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Designing Your New Work Life: How to Thrive and Change and Find Happiness--and a New Freedom--at Work
FROM THE AUTHORS OF THE NUMBER-ONE 'NEW YORK TIMES' BEST SELLER 'DESIGNING YOUR LIFE' ("LIFE HAS QUESTIONS. THEY HAVE ANSWERS." ('THE NEW YORK TIMES)) - A JOB-CHANGING, OUTLOOK-CHANGING, LIFE-CHANGING BOOK THAT SHOWS US HOW TO TRANSFORM OUR WORK LIVES AND CREATE A DREAM JOB THAT IS MEANINGFUL WITHOUT NECESSARILY CHANGING THE JOB WE HAVE.
DYSFUNCTIONAL BELIEF:
I'm stuck in a lousy situation (and there's nothing I can do about it).
REFRAME:
I'm stuck in a lousy situation (and I'm finding the problems and the solutions).
Bill Burnett and Dave Evans successfully taught graduate and undergraduate students at Stanford University and audiences of their best-selling book, 'Designing Your Life' ("The prototype for a happy life" (Brian Lehrer, NPR)) that designers don't analyze, worry, think, and complain their way forward; they build their way forward.
In 'Designing Your Work Life', Burnett and Evans show us how design thinking can transform our present job AND OUR EXPERIENCE OF WORK IN GENERAL by utilizing the designer mindsets: Curiosity. Reframing. Radical collaboration. Awareness. Bias to action. Storytelling.
DYSFUNCTIONAL BELIEF:
Good enough isn't good enough.
REFRAME:
Good enough is GREAT - for now.
Burnett and Evens show us how, with tools, tips, and ideas, to enjoy what we have and to live in a state of "good enough, for now", one of the strongest, most effective reframes there is, and how this idea, once understood and accepted, can make new possibilities available, giving us the energy to enjoy the present moment and allowing us to begin to prototype possible futures.
And if we want to quit? Burnett and Evans show us how to use the job we have to get the job we want (in another company), and show us as well, the art and science of quitting (leave the campsite better than we found it), using the power to quit design to reframe how we finish our current job and get a better one.
They write, as well, about how the work world is changing as the automation of work increases (hello Alexa, artificial intelligence, drones, and robots); how thinking like a designer can make us flexible, and ready to adapt to change. . .
©2020 Bill Burnett and Dave Evans (P)2020 Random House Audio
DYSFUNCTIONAL BELIEF:
I'm stuck in a lousy situation (and there's nothing I can do about it).
REFRAME:
I'm stuck in a lousy situation (and I'm finding the problems and the solutions).
Bill Burnett and Dave Evans successfully taught graduate and undergraduate students at Stanford University and audiences of their best-selling book, 'Designing Your Life' ("The prototype for a happy life" (Brian Lehrer, NPR)) that designers don't analyze, worry, think, and complain their way forward; they build their way forward.
In 'Designing Your Work Life', Burnett and Evans show us how design thinking can transform our present job AND OUR EXPERIENCE OF WORK IN GENERAL by utilizing the designer mindsets: Curiosity. Reframing. Radical collaboration. Awareness. Bias to action. Storytelling.
DYSFUNCTIONAL BELIEF:
Good enough isn't good enough.
REFRAME:
Good enough is GREAT - for now.
Burnett and Evens show us how, with tools, tips, and ideas, to enjoy what we have and to live in a state of "good enough, for now", one of the strongest, most effective reframes there is, and how this idea, once understood and accepted, can make new possibilities available, giving us the energy to enjoy the present moment and allowing us to begin to prototype possible futures.
And if we want to quit? Burnett and Evans show us how to use the job we have to get the job we want (in another company), and show us as well, the art and science of quitting (leave the campsite better than we found it), using the power to quit design to reframe how we finish our current job and get a better one.
They write, as well, about how the work world is changing as the automation of work increases (hello Alexa, artificial intelligence, drones, and robots); how thinking like a designer can make us flexible, and ready to adapt to change. . .
©2020 Bill Burnett and Dave Evans (P)2020 Random House Audio
394 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 25, 2020
1097 people are currently reading
10960 people want to read
About the author
Bill Burnett
22 books280 followersBill Burnett is an award-winning Silicon Valley designer and the Executive Director of the renowned Design Program at Stanford University.
Bill Burnett is the Executive Director of the Design Program at Stanford. He directs the undergraduate and graduate program in design at Stanford, both interdepartmental programs between the Mechanical Engineering department and the Art department. He got his BS and MS in Product Design at Stanford and has worked professionally on a wide variety of projects ranging from award-winning Apple PowerBooks to the original Hasbro Star Wars action figures. He holds a number of mechanical and design patents, and design awards for a variety of products including the first “slate” computer. In addition to his duties at Stanford, he is a on the Board of VOZ (pronounced “VAWS – it means voice in Spanish) a social responsible high fashion startup and advises several Internet start-up companies.
Bill Burnett is the Executive Director of the Design Program at Stanford. He directs the undergraduate and graduate program in design at Stanford, both interdepartmental programs between the Mechanical Engineering department and the Art department. He got his BS and MS in Product Design at Stanford and has worked professionally on a wide variety of projects ranging from award-winning Apple PowerBooks to the original Hasbro Star Wars action figures. He holds a number of mechanical and design patents, and design awards for a variety of products including the first “slate” computer. In addition to his duties at Stanford, he is a on the Board of VOZ (pronounced “VAWS – it means voice in Spanish) a social responsible high fashion startup and advises several Internet start-up companies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 272 reviews
March 9, 2020
Given my feelings about the first book, it seems unlikely that I would choose to read this one, and yet here we are, and I really can't say that this one was much better than the first, although to be fair, my perspective has changed a lot since reading the first one.
I have to say it. This one is just as bougie as the first. The authors underestimate how many people struggle with basic survival (even employed people) and don't seem to understand privilege in the least. The book has a socially conservative tone that assumes a mostly white, mostly male, christian, and heteronormative world where no one experiences bias, glass ceilings, microaggressions, etc.
These are profound problems in a book that assumes anyone, anywhere can change anything about their work life. It makes me think badly about Stanford, compared to other elite schools that are certainly more woke than where these guys are coming from.
