The VA’s Whole Health model outlines eight domains of health, providing a comprehensive map of human well-being. Integrating these domains into your Eisenhower Matrix helps you prioritize what’s truly important across every area of life—not just work or fitness.
Each domain can have activities that fall into any of the four quadrants. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s awareness. Once you can see where your energy is going, you can start reallocating it intentionally.
1. Working Your Body
Physical movement, strength, endurance, and flexibility.
- Quadrant 1 (Urgent & Important): Managing an injury, attending a doctor’s appointment after a health scare, or resting because your body has reached exhaustion.
- Quadrant 2 (Important but Not Urgent): Maintaining a consistent exercise routine, stretching after workouts, or scheduling physical therapy before pain escalates.
- Quadrant 3 (Urgent but Not Important): Joining every group fitness challenge or overtraining out of guilt rather than balance.
- Quadrant 4 (Neither Urgent nor Important): Staying sedentary out of fatigue or distraction—skipping movement entirely and calling it “rest.”
2. Surroundings
The physical and social environments that shape your daily experience.
- Quadrant 1: Fixing a broken appliance or dealing with a flooded room—urgent problems demanding attention.
- Quadrant 2: Organizing your workspace, simplifying your environment, or creating a calm space for recovery and focus.
- Quadrant 3: Overdecorating, constantly rearranging, or worrying about aesthetics that don’t add peace or function.
- Quadrant 4: Ignoring clutter, noise, or toxic environments until they start eroding your focus and health.
3. Personal Development and Growth
Education, hobbies, and learning that expand your potential.
- Quadrant 1: Scrambling to meet a professional deadline or finish a certification you procrastinated on.
- Quadrant 2: Reading daily, journaling, or pursuing structured learning that stretches your thinking.
- Quadrant 3: Signing up for courses or projects just because others are doing them—not because they align with your goals.
- Quadrant 4: Scrolling “inspirational” content without ever applying what you learn.
4. Food and Drink
Nutrition and hydration that sustain energy, health, and focus.
- Quadrant 1: Grabbing food on the go after skipping meals, or visiting urgent care for dehydration or dietary issues.
- Quadrant 2: Prepping healthy meals, staying hydrated, and tracking what fuels your energy best.
- Quadrant 3: Following extreme diets or nutrition trends that aren’t sustainable.
- Quadrant 4: Mindless snacking or overeating out of boredom or stress.
5. Recharge
Sleep, rest, and recovery that restore energy and emotional regulation.
- Quadrant 1: Collapsing after burnout or illness because you ignored rest signals for too long.
- Quadrant 2: Creating and protecting a consistent sleep schedule, using breathwork or relaxation techniques before bed.
- Quadrant 3: Hitting snooze all morning because you stayed up late for trivial tasks.
- Quadrant 4: Overindulging in “rest” that’s really avoidance—binging shows, sleeping all day, or withdrawing socially.
6. Family, Friends, and Co-Workers
Connection, belonging, and the quality of your relationships.
- Quadrant 1: Handling a family emergency, resolving conflict after neglect, or repairing broken trust.
- Quadrant 2: Planning quality time with loved ones, mentoring a colleague, or having honest conversations before resentment builds.
- Quadrant 3: Saying yes to every social invitation out of obligation rather than genuine connection.
- Quadrant 4: Withdrawing into isolation or only interacting through social media instead of real relationships.
7. Spirit and Soul
Meaning, purpose, and alignment with your values and beliefs.
- Quadrant 1: Questioning your purpose after burnout or loss—when you’ve drifted too far from what matters.
- Quadrant 2: Regular prayer, meditation, reflection, or service that connects your daily actions to your deeper values.
- Quadrant 3: Chasing superficial inspiration without inner grounding—performing spirituality instead of practicing it.
- Quadrant 4: Ignoring your inner life entirely and wondering why achievement feels hollow.
8. Power of the Mind
Thoughts, emotions, and mindset—how you process and respond to the world.
- Quadrant 1: Managing a mental health crisis or emotional breakdown.
- Quadrant 2: Regular therapy, journaling, mindfulness practice, or structured reflection that keeps you grounded.
- Quadrant 3: Overanalyzing minor issues or constantly seeking external validation.
- Quadrant 4: Avoiding emotional work—numbing out instead of confronting what’s underneath.
When you use the Eisenhower Matrix to evaluate each of these domains, you begin to see where imbalance lives. Maybe your physical health gets priority but your spiritual life doesn’t. Or you stay connected at work but disconnected at home.
The mission isn’t perfection—it’s awareness. By mapping your behaviors across all four quadrants, you begin to operate with intentionality. You reclaim control of your time, your energy, and your wellness—one deliberate decision at a time.
Putting It Together
Self-care isn’t just about what feels good—it’s about what keeps you good. Using the Eisenhower Matrix through the lens of Whole Health gives you a clear operational picture: what to act on, what to schedule, what to delegate, and what to let go.
Ask yourself:
- Which domains of my health am I investing in?
- Which ones am I ignoring until they become urgent?
- What would it look like to plan self-care with the same precision I plan my work?
When you start treating wellness as a mission, not a luxury, everything changes. You stop chasing balance and start building it—one deliberate choice at a time.
Additional Reading from the Archives
1. Temperance as a Tool
Temperance isn’t just a virtue—it’s a tool for conserving energy and directing effort toward what truly matters.
2. STOP…
You don’t have to act on every thought or emotion—pause, observe, and choose your next move with intention.
3. Zen in the Art of…
Presence and mastery are built through repetition, patience, and quiet discipline—the art of showing up.
4. Do What You Want
Explores the tension between desire and discipline—how aligning actions with core values builds internal stability.
5. How Discipline Leads to Freedom
Structure and consistency don’t restrict you—they create freedom, clarity, and the capacity for growth.
6. Regulating Emotions
A tactical guide to managing emotional intensity and maintaining mission effectiveness under stress.
Thanks for Reading
If you’re looking for practical tools to build resilience, mental clarity, and physical well-being, you’re in the right place. Tactics Total Wellness is based in Charleston, South Carolina, and I write weekly about mindset, performance, and integrated living for veterans, first responders, and high performers across the Low Country.
👉 You can explore more insights at www.tacticstotalwellness.com/blog
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