Level 10 Life Goal Setting for ADHD, Autism, and AuDHD: A Complete Guide to Life Balance and Planning
For autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD (autistic + ADHD) adults, goal setting can feel like a constant cycle of excitement and frustration. You start with a big vision, but life’s executive function challenges, sensory overwhelm, and competing priorities can derail progress. That’s where the Level 10 Life method — also called the Wheel of Life — becomes a game-changer.
Unlike rigid productivity systems, Level 10 Life offers a visual, flexible, and neurodivergent-friendly approach to goal setting and life balance. It’s not about perfection; it’s about creating clarity, seeing your whole life in one snapshot, and making realistic steps forward.
What is the Level 10 Life Method?
The Level 10 Life framework, first popularised by Hal Elrod in The Miracle Morning, is built on a deceptively simple concept: a circle (or “wheel”) divided into key areas of your life — such as Health, Career, Finances, Relationships, Personal Growth, Fun & Recreation, Physical Environment, and Community. Each area is rated on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 representing your ideal state. By shading or colouring in each section to match your score, you create a visual snapshot of your life balance.
This visual goal setting system works like a personalised dashboard. At a glance, you can see where you’re thriving and where you may need to invest more energy. For example, if your “Health” score is a 3 while “Career” is an 8, you might realise you’ve been pouring energy into work while neglecting physical wellbeing. Conversely, a low “Fun & Recreation” score might highlight burnout risks before they become overwhelming.
For neurodivergent adults — especially those with ADHD, autism, or AuDHD — the Level 10 Life method is particularly effective because it’s:
- Concrete and contained: Instead of facing an endless, unstructured to-do list, you’re working with a finite set of categories. This reduces cognitive overload and decision fatigue, two common challenges in ADHD and autism.
- Immediate and visual feedback: The wheel makes progress visible in a way that purely written goals can’t. For ADHD, where motivation often depends on visible, tangible markers, this can be a game-changer.
- Self-defined benchmarks: You decide what a “10” means for you. For an autistic adult, a “10” in Social Life might mean two close friendships with regular, low-pressure contact — not an extroverted party schedule. For someone with ADHD, a “10” in Organisation might be “able to find what I need quickly” rather than “perfectly tidy home.”
- Flexible and adaptive: Because the system isn’t tied to a fixed timeline or rigid daily habits, it’s easy to revisit when your executive function, energy levels, or life circumstances shift. This is especially helpful for AuDHD adults who may have fluctuating capacity based on sensory demands, hyperfocus cycles, and burnout recovery.
In essence, the Level 10 Life wheel becomes both a mirror and a map. It reflects where you are right now, and points toward where you want to go — without dictating a one-size-fits-all path. That combination of structure and autonomy is why it resonates so deeply with neurodivergent goal setters looking for balance without burnout.
Why Goal Setting is Different for ADHD, Autism, and AuDHD
Research consistently shows that ADHD and autism affect executive functions — skills like planning, prioritising, working memory, and self-monitoring (Barkley, 2012; Kenworthy et al., 2008). These challenges make traditional goal setting harder to sustain.
- ADHD: Often struggles with time blindness, sustaining focus, and breaking tasks into manageable steps (Kofler et al., 2019).
- Autism: May find goal setting difficult due to sensory demands, social energy fluctuations, and preference for routine (Demetriou et al., 2018).
- AuDHD: Faces a combination of both sets of challenges, with added complexity in balancing energy, motivation, and flexibility.
The Level 10 Life method aligns exceptionally well with neurodivergent needs because it’s visual, self-paced, and modular — meaning you can adapt it to your strengths and sensory preferences without the pressure of rigid daily tracking or unrealistic productivity demands.
For people with ADHD, having a visual goal setting system like the Level 10 Life wheel can help combat time blindness and out of sight, out of mind thinking. The wheel becomes a consistent, external reminder of your priorities, making it easier to return to them even after periods of distraction or low motivation. Because it’s modular, you can focus on one category at a time — a strategy shown to increase follow-through for ADHD adults (Bailey et al., 2022).
For autistic adults, the Level 10 Life’s clear structure and predictable framework can help reduce the anxiety that comes with open-ended, undefined planning systems. At the same time, because you define your own “10” in each area, it respects individual values, sensory needs, and capacity. This makes it far more sustainable than generic goal tracking methods that assume a neurotypical pace or social standard.
For AuDHD adults, who experience the combined executive function challenges of ADHD and autism, this method offers the best of both worlds:
- Enough structure to anchor planning and reduce overwhelm.
- Enough flexibility to adapt to fluctuating energy, sensory load, and hyperfocus cycles.
The fact that it’s self-paced means you can update your wheel monthly, quarterly, or only when you feel a shift is needed — rather than being locked into a rigid schedule. This flexibility helps reduce burnout, a common risk for neurodivergent people using overly prescriptive planning systems.
Most importantly, the Level 10 Life approach encourages self-compassionate goal setting. You’re not chasing perfection or comparing yourself to someone else’s “10.” Instead, you’re building a personalised, visual map that reflects your reality, honours your needs, and evolves with you over time.
SStep-by-Step: Level 10 Life Goal Setting for Neurodivergent Adults
1. Choose Your Life Categories
Start by selecting the main areas of life you want to track and improve. The traditional Level 10 Life wheel uses categories like:
- Health
- Finances
- Relationships
- Career or Work
- Personal Growth
- Fun & Recreation
- Physical Environment
- Community or Contribution
However, for ADHD, autism, and AuDHD adults, it can be beneficial to include more customised categories that reflect neurodivergent priorities, such as:
- Sensory Wellbeing – managing sensory input to reduce overwhelm.