I am so frustrated by all of that.
That said, some of their concept are useful. My favorite was BDO - best doable option - and I intend to introduce that one to colleagues who bemoan having to make imperfect choices and who cling to options that are purely theoretical.
The what-do-you-make discussion was helpful as well. I did the exercise for that one with the sliders representing money, impact, and expression. Turns out, I have a very low need for expression, but I feel frustrated by what I'm doing in terms of impact...and I'm already working on that without needing this book to tell me to do that. The visual, however, was really satisfying to have.
The brief discussion about StrengthsFinder was good too. It prompted me to revisit my results.
Overall, not a book I'm going to recommend, even though it does have small bites that I found worthwhile. For people who have tons of resources and privilege, but who are lost AF, this book may have some insight.
Also, I can't shake the feeling that a lot of the stories in it sound fake...
I have to say it. This one is just as bougie as the first. The authors underestimate how many people struggle with basic survival (even employed people) and don't seem to understand privilege in the least. The book has a socially conservative tone that assumes a mostly white, mostly male, christian, and heteronormative world where no one experiences bias, glass ceilings, microaggressions, etc.
These are profound problems in a book that assumes anyone, anywhere can change anything about their work life. It makes me think badly about Stanford, compared to other elite schools that are certainly more woke than where these guys are coming from.
I am so frustrated by all of that.
That said, some of their concept are useful. My favorite was BDO - best doable option - and I intend to introduce that one to colleagues who bemoan having to make imperfect choices and who cling to options that are purely theoretical.
The what-do-you-make discussion was helpful as well. I did the exercise for that one with the sliders representing money, impact, and expression. Turns out, I have a very low need for expression, but I feel frustrated by what I'm doing in terms of impact...and I'm already working on that without needing this book to tell me to do that. The visual, however, was really satisfying to have.
The brief discussion about StrengthsFinder was good too. It prompted me to revisit my results.
Overall, not a book I'm going to recommend, even though it does have small bites that I found worthwhile. For people who have tons of resources and privilege, but who are lost AF, this book may have some insight.
Also, I can't shake the feeling that a lot of the stories in it sound fake...
June 14, 2024
HIGHLIGHTS:
1. CONGRUENCE:
- Designing your work and life. It comes down to making good choices, consistent with your compass, and what you value.
- Point of impact: from personal to global.
- Type of impact: renew - repair- sustain - support new-new.
- Moneymaking, impact making, expression making.
- Maximizing reality.
- Strategy: Retreat. Review. Reflect. Reinforce. Train.
- Millennials and Gen Z workers especially demand a work experience that is meaningful and that gives them a sense that they are having an impact on the world.
- You need to ask for help. When you reach out to the world, it’s been our experience that the world reaches back. And that changes everything.
- Telling a new story, especially to yourself, can be a powerful way to change your experience on the job.
2. GOOD ENOUGH:
- “Good enough for now” is one of the big reframes because you’re changing your internal narrative.
- Create relationships with people, not things – that’s one way you get off of the hedonic treadmill.
- ACTION: Plan positive energy breaks at three-hour intervals every day.
- You have no control over other people, and little control sometimes over your circumstances. When we design our work life, we begin by accepting what is, and then find small ways to redesign our circumstances. We get curious, talk to people, try stuff, and start telling a new story. In the process, we find ourselves more engaged and more energized.
- The secret to “good enough for now” is to have a bias to action. Set the bar low. Clear it. Then do it again.
- ACTION: Every two weeks once you’ve met your previous goal you make a small incremental change.
- If you fall behind, no problem just reset your goal and start over but no threat. Your brain needs to pay a penalty for messing up.
3. ACCOUNTABILITY:
- When we create accountability the likelihood of our meeting our commitment increases substantially.
- You will have established a method you can rely on for making changes.
- REFLECTION: what did I learn? What did I initiate? Who did I help?
- ACTION: Learning, initiating, and helping. Try to do this daily, or at least every few days, and no less than once a week.
- Continue this daily login for 3 to 4 weeks.
- The “good work journal” can help you gain awareness of what’s working in your life and what’s not. Over time, these practices contribute to a sense of moving in the right direction. And when you get used to setting the bar low and making the small incremental adjustments that come from noticing what’s working, it all starts to add up to significant changes in your experience of work.
4. SMALL THINGS:
- Look for small things. Look out for what we call unlearning. Set the goal to initiate something new at work at least once a week. Do you do something in the service of others? Small interventions count. Small gestures build good karma.
- To reflect is to think, ponder, or meditate on an idea or experience. Quiet time and focused energy to select ideas or experiences.
- Savoring & Insight: Reflection is a powerful way to train your capacity for noticing your experience. Welcome to more for free.
- ACTION: Make the micro goals each week easy.
- Money and meaning are just two different measurements of what I value.
- Most people care about both their success in making money and their success in making an impact.
- Finding and maintaining the right combination supports them and living a meaningful life.
- Dramatic stuff in a stuck situation includes our own old baggage: old wounds not yet fully healed, sensitivities we just can’t seem to dampen, and biases no one has talked us out of yet.
- The best doable option: Formulate a list of actually available options, then pick the best one.
- Gravity problems: It’s not a problem because there’s no effective action you can take, and if you can’t take action, it can’t be solved.
- If you are careful about finding the right problem and you get good at reframing your problem in a way that gives you the creative freedom to prototype lots of solutions, you will have the best available chance at finding yourself in a job and life you enjoy.
5. REFRAME:
- Reframing problems is your go-to superpower.
- Overwhelm: I chose my way into this and I can design my way out.
- Do not let overwhelm turn into burnout.
- Start prototyping small changes to your task list. You will discover that you have more agency than you think, and whether you have to ask for permission to try something or not, you are the initiator.
- If you really want to get a lot of time and energy back, you should give away your most prized in high visibility activities. Those are the easiest ones to find takers, and giving them away frees up a lot of time.
- If you can get your key partners, intimates, and collaborators to join you in temporarily embracing your hyper-overwhelm, things will go much more smoothly for everyone.
- You are the designer and you are in control.
- Less is more list: Make your less is more list of things to drop, delegate, or renegotiate.
6. CHANGE:
- At work, you develop your autonomy by showing up in the work that you do and deciding to do it as well or better than is required. When you get in the habit of over-delivering on the job, good things start to happen.
- Change your self-talk from doubtful to positive and tell that story out loud. Develop yourself in concert with your intrinsic motivation to be an autonomous and creative worker, and to collaborate with others. Work hard to gain Mastery in your field and focus on what you need to make your job meaningful.
- To make change happen, you need to be the person who has that authority.
7. INFLUENCE:
- Influence that matters ask the people with the authority who are making decisions, often by providing an informed opinion on the pros and cons of the decision in question.
- Influence is a form of power that acts upon authority. Authority is the power to make decisions.
- Influence is the sum of the value you contribute and the recognition you get from contributing that value.
Influence = value + recognition
- Influence comes from a very legitimate place. It comes from the real value you create, strategically, and culturally aligned, for your organization.
- Most influencers become influential because their advice and counsel can add value. You add value to the organization, meaning you help it be more successful, by being useful and doing great work. Is important that the value you add strategically align with the organization's direction and is recognized by people who can do something about it, the ones with the authority to make decisions.
- Real influence comes from a repeat record of adding value and being recognized for it. Decision-makers need influencers because without them they’re left out on their own to figure out everything.
- Be a savvy political observer and keep adding value that’s visible to the right influencers and authorities, something good will come of it.
- A smart designer reframes her understanding of her organization to match this three-dimensional, moving system and works to increase her power and influence.
- When do you understand that influence is making an impact on good decisions, and that causes change, you can start to see through the politics of decision-making and it all starts to make sense.
- You understand the valuation process and how it acts on decisions. Once you start seeing these business situations more clearly, it doesn’t take long to realize how these new political insights put you in a position of power over your own work life. If you can get an alignment with the people who have power, and work on adding recognizable value, you will be engaging the political realities in a very healthy way.
8. AUTHORITY & INFLUENCE:
- Politics, and healthy organizations, is about making the organization run better.
- Redesigning your job where you are: Align yourself with the organization's strategies and goals and make sure that your value aligns with your own compass, and we predict good things will happen.
- Prototype doing more of it in ways that make it easy for your employer to like what you’re doing. If it works, just keep building your way forward to a more joyful job.
- Grad school is the solution if and only if you have identified the right problem to solve. Please have a bunch of prototype conversations, and if you prototype experiences you can be more certain that grad school will make a difference in your future.
- Before you quit, have that conversation with your boss. Ask one simple question. “What am I doing wrong?”
- What you choose to do in life is what gives your life meaning and a purpose. So make it a point to quit with a purpose.
- Make the connection tangible and touch base: a handwritten note, thanking someone for their time or being helpful, is always appreciated.
9. QUITTING:
- 2 to 6 months on this project to quit. Do you want to always be building a professional reputation in-network, both of which travel with you wherever you go?
- be clear and concise and emphasize the positives about your future challenges. Do you want to tell a consistent and positive story?
- Create a job description that includes everything you do, including the stuff that you were supposed to do and the stuff that you actually do. Make it a comprehensive list of all your responsibilities.
- Leave the campsite better than you found it: make a list of the people you work with and who work for you. Go to their boss and praise their accomplishments. Be selfless and give away any political or social capital you have.
- Quick reference manual: regular meetings, activities, and reports. Key colleagues and helpers. List current key issues, and problems to be addressed. List all problems that could resurface if not maintained. Procedures for regular functions of the job. Personal summary edge of each of your direct reports, including what makes them a great employee.
10. MOVING ON:
- Design is always a work in progress.
- The most effective way we know to pursue and learn new job opportunities starts with prototype conversations, rooted in your curiosity, with professionals in your area of current interest.
- Be a sincerely curious person and someone not looking for a job, you can become an insider through connections built by getting the story.
- When you’re out there “getting the story”, you are just a curious person who’s talking to interesting people doing interesting things in the field of work you’re interested in. You’re not a job seeker yet, which is why you are such an easy person to talk to you.
- Make a “take it with me” inventory: list all the assets you’ve gained during your employment in your current job learning‘s peak experiences, hard challenges, people relationships personal growth.
- Prototyping is the lowest way to get curious, try stuff, and take control of your work life.
- When you become a life designer, you don’t just accept the default reality of what’s happening to you. You build your way forward.
- Come up with a better way to tell people about what you do. Let your service or product be delightful and extraordinary. 250 words.
- When you have designed your customer's experience to be extraordinary and delightful, you find yourself working with people who are happy to work with you.
- Delighting your clients is a never-ending design process, but it’s fun to do.
- Being creative and having good social and emotional interpersonal skills are at the heart of the new creative economy, and the consultants and entrepreneurs who will succeed will be masters of soft skills.
- With disengagement at work at epidemic proportions, our work culture is not working, and the reason is that our organizations are filled with dysfunctional beliefs.
- Work is wasted or lacking in purpose. We have real problems to solve and real challenges to face, and we need to transform our work culture so that it works for individuals, organizations, and societies. By transforming your beliefs about work and sharing these reframes with others, you are contributing to far greater meaning and impact.
- The one thing we know with absolute certainty is this: life’s too short to be disengaged at work. And life is too precious to be disengaged at life.
“Wisdom Dates”:
Designingyourlife.com
Freelancer.com
upwork.com.
1. CONGRUENCE:
- Designing your work and life. It comes down to making good choices, consistent with your compass, and what you value.
- Point of impact: from personal to global.
- Type of impact: renew - repair- sustain - support new-new.
- Moneymaking, impact making, expression making.
- Maximizing reality.
- Strategy: Retreat. Review. Reflect. Reinforce. Train.
- Millennials and Gen Z workers especially demand a work experience that is meaningful and that gives them a sense that they are having an impact on the world.
- You need to ask for help. When you reach out to the world, it’s been our experience that the world reaches back. And that changes everything.
- Telling a new story, especially to yourself, can be a powerful way to change your experience on the job.
2. GOOD ENOUGH:
- “Good enough for now” is one of the big reframes because you’re changing your internal narrative.
- Create relationships with people, not things – that’s one way you get off of the hedonic treadmill.
- ACTION: Plan positive energy breaks at three-hour intervals every day.
- You have no control over other people, and little control sometimes over your circumstances. When we design our work life, we begin by accepting what is, and then find small ways to redesign our circumstances. We get curious, talk to people, try stuff, and start telling a new story. In the process, we find ourselves more engaged and more energized.
- The secret to “good enough for now” is to have a bias to action. Set the bar low. Clear it. Then do it again.
- ACTION: Every two weeks once you’ve met your previous goal you make a small incremental change.
- If you fall behind, no problem just reset your goal and start over but no threat. Your brain needs to pay a penalty for messing up.
3. ACCOUNTABILITY:
- When we create accountability the likelihood of our meeting our commitment increases substantially.
- You will have established a method you can rely on for making changes.
- REFLECTION: what did I learn? What did I initiate? Who did I help?
- ACTION: Learning, initiating, and helping. Try to do this daily, or at least every few days, and no less than once a week.
- Continue this daily login for 3 to 4 weeks.
- The “good work journal” can help you gain awareness of what’s working in your life and what’s not. Over time, these practices contribute to a sense of moving in the right direction. And when you get used to setting the bar low and making the small incremental adjustments that come from noticing what’s working, it all starts to add up to significant changes in your experience of work.
4. SMALL THINGS:
- Look for small things. Look out for what we call unlearning. Set the goal to initiate something new at work at least once a week. Do you do something in the service of others? Small interventions count. Small gestures build good karma.
- To reflect is to think, ponder, or meditate on an idea or experience. Quiet time and focused energy to select ideas or experiences.
- Savoring & Insight: Reflection is a powerful way to train your capacity for noticing your experience. Welcome to more for free.
- ACTION: Make the micro goals each week easy.
- Money and meaning are just two different measurements of what I value.
- Most people care about both their success in making money and their success in making an impact.
- Finding and maintaining the right combination supports them and living a meaningful life.
- Dramatic stuff in a stuck situation includes our own old baggage: old wounds not yet fully healed, sensitivities we just can’t seem to dampen, and biases no one has talked us out of yet.
- The best doable option: Formulate a list of actually available options, then pick the best one.
- Gravity problems: It’s not a problem because there’s no effective action you can take, and if you can’t take action, it can’t be solved.
- If you are careful about finding the right problem and you get good at reframing your problem in a way that gives you the creative freedom to prototype lots of solutions, you will have the best available chance at finding yourself in a job and life you enjoy.
5. REFRAME:
- Reframing problems is your go-to superpower.
- Overwhelm: I chose my way into this and I can design my way out.
- Do not let overwhelm turn into burnout.
- Start prototyping small changes to your task list. You will discover that you have more agency than you think, and whether you have to ask for permission to try something or not, you are the initiator.
- If you really want to get a lot of time and energy back, you should give away your most prized in high visibility activities. Those are the easiest ones to find takers, and giving them away frees up a lot of time.
- If you can get your key partners, intimates, and collaborators to join you in temporarily embracing your hyper-overwhelm, things will go much more smoothly for everyone.
- You are the designer and you are in control.
- Less is more list: Make your less is more list of things to drop, delegate, or renegotiate.
6. CHANGE:
- At work, you develop your autonomy by showing up in the work that you do and deciding to do it as well or better than is required. When you get in the habit of over-delivering on the job, good things start to happen.
- Change your self-talk from doubtful to positive and tell that story out loud. Develop yourself in concert with your intrinsic motivation to be an autonomous and creative worker, and to collaborate with others. Work hard to gain Mastery in your field and focus on what you need to make your job meaningful.
- To make change happen, you need to be the person who has that authority.
7. INFLUENCE:
- Influence that matters ask the people with the authority who are making decisions, often by providing an informed opinion on the pros and cons of the decision in question.
- Influence is a form of power that acts upon authority. Authority is the power to make decisions.
- Influence is the sum of the value you contribute and the recognition you get from contributing that value.
Influence = value + recognition
- Influence comes from a very legitimate place. It comes from the real value you create, strategically, and culturally aligned, for your organization.
- Most influencers become influential because their advice and counsel can add value. You add value to the organization, meaning you help it be more successful, by being useful and doing great work. Is important that the value you add strategically align with the organization's direction and is recognized by people who can do something about it, the ones with the authority to make decisions.
- Real influence comes from a repeat record of adding value and being recognized for it. Decision-makers need influencers because without them they’re left out on their own to figure out everything.
- Be a savvy political observer and keep adding value that’s visible to the right influencers and authorities, something good will come of it.
- A smart designer reframes her understanding of her organization to match this three-dimensional, moving system and works to increase her power and influence.
- When do you understand that influence is making an impact on good decisions, and that causes change, you can start to see through the politics of decision-making and it all starts to make sense.
- You understand the valuation process and how it acts on decisions. Once you start seeing these business situations more clearly, it doesn’t take long to realize how these new political insights put you in a position of power over your own work life. If you can get an alignment with the people who have power, and work on adding recognizable value, you will be engaging the political realities in a very healthy way.
8. AUTHORITY & INFLUENCE:
- Politics, and healthy organizations, is about making the organization run better.
- Redesigning your job where you are: Align yourself with the organization's strategies and goals and make sure that your value aligns with your own compass, and we predict good things will happen.
- Prototype doing more of it in ways that make it easy for your employer to like what you’re doing. If it works, just keep building your way forward to a more joyful job.
- Grad school is the solution if and only if you have identified the right problem to solve. Please have a bunch of prototype conversations, and if you prototype experiences you can be more certain that grad school will make a difference in your future.
- Before you quit, have that conversation with your boss. Ask one simple question. “What am I doing wrong?”
- What you choose to do in life is what gives your life meaning and a purpose. So make it a point to quit with a purpose.
- Make the connection tangible and touch base: a handwritten note, thanking someone for their time or being helpful, is always appreciated.
9. QUITTING:
- 2 to 6 months on this project to quit. Do you want to always be building a professional reputation in-network, both of which travel with you wherever you go?
- be clear and concise and emphasize the positives about your future challenges. Do you want to tell a consistent and positive story?
- Create a job description that includes everything you do, including the stuff that you were supposed to do and the stuff that you actually do. Make it a comprehensive list of all your responsibilities.
- Leave the campsite better than you found it: make a list of the people you work with and who work for you. Go to their boss and praise their accomplishments. Be selfless and give away any political or social capital you have.
- Quick reference manual: regular meetings, activities, and reports. Key colleagues and helpers. List current key issues, and problems to be addressed. List all problems that could resurface if not maintained. Procedures for regular functions of the job. Personal summary edge of each of your direct reports, including what makes them a great employee.
10. MOVING ON:
- Design is always a work in progress.
- The most effective way we know to pursue and learn new job opportunities starts with prototype conversations, rooted in your curiosity, with professionals in your area of current interest.
- Be a sincerely curious person and someone not looking for a job, you can become an insider through connections built by getting the story.
- When you’re out there “getting the story”, you are just a curious person who’s talking to interesting people doing interesting things in the field of work you’re interested in. You’re not a job seeker yet, which is why you are such an easy person to talk to you.
- Make a “take it with me” inventory: list all the assets you’ve gained during your employment in your current job learning‘s peak experiences, hard challenges, people relationships personal growth.
- Prototyping is the lowest way to get curious, try stuff, and take control of your work life.
- When you become a life designer, you don’t just accept the default reality of what’s happening to you. You build your way forward.
- Come up with a better way to tell people about what you do. Let your service or product be delightful and extraordinary. 250 words.
- When you have designed your customer's experience to be extraordinary and delightful, you find yourself working with people who are happy to work with you.
- Delighting your clients is a never-ending design process, but it’s fun to do.
- Being creative and having good social and emotional interpersonal skills are at the heart of the new creative economy, and the consultants and entrepreneurs who will succeed will be masters of soft skills.
- With disengagement at work at epidemic proportions, our work culture is not working, and the reason is that our organizations are filled with dysfunctional beliefs.
- Work is wasted or lacking in purpose. We have real problems to solve and real challenges to face, and we need to transform our work culture so that it works for individuals, organizations, and societies. By transforming your beliefs about work and sharing these reframes with others, you are contributing to far greater meaning and impact.
- The one thing we know with absolute certainty is this: life’s too short to be disengaged at work. And life is too precious to be disengaged at life.
“Wisdom Dates”:
Designingyourlife.com
Freelancer.com
upwork.com.
May 19, 2020
So white - so cis - so male! So ableist! Literally take what’s useful and ditch the rest.
August 13, 2025
It’s always a bit tricky to rate a non-fiction book, but I can say that this one was genuinely enjoyable. I read it for a class and came away with valuable insights about the workplace, specifically, how to shift your perspective if you’re feeling dissatisfied in your job, or how to pivot toward a role that better suits you. What I appreciated most was that it wasn’t solely focused on making more money, which is a common theme in many modern work-life books.
Instead, this text introduces practical concepts to help you create a better balance between work and life. It also weaves in real life examples of individuals, the challenges they faced, and the ways they overcame them. While names and identifying details are changed, the scenarios feel authentic and clearly draw from actual experiences.
Overall, I especially enjoyed those real world case studies, as they made the advice feel more relatable and actionable. This was a solid and worthwhile read.
Instead, this text introduces practical concepts to help you create a better balance between work and life. It also weaves in real life examples of individuals, the challenges they faced, and the ways they overcame them. While names and identifying details are changed, the scenarios feel authentic and clearly draw from actual experiences.
Overall, I especially enjoyed those real world case studies, as they made the advice feel more relatable and actionable. This was a solid and worthwhile read.
April 28, 2020
Disclaimer: I am a certified DYL coach and work with the material in the first DYL book frequently. Even with an insiders view, I found most of the content here new, relevant a refreshing. The two most useful chapters are "Power and Politics" and "Being Your Own Boss". As with the original DYL there are plenty (seventeen, I think) introspective exercises to help push one forward, some are variations of DYL (Good Work journal is an extension of Good Time Journal, but more actionable). The Maker Mix is very simple useful tool and really deserved to be in the first book. I will use this material in coaching, but my two part critique is where coaching must supplement: 1) Some of the examples are weak and simply don't do a good job of supporting the author's premises or suggestions and 2) the bits about the 'hidden job market' are certainly true, but they re-used the same example from DYL to illustrate job search and this example, in both books, it simply inadequate for *most* people to use as guidance on job search.
January 15, 2021
Similar to the authors' first book, Designing Your Work Life is a quick read with familiar concepts and digestible advice with a greater focus on one's current job. Nothing in this proved groundbreaking to me personally, but the book serves as a helpful reinforcement for actually setting out to do the things one needs to do in order to find one's ideal life/work 'design'.
September 27, 2020
This is a great read for those who may need reassurance and encouragement for where they are in their career now, emphasis on now. A key point is to learn to design your work, and you can have money and meaning. Overall, the take-away is that motivation is life is intrinsic, not extrinsic. What a great reminder at a time, especially for teachers, struggling through an ever-changing work environment. I recognize that this book isn't really written for educators. It leans more toward entrepreneurs and business careers, urging individuals to identify their influence and leverage it. There's a push to design your work life even if you are self-employed. I wonder, where does influence come into play for the field of education? It certainly can't be Teacher Pay Teachers or similar avenues. How can educators design their work life with little decision-making power? The assumption is, Who wouldn't want a work life of their dreams? My Devil's advocate thought/reminder is that not all people dream of working.
I enjoyed the concept that problem-finding is just as important as problem-solving. I tend to find problems. I also tend to find solutions. I'm leery of those who avoid finding problems for sake of having to be the one to solve them. All in all, one shouldn't quit their job until they've tried to redesign it. That's the message that pushed my rating to 4 stars. If you do decide to quit, quit well. Set yourself up for later success.
I enjoyed the concept that problem-finding is just as important as problem-solving. I tend to find problems. I also tend to find solutions. I'm leery of those who avoid finding problems for sake of having to be the one to solve them. All in all, one shouldn't quit their job until they've tried to redesign it. That's the message that pushed my rating to 4 stars. If you do decide to quit, quit well. Set yourself up for later success.
January 24, 2021
I liked how easy to read and how actionable this book was. It's not an exhaustive list of ways to improve your work life and some of the things suggested here might not even work for some people (maybe not even one of them), but it's a very good start.
I think that this book is useful to coaches, career counselors, or just regular people trying to improve their work.
I think that this book is useful to coaches, career counselors, or just regular people trying to improve their work.
July 20, 2022
Dude, nah.
Our two authors are Stanford professors who run a posh class for posh students about how to live a posh life. The idea is to problem solve in the way a designer does, but the problems are conflicts in your working condition/situation. So, they want to talk about Lateral Thinking, but they don’t have the vocabulary for it.
Here is an excerpt that I will paraphrase: “You have to balance your money and your meaning and your time. For example, I was making eight times as much as you, and I decided I wanted to be a professor at a college without going through the shitty, kafkaesque hiring process, and I took a pay cut, now only making four times what you make, because it was more meaningful and I got to have more time off. But my wife negotiated at her workplace and made up the difference of what I was making.”
Another: “Your boss isn’t a shit. Let’s reframe that. Okay, reframe again. Okay, one more time. See? You love your boss.”
“Blah blah Martin Seligman, blah blah mihaly csikszentmihalyi, blah blah Angela Duckworth, blah blah Cheryl Dweck.”
Yes, these folks are on the outer rim of the Penn Positive psychology crew, where every professor gets a book deal through their excellent connections and they coin a little phrase that sounds applicable.
Now, I’ve heard great things about their first book, “Design Your Life,” and I imagine that this second book was the next part of their same contract, so they recycled a lot of things that they’ve read from the aforementioned researchers, but with the words “design thinking” thrown in a lot.
I don’t want to discourage anyone from liking this book; we are different people, you and I. But it is hard to listen to someone wax on about “workplace issues” when they can’t fathom not being able to make a great living doing something they’re passionate about. Every anecdote is about someone who aces the interview, who stays late at work, and who then betters their life by outsourcing some of their tasks until their job is awesome and they’re making more money and they don’t need to work but half the hours, by choice, because travel is important to them. OK
August 21, 2020
I got this out of the library because I found Burnett and Evans's earlier book helpful in imagining how I might like my life to look as I moved toward retirement. Because I am pretty happy at how things are working for me, this book is not essential for me. But if I was younger, and particularly if I was thinking about changing jobs, the exercises and strategies contained here would be very helpful. I like the ideas of reframing and curiosity around being bored or feeling out of place: What did I learn today? What did I initiate? Who did I help? Likewise, considering money, impact, and expression as each important rather than getting stuck on one or another. And remembering that autonomy, relatedness, and competence all play a part in work satisfaction. There are full chapters on staying, quitting, moving on, and being your own boss, all with exercises and strategies. An easy read but very practical for those thinking about how to thrive at work in these changing days.
September 26, 2020
A lot of times in life, you'll hear people say "Do what you love!", "Follow your heart", etc.
A vast majority of us know that it doesn't work for everyone. And it is practically impossible to radically change your your lifestyle like that for a majority of people due to several reasons and personal commitments just being one of them.
The author reminds us that instead of looking at your work-life or career this way, why not think of redesigning your career to gain more out of it?
A lot of us often get to a point in our career, wondering are we there yet? This apparently is because we are unhappy that we aren't fulfilling our ambitions through our current job. And then we get on to the hedonic treadmill of wanting more of things, whether it is salary or challenge or whatever you think motivates you. And you end up, switching jobs, cities, roles, what not; without ever trying to find out why?
The authors call this person a non-life-designer. Whereas a life-designer is one who lives with intention, one who realises that no matter where they are, they could make an impact!
Designing here, would mean, reframing your outlook/mindset. Understanding what works well at the moment, and finding out what you enjoy most where you are. We often overlook these factors because as humans, we tend to focus more on the negatives and less on the positives.
This exercise is like a retrospective, you do regularly and remind yourself of the goods, the bads and helps you identify what you can fix or change to get what you want. An Agile approach to life :D
By doing this you may spot ways to redesign your current situation and discover the unseen/unobvious, which would help you tackle the problem better.
Some people often come to the question - do you want money or meaning? Apparently, we don't have to pick one.
The authors compare this to a music producer using a mixing board. The dials are the varioud factors that affect your career.
You could turn just one dial up and the others low. But often times, good music comes from a balance of all the factors, not one.
So the authors make the point that if money, creativity and impact were factors that are important for a career, then you really need a balance of them all
and not just one.
The key is to find the right mix. For most of us, the way we find this is through trial and error.
The authors also takes us through an exampel of a lady who is unhappy with her job and looks to move on to another company.
The real problem though is the feeling of under-appreciation because her boss is a bit of a jerk. By choosing to move to another job, she is actually
solving the wrong problem.
What the authors try to prove through this example is that quite often we try to solve a problem that isn't the real problem at all. Getting trapped into a situation like this often leads to us jumping from job to job aimlessly.
In such a case, one can't change their boss, but what one can do is find other sources of appreciation. This can be done by looking at her other stakeholders.
Being unable to find motivation is often the reason of unhappiness. The authors clarify that motivation is intrinsic, i.e. extremely important and a basic characteristic of a person or thing.
Thus you have to find it within.
The author suggests working on your Career ARC, Autonomy, Relatedness and Competence to achieve motivation.
Autonomy is the freedom to control what you do and when and how you do.
Relatedness is the connections, working together with a group of people energises everyone.
Competence is the skill at doing something. If you examine closely you'll find why you enjoy a certain thing at work, it is probably because you do it really well.
Taking care of these will take care of motivation for you.
The most interesting bit to me is the part about influence. There are two types of power that you can observe around you. Authoritative and Influential. Those who can influence do not need to be in an authoritive position. They can influence things in many ways.
Influence cuts across hierarchy. Now obviously, you'd question how to be an influencer. In order to get there, you need to add value, offer advice, make suggestions, make your ideas get heard and take ownership to ensure you get recognition.
The more value you add, the more you'll be recognised and likelihood of authorities seeking your input will increase. Influence is the leverage that you probably overlook the most.
This process of designing one's work life doesn't happen over night. Hence, give it a shot before you try to move on. Re-frame your situation, re-enlist (work in collaboration) yourself in projects, remodel the role, go above and beyond, extend the scope of your job description.
or Relaunch your job, find a different line of work, from underwriting to coding or vice-versa or finance to sales etc.
