Designing Your Life

Why settle for a life by default when you can design one that fills you with joy and energy?

1. Break Free from Ruts by Thinking Like a Designer

Many people feel stuck in their current professional or personal lives, often settling for a path they fell into rather than actively chose. This stagnation comes from fear of change and misconception that earlier choices—like a college major or an initial career—permanently define your trajectory. However, just as designers creatively resolve problems, you too can create pathways to a fulfilling life.

Instead of being limited by what you think you're "supposed" to do, realize that past decisions do not dictate your future. For example, while three-quarters of college graduates in the US work outside their fields of study, they often still feel tethered to their degree. Yet, life offers flexibility to explore new opportunities.

Thinking like a designer lets you redefine what success means and identify what really brings you happiness. This creative approach embraces curiosity and iteration, helping people like one woman who shifted from engineering to a fulfilling career in interior design by exploring her real passions.

Examples

• A 40-something civil engineer transitions into teaching after assessing what brings personal fulfillment.
• A professional considers volunteer opportunities to align their work with societal impact goals.
• A man pivots from a corporate job to growing his own organic farm, guided by his values.

2. Balance Health, Work, Play, and Love

To design a meaningful life, you first need a clear understanding of where you stand. Assessing four life areas—health, work, play, and love—helps you identify imbalances that may be causing dissatisfaction or stress.

Health includes physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Work represents what you do, whether for pay or as a volunteer. Play is for pure enjoyment, and love includes relationships with partners, friends, family, or even pets. A harmonious life allocates energy across these dimensions, though the balance will vary depending on life stages.

For example, over-prioritizing work may neglect love and health. Alternatively, excessive focus on play without considering career can lead to financial or personal instability. Reassessing priorities helped one woman reignite her relationships by cutting back on overtime hours.

Examples

• A corporate worker balances exercise and mindfulness for better physical and emotional health.
• A retiree shifts focus from play to volunteer work to strengthen purpose and connection.
• A young professional recalibrates by allocating weekends to family instead of work emails.

3. Align Workview and Lifeview as Your Compass

Your personal beliefs about life's purpose and the meaning of work shape how you find satisfaction. By articulating your workview (your values about work) and lifeview (your approach to living authentically), you create a "compass" for navigating decisions.

For example, people guided by environmentalism may seek careers in sustainability, while those valuing financial stability might focus on high-paying roles. Misalignment between your workview and lifeview could lead to internal conflict, such as working in an exploitative company despite valuing ethics.

Self-reflection helped one man, who valued philanthropy and purpose, pursue social work instead of staying stuck in a draining corporate sales job.

Examples

• An environmentalist leaves the corporate world to start a waste-reduction nonprofit.
• A high earner prioritizes meaning over money by pursuing a career in education.
• A spiritual individual builds a career around wellness retreats to reflect their beliefs.

4. Discover What Engages You with a Good Time Journal

Using a journal to track joy and energy levels during day-to-day activities gives valuable insights about what keeps you engaged. Activities that lead to "flow"—a state where you're fully absorbed and lose track of time—indicate where your interests and potential lie.

For instance, while someone may feel drained in data-entry meetings, they might find themselves energized during creative brainstorming sessions. Identifying such patterns provides clues for shaping work or hobbies that bring you fulfillment.

One designer, after reviewing her journal, realized her energy spiked during outdoor collaborations, leading her to start a landscaping business.

Examples

• A writer finds flow while journaling and transitions into content creation.
• A chef discovers they’re happiest teaching others and starts hosting cooking classes.
• An office worker notices higher energy levels during team projects and seeks a managerial role.

5. Use Mind Maps to Unlock Creativity

Feeling stuck often stems from over-focusing on one path or solution. Mind mapping is a powerful brainstorming tool that helps you expand possibilities by free-associating around central themes.

For example, one worker unhappy in a rental-car company used "outdoors" as his central idea. Secondary links like "hiking" and "travel" led him to explore work options in nature-heavy environments. This process opened opportunities he hadn’t previously considered.

This simple yet effective tool can spark creativity and reframe your perspective, enabling you to envision steps toward exciting new opportunities.

Examples

• A lawyer maps "creativity" and transitions to an artistic career.
• A fitness trainer maps "health" and opens a nutrition consulting service.
• A dissatisfied banker envisions freelance photography opportunities by mapping "passion."

6. Explore Three Alternate Lives with Odyssey Plans

Designing your life doesn't mean committing to one blueprint. By creating "odyssey plans," you outline at least three different versions of a meaningful future. This gives you flexibility and reduces the anxiety of choosing the "wrong" path.

For instance, a college graduate weighing grad school against full-time work created three plans: pursuing research, a teaching role, and travel-based volunteering. Ultimately, experimenting with options revealed his unique passion: career counseling.

Charting multiple paths fosters creativity and builds resilience by ensuring backup opportunities, freeing you from perfectionist pressure.

Examples

• A recent graduate plans diverse paths in PR, wildlife conservation, and food blogging.
• Someone passionate about theater balances options in directing, acting, or teaching drama.
• A mid-career switcher considers paths in writing, consulting, and eco-tourism.

7. Approach Big Decisions with Beginner's Mind

Adopting the beginner’s mind—a mindset of curiosity and openness—helps you ask practical questions that avert regret later. Before making life-shaping choices like career changes, act like a novice by seeking deeper understanding.

For example, someone wanting to become a marine biologist might investigate daily responsibilities rather than making uninformed assumptions. This might involve interning or interviewing professionals.

This method ensures informed choices, allowing individuals to find the most fulfilling course based on real experiences, rather than idealized expectations.

Examples

• A student curious about coding tries an online course before committing to a degree.
• An artist researches grant-funded opportunities to support creative independence.
• A traveler explores work-abroad programs before selling their belongings.

8. Avoid Overcommitment by Saying "No"

Life design also involves eliminating activities that detract from core priorities. Saying “no” to commitments that drain time or energy opens space for fulfilling activities.

For instance, a busy parent might decline PTA leadership roles to focus on family evenings. Learning to filter options helps align choices with values.

This mindset relieves stress and lets you channel energy into building meaningful endeavors, whether projects, passions, or partnerships.

Examples

• An executive cuts redundant meetings to prioritize mentoring sessions.
• A student says no to extracurricular overload to excel academically.
• A freelancer turns down unaligned clients, focusing on passion-driven work.

9. Embrace Prototypes to Test Ideas

Instead of diving fully into big changes, test-drive ideas with small-scale prototypes. This allows you to explore without overwhelming risks.

For example, before enrolling in culinary school, someone might shadow a chef or take weekend workshops. By simulating a day-in-the-life of potential careers, you sharply reduce missteps and confidently pursue paths that feel right.

Prototyping replaces pressure with playful exploration, giving wiggle room for tweaks before bigger investments.

Examples

• An aspiring business owner runs pop-up shops to refine their concept.
• A teacher explores consulting by assisting a nearby nonprofit temporarily.
• A corporate retiree experiments with a small blog before becoming a full-time writer.

Takeaways

1. Keep a Good Time Journal to track when you feel happiest or most engaged during daily activities to guide future plans.
2. Create three "odyssey plans" to outline alternative paths for your life, reducing pressure while expanding possibilities.
3. Use mind mapping to brainstorm solutions when you’re stuck and uncover unexpected opportunities.