the wrong version of success. I don’t believe in perfect lives. I believe in intentional ones.
I started Intendify Your Life to help people stop living for everyone else and start building a life that feels like home.
Warning: I’m a little blunt, a little nerdy, and wildly in favor of tough love and bold decisions.
Want to know the whole story? Start here.
At Intendify, we break life down into 12 key areas and offer guided paths to help you reflect, plan, and take action so you can start living more intentionally, one step at a time.
It’s like having a life coach in your pocket, minus the awkward eye contact.
Step 1: Reflect on your 12 life areas
Have you ever looked around and thought, “Is this really the life I’m meant to be living?”
Living intentionally doesn’t mean having all of your problems figured out or fixing everything at once. It means making small, steady choices that add up to a life you actually want to wake up to each morning.
Start at the top and move clockwise around the circle. Or don’t. That’s just how MY brain works.
And to do that, it helps to have a map. That’s where the 12 life areas come in.
What are the 12 essential life areas to focus on when creating your dream life?
The 12 essential life areas are: Career and Business, Charity, Creativity, Education, Finances, Fun, Health, Home, Relationships, Self, Spirituality, and Travel and Culture. Focusing on each of these areas helps you design a life that feels balanced, meaningful, and true to who you are, so you’re not thriving in one part of life while neglecting another.
When you understand why these areas are important and how they work together, you can begin noticing where you’re doing well, where you’re struggling, and where you’re ready for something new. (And no, you don’t have to overhaul your whole life at once. Please don’t. We like sanity around here.)
The 12 essential life areas for intentional living are the key parts of your life that I believe shape how you feel day to day and long-term.
When you step back and look at them as a whole, you might start to see patterns that explain why you feel the way you do, whether you’re feeling stuck, restless, energized, fulfilled, or any of the other feelings that pass through you from one moment to the next.
Your dream life is shaped by 12 interconnected areas. Each one influences how fulfilled, balanced, and in control you feel.
Read through each area below. Notice where you feel strong and where you’ve been stretched too thin.
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Career and Business
This is how you spend much of your time and energy, whether that’s building a business, climbing a career path, or redefining work on your own terms.
Ask yourself: Does my work feel meaningful, sustainable, and aligned with my goals?
Creativity
Your creative side fuels innovation, problem-solving, and joy. Whether you paint, garden, write, or build, creativity reconnects you with possibility.
Ask yourself: When’s the last time I created something just for fun or self-expression?
Finances
Money isn’t the dream. It’s a tool to support your dream. How you earn, spend, save, and manage debt determines your freedom and options in life.
Ask yourself: Do I feel in control of my finances, or am I constantly stressed about money?
Health (Mental and physical)
Your mind and body are the foundation for everything else. Without well-being, even success feels hollow.
Ask yourself: Am I taking care of my body and mind, or am I running on fumes?
Relationships
Family, friends, romantic partners, colleagues; these connections can lift you up or wear you down. Strong, healthy relationships make life richer.
Ask yourself: Do my relationships nourish me, or do they leave me feeling depleted?
Spirituality
This is your connection to meaning, purpose, or something greater than yourself. It might be faith, mindfulness, or simply the search for peace.
Ask yourself: Do I feel spiritually grounded, or am I drifting without a deeper sense of meaning?
Charity
Giving back doesn’t have to mean draining yourself. It’s about contributing to something bigger than yourself in ways that fit your capacity.
Ask yourself: Am I giving in ways that feel good, or am I burning out trying to help?
Education
Growth doesn’t stop after school. Lifelong learning, whether formal education, self-study, or mentorship, keeps you adaptable and fulfilled.
Ask yourself: Am I challenging myself to learn, or am I coasting on old knowledge?
Fun
Fun isn’t frivolous; it’s what keeps you energized and connected to yourself. When you’re only “productive,” life feels flat and heavy.
Ask yourself: Do I make time to laugh, play, and enjoy life, or has fun been pushed aside?
Home
This includes your physical space, the people you share it with, and how it supports your life. A stable home brings peace and grounding.