Now if after all this, you still feel you could probably do better beyond the boundaries of your company, then think of moving on.
And be sure to quit well and not burn bridges. This helps retain connections and build a good network. Ensure you are remembered by leaving your project in a good state and not in a mess.
Find positive reasons to quit, instead of choosing to say "I left because I couldn't stand my boss".
Now all the things mentioned earlier also applies to self-employment too.
Remind yourself why you chose the path you did, reframe, re-enlist and relaunch.
The point is you don't have to change jobs to create a dramatic change in your work life. By applying the principles of good design to your career, you'll be able to reframe, reshape the job you have into the job you want.
This is really an eye-opener for me as I always believed, moving on, is always better.
A vast majority of us know that it doesn't work for everyone. And it is practically impossible to radically change your your lifestyle like that for a majority of people due to several reasons and personal commitments just being one of them.
The author reminds us that instead of looking at your work-life or career this way, why not think of redesigning your career to gain more out of it?
A lot of us often get to a point in our career, wondering are we there yet? This apparently is because we are unhappy that we aren't fulfilling our ambitions through our current job. And then we get on to the hedonic treadmill of wanting more of things, whether it is salary or challenge or whatever you think motivates you. And you end up, switching jobs, cities, roles, what not; without ever trying to find out why?
The authors call this person a non-life-designer. Whereas a life-designer is one who lives with intention, one who realises that no matter where they are, they could make an impact!
Designing here, would mean, reframing your outlook/mindset. Understanding what works well at the moment, and finding out what you enjoy most where you are. We often overlook these factors because as humans, we tend to focus more on the negatives and less on the positives.
This exercise is like a retrospective, you do regularly and remind yourself of the goods, the bads and helps you identify what you can fix or change to get what you want. An Agile approach to life :D
By doing this you may spot ways to redesign your current situation and discover the unseen/unobvious, which would help you tackle the problem better.
Some people often come to the question - do you want money or meaning? Apparently, we don't have to pick one.
The authors compare this to a music producer using a mixing board. The dials are the varioud factors that affect your career.
You could turn just one dial up and the others low. But often times, good music comes from a balance of all the factors, not one.
So the authors make the point that if money, creativity and impact were factors that are important for a career, then you really need a balance of them all
and not just one.
The key is to find the right mix. For most of us, the way we find this is through trial and error.
The authors also takes us through an exampel of a lady who is unhappy with her job and looks to move on to another company.
The real problem though is the feeling of under-appreciation because her boss is a bit of a jerk. By choosing to move to another job, she is actually
solving the wrong problem.
What the authors try to prove through this example is that quite often we try to solve a problem that isn't the real problem at all. Getting trapped into a situation like this often leads to us jumping from job to job aimlessly.
In such a case, one can't change their boss, but what one can do is find other sources of appreciation. This can be done by looking at her other stakeholders.
Being unable to find motivation is often the reason of unhappiness. The authors clarify that motivation is intrinsic, i.e. extremely important and a basic characteristic of a person or thing.
Thus you have to find it within.
The author suggests working on your Career ARC, Autonomy, Relatedness and Competence to achieve motivation.
Autonomy is the freedom to control what you do and when and how you do.
Relatedness is the connections, working together with a group of people energises everyone.
Competence is the skill at doing something. If you examine closely you'll find why you enjoy a certain thing at work, it is probably because you do it really well.
Taking care of these will take care of motivation for you.
The most interesting bit to me is the part about influence. There are two types of power that you can observe around you. Authoritative and Influential. Those who can influence do not need to be in an authoritive position. They can influence things in many ways.
Influence cuts across hierarchy. Now obviously, you'd question how to be an influencer. In order to get there, you need to add value, offer advice, make suggestions, make your ideas get heard and take ownership to ensure you get recognition.
The more value you add, the more you'll be recognised and likelihood of authorities seeking your input will increase. Influence is the leverage that you probably overlook the most.
This process of designing one's work life doesn't happen over night. Hence, give it a shot before you try to move on. Re-frame your situation, re-enlist (work in collaboration) yourself in projects, remodel the role, go above and beyond, extend the scope of your job description.
or Relaunch your job, find a different line of work, from underwriting to coding or vice-versa or finance to sales etc.
Now if after all this, you still feel you could probably do better beyond the boundaries of your company, then think of moving on.
And be sure to quit well and not burn bridges. This helps retain connections and build a good network. Ensure you are remembered by leaving your project in a good state and not in a mess.
Find positive reasons to quit, instead of choosing to say "I left because I couldn't stand my boss".
Now all the things mentioned earlier also applies to self-employment too.
Remind yourself why you chose the path you did, reframe, re-enlist and relaunch.
The point is you don't have to change jobs to create a dramatic change in your work life. By applying the principles of good design to your career, you'll be able to reframe, reshape the job you have into the job you want.
This is really an eye-opener for me as I always believed, moving on, is always better.
May 12, 2023
I found this book very useful as someone who isn’t quite sure what I enjoy at work and what I want out of a job. The exercises and frameworks were helpful for me to articulate and map out things I like and haven’t liked about different roles. I liked the visuals and the weight put on impact, money and expression. Sometimes it was hard to tell if I was applying the frameworks correctly and the examples seemed pretty cut and dry compared to my life but overall I found it a very useful guide. Imo the Covid add didn’t do anything for me in our year 2023 so I skimmed the last 4 or so chapters but the first few chapters were what I wanted anyways.
August 3, 2024
เป็นหนังสือที่ช่วยให้เราได้ออกแบบชีวิตกับงานที่ใช่ได้อย่างมีขั้นตอนและน่าสนใจมาก
March 24, 2020
As a follow-up to their first book, I found this book to be more more "practical" and career oriented. As a career coach, it was filled with psychology and techniques that I've used over the years with great success. I'm glad to have the resource to hopefully better articulate some ideas for actions my clients can take.
I don't think I learned anything new here. I have read the full books of some of the psychologists quoted and employed many of these concepts. But I think for the average worker-this could be a helpful tool. I also liked that the examples shared in the book weren't exclusively corporate, but showcase how people from a variety of differnt jobs could use these tools. It was also interesting that the authors used a lot of their own experiences when illustrating a point. I don't remember that as much from the first book. I think it lent credibility to the points they were trying to illustrate--espeically becuse you can ask, what qualifies them to give this advice/provide these tools. And by sharing their stories--you see that their qualifications come from their experience.
I don't think I learned anything new here. I have read the full books of some of the psychologists quoted and employed many of these concepts. But I think for the average worker-this could be a helpful tool. I also liked that the examples shared in the book weren't exclusively corporate, but showcase how people from a variety of differnt jobs could use these tools. It was also interesting that the authors used a lot of their own experiences when illustrating a point. I don't remember that as much from the first book. I think it lent credibility to the points they were trying to illustrate--espeically becuse you can ask, what qualifies them to give this advice/provide these tools. And by sharing their stories--you see that their qualifications come from their experience.
February 26, 2021
WAY better than Designing Your Life: Build a Life that Works for You.
Bill finally hit his stride on this one.
Great tips on making work better, and some great timeless advice.
Would recommend for all workers!
3.8/5
Bill finally hit his stride on this one.
Great tips on making work better, and some great timeless advice.
Would recommend for all workers!
3.8/5
August 8, 2020
While I liked the ideas around reframing dysfunctional beliefs and using design thinking, most of the 'real life' examples were way too unrealistic (in what utopian world does a manager do half the things mentioned in this book?) and therefore left me annoyed rather than inspired.
September 3, 2024
Really enjoyed the book. I listened to the audiobook, so will have to go back and work through more of the items on the PDF. Overall, lots of good advice around how to improve your work experience.
Also went back and read the new additions that came out post-COVID. Still really good content!
Also went back and read the new additions that came out post-COVID. Still really good content!
September 21, 2022
Could have been a single page recommending that anyone simply apply “good enough for now” to any situation.
October 15, 2025
Designing Your Work Life is a job-focused version of their first book about Designing Your Life, and it's unfortunately a let down. Most of the book centres around the ideas that you can attain job satisfaction by reframing your circumstances, trying out new things and accepting that possibilities are never ideal so we can only do the best we can with what we have (the so-called "best doable option").
However, the practical advice is so ridiculously idealistic that it's impossible to put into practice except for those already positioned in a very ideal situation to begin with. The book tries to acknowledge this by saying that there are authorities and policies out of our control, not every boss will be fully supportive, we may not have the time and funds to go to graduate school, we may have constraints that make it hard to switch jobs, and so on. It tries to remedy this by asking us to consider the very least things we can do to improve our situations, practically or mentally. The authors suggest that the masses of disillusioned workers in America are this way because they haven't read this book's advice yet, which is ludicrous and condescending. The authors seem to be blind to the fact that the workers are precisely this way because there is literally *nothing* they can do and no advice they can implement in their current positions, no matter how small.
However, the practical advice is so ridiculously idealistic that it's impossible to put into practice except for those already positioned in a very ideal situation to begin with. The book tries to acknowledge this by saying that there are authorities and policies out of our control, not every boss will be fully supportive, we may not have the time and funds to go to graduate school, we may have constraints that make it hard to switch jobs, and so on. It tries to remedy this by asking us to consider the very least things we can do to improve our situations, practically or mentally. The authors suggest that the masses of disillusioned workers in America are this way because they haven't read this book's advice yet, which is ludicrous and condescending. The authors seem to be blind to the fact that the workers are precisely this way because there is literally *nothing* they can do and no advice they can implement in their current positions, no matter how small.
January 6, 2022
What you're seeking is seeking you! This book guided me during a time in which I was not sure whether to stay or leave a past employer. I was still unsure if I was a mismatch for the role or a mismatch for the organization. Although reading this book didn't give me answers right a way, it encouraged me to reflect more deeply on what I want out of my professional life. I loved "Designing Your Life," and this sequel was no different. Within five months of completing this book, I got offered a job that aligned more to my future aspirations. I'm not sure if I would have the confidence to take the leap of faith without this text. I definitely recommend this book to anyone feeling stuck in their professional life and are not sure of their next move!
March 2, 2021
This reinforced a lot of things that I've been learning lately and I appreciated the straightforwardness of this book. I think it hit with me because I am in the mindset of finding a solution now and not just bemoaning my situation. Which I am definitely guilty of. I like the paradigm shift of "good enough for now" and a realistic take that people can't just up and quit their job. They handle generational shifts and differences in generations of workers really friendly. And I love that.
I don't think this book works if you're primarily gig working.
Easy listen (another solid Audiobook experience) and good actionable steps. I will come back to this one.
I don't think this book works if you're primarily gig working.
Easy listen (another solid Audiobook experience) and good actionable steps. I will come back to this one.
December 17, 2025
I am forecasting that I have another 17-22 years of work, sooo, this is the kind of audiobook I reach for to remind myself how to make the most of it for myself. I started a new journal to keep at the office, and separating it from my personal one helps. Good pep talks here. Basically chapters on how to take responsibility/ownership for yourself first vs. disengage, quietly/loudly quit.
13.0% 7th day reflection: done for either savoring or insights
12.1% The good work journal: what did I learn, what did I initiate, who did I help
13.0% 7th day reflection: done for either savoring or insights
12.1% The good work journal: what did I learn, what did I initiate, who did I help
June 10, 2024
I am currently in a state where i enjoy my job 70% of the time. Reading this book helped me gain clarity on what type of work that i enjoy and how i can focus om those aspects to increase my overall satisfaction.
Key takeaways
1. There are 3 different dials on how we cab evaluate our job
- making money : how much your work provides
- impact: how meaningful it is for you
- expression; creating something to be shared and seen by the world
These 3 dials are independent and at different times of our lives we will have different levels of these dials .
Looking at this helped me know where i am , where i wanted to be and the little steps i can do now to move the dials
2. Matrix of new vs existing type of work and local bs global type of impact
- plotting my past work and where i enjoyed myself more help create a clearer view for myself where i want to focus on
3. Reflection daily of
- what did i learn
- what did i initiate: this was the biggest insight for me as through initiation of new initiatives we create more value and more fun in our jobs. Which also lay lead to new opportunities
- who did i help
4. Many ways to relook at work
Reframing your views of just good enough for now , refocus your why.
Renovate or redesign