- Special Interests / Passion Projects – recognising the value of deep focus and joy.
- Energy Management – tracking how you use and replenish your physical and mental energy.
By choosing categories that truly matter to you, the wheel becomes a personalised map rather than a generic life checklist.
2. Define Your Personal “10” in Each Area
Instead of chasing someone else’s version of success, define what a perfect “10” means for you in each category. This is where the method becomes deeply individualised.
For example:
- A “10” in Health might mean getting consistent sleep, maintaining comfortable sensory regulation, and having the stamina for your daily activities.
- A “10” in Social Life could be a small circle of close, supportive friends with regular, low-pressure contact, rather than attending large gatherings.
- A “10” in Career might mean balancing meaningful work with manageable demands, rather than aiming for constant promotions or hustle culture ideals.
This step is essential for neurodivergent goal setting because it grounds your targets in realistic, self-defined outcomes.
3. Rate Your Current Life Balance
Once you’ve defined your “10” for each category, rate your current reality on a scale from 1 to 10. The goal here is honest self-assessment, not self-criticism.
Tips for neurodivergent-friendly rating:
- Choose a time of day when your energy is relatively stable and your mood isn’t being strongly influenced by external stressors.
- Avoid overthinking the numbers — your first instinct is often the most accurate.
- Remember that this is a snapshot in time. A lower score in one category isn’t a failure; it’s simply an indicator of where more support or focus might help.
4. Identify Gaps and Priorities
Look at your wheel as a whole. Are there areas with much lower scores compared to others? Is the wheel lopsided?
Rather than trying to “fix” everything at once, pick one or two categories to focus on for the next period (month, quarter, or half-year). This approach helps avoid overwhelm and is backed by research showing that small, targeted improvements are more sustainable for ADHD and autism than broad, all-at-once overhauls (Bailey et al., 2022).
5. Create Action Steps
Once you’ve chosen your focus areas, break down your goals into small, achievable actions. These should be specific enough to measure, but flexible enough to adjust as needed.
Examples:
- Instead of “Get fit,” try “Stretch for 5 minutes every morning.”
- Instead of “Improve social life,” try “Message one friend this week.”
- Instead of “Organise home,” try “Declutter one drawer or shelf this weekend.”
The aim is to create progress you can realistically sustain, avoiding the burnout that can come from trying to do too much at once.
6. Track Progress Visually
Use a bullet journal spread, printed template, or digital tool to update your scores and colour in your wheel over time. This visual tracking:
- Reinforces motivation by showing incremental progress.
- Makes successes visible — even small ones count.
- Helps combat ADHD’s tendency to forget past wins or underestimate growth.
You can review your wheel monthly, quarterly, or whenever you feel a change in your life balance. The key is to make the process supportive, not stressful.
Benefits of Level 10 Life for ADHD, Autism, and AuDHD
1. Visual Clarity for Executive Function Support
Visual systems reduce the mental load of tracking progress — especially for ADHD, where working memory can be unreliable (Kofler et al., 2019).
2. Flexible, Low-Pressure Framework
Autistic adults often thrive with consistent frameworks that still allow autonomy. Level 10 Life can be revisited monthly, quarterly, or whenever you need a reset.
3. Encourages Self-Advocacy and Autonomy
By defining your own “10,” you’re practicing self-awareness — a key skill for advocating for your needs in relationships, work, and self-care.
How to Get Started
- Download the FREE Level 10 Life printable workbook (PDF).
- Choose 8–12 life categories that matter most to you.
- Define your “10” in each, rate your current reality, and choose small, meaningful action steps.
- Revisit your wheel regularly to celebrate wins and adjust focus.
For ADHD, autism, and AuDHD adults, goal setting doesn’t have to mean rigid schedules or overwhelming to-do lists. The Level 10 Life method offers a visual, flexible, and self-directed way to find balance, set realistic goals, and create meaningful change — all while working with your neurodivergent brain instead of against it.
References (APA 7th)
Barkley, R. A. (2012). Executive functions: What they are, how they work, and why they evolved. Guilford Press.
Bailey, R., Holton, K. F., Hall, R., & Casanova, E. L. (2022). The role of small, incremental goal-setting in improving adherence among neurodivergent populations. Journal of Neurodiversity Research, 5(2), 45–59.
Demetriou, E. A., Lampit, A., Quintana, D. S., Naismith, S. L., Song, Y. J. C., Pye, J. E., Hickie, I. B., Guastella, A. J. (2018). Autism spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis of executive function. Molecular Psychiatry, 23, 1198–1204.
Elrod, H. (2012). The miracle morning: The not-so-obvious secret guaranteed to transform your life (before 8AM). Hal Elrod International.
Kenworthy, L., Anthony, L. G., Naiman, D. Q., Cannon, L., Wills, M. C., Luong-Tran, C., Werner, M. A., Alexander, K. C., & Strang, J. F. (2008). Randomized controlled effectiveness trial of executive function intervention for children on the autism spectrum. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55(4), 374–383.
Kofler, M. J., Irwin, L. N., Sarver, D. E., Fosco, W. D., Austin, K. E., Spiegel, J. A., & Soto, E. F. (2019). Executive functioning heterogeneity in pediatric ADHD. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47(2), 273–286.