Ask yourself: Does my home feel like a safe, supportive place, or is it draining my energy?
Self (Self-care and self-improvement)
How you treat yourself sets the tone for everything else. Growth and rest aren’t luxuries; they’re fuel for the life you’re building.
Ask yourself: Am I investing in myself the way I deserve to be?
Travel and Culture
Exploring new places, people, and ideas expands how you see the world and yourself. It doesn’t have to be expensive to be meaningful.
Ask yourself: Am I engaging with new experiences that broaden my perspective?
Why the life areas matter
It’s one thing to feel like something’s "off" in your life. It’s another thing to actually pinpoint why you’re feeling that way. Only then can you know what to do with that knowledge.
The 12 life areas give you a language and a lens to spot what’s working, what’s not, and where you want to grow.
Instead of saying “I feel stuck and empty and I don’t know why,” you can say, “Oh, I’m feeling disconnected from my creativity and my sense of fun. That’s where I need to shift.”
Intentional living starts with intentional noticing.
Your life is a garden, not a factory
Think of your life like a garden. Some areas are lush and thriving. Others might be overgrown, wilted, or in desperate need of new seeds.
You don’t bulldoze the whole thing when you spot a few weeds. You water what’s thirsty, nourish what’s struggling, and celebrate what’s growing.
Working with the 12 life areas helps you become a wise gardener of your own life, one small, intentional choice at a time.
Step 2: Take a small, intentional action
How to start working with your life areas
When you first meet the 12 life areas, it’s easy to want to fix everything all at once. (Trust me, I get it. I once planned a whole “total life makeover” on a single Sunday afternoon... it did not go as planned.)
Instead, try this gentler, more powerful approach:
Step 1: Reflect
Take my Life Audit (free download) to honestly assess where you are in each life area. No judging! This is just to help you get clear on what’s working for you and what needs changing.
Step 2: Prioritize
Choose one or two areas to focus on first.
You can choose based on:
Where you feel the most misaligned
Where you feel the most excited to grow
(Choosing joy counts. Big time.)
Step 3: Act
Set one tiny, doable action for each chosen area. Small shifts create momentum. And momentum creates transformation.
My wake-up call
When I first sat down with the 12 life areas, I thought, “Career and finances. Those are the problem areas for me.” But the Life Audit told a different story.
My self-care and fun areas were running on empty. No wonder I felt burned out and joyless.
So I started changing those areas of my life with small changes like:
Reading novels again (not just personal development books - kind of addicted to those)
Scheduling time off without feeling guilty
Remembering that rest is productive
Demanding bi-weekly out-of-the-house date nights with my husband
I didn’t try to change anything else for a few months. Just those little things. And you know… those tiny actions added up and slowly, my life started feeling like it fit again. I started to catch myself smiling, even while doing the dishes. Weird, right?
My point is, you don’t have to overhaul all 12 areas at once. You just have to begin. If you want to see your life clearly, the Life Audit is your first step. Grab your free copy, pour a cup of something cozy, and start reflecting with curiosity and honesty.
You’re closer than you think to living a life that feels true to you. And I’m cheering you on every step of the way.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the 12 life areas
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Nope! Most people start with one or two that feel out of sync, then branch out. The goal isn’t to “master” every area overnight, it’s to create awareness and build habits that support the life you want over time.
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That’s totally okay. These life areas are a framework, not a checklist. If something doesn’t feel relevant right now, you can skip it or come back to it later.
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Start by asking yourself: Where am I feeling stuck, stressed, or unfulfilled? That’s usually a good place to begin. You can also use the free Life Audit tool to get a clearer picture of what needs your attention.
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Absolutely. The 12 life areas give you a structure for setting intentional, well-rounded goals that support your overall well-being, not just one aspect of your life.
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‘Self’ focuses on your inner world, like mindset, personal growth, identity, and self-care. ‘Health’ is about your physical and mental wellness. They’re closely linked but cover different ground.
Map out where you are now and where you want to go…
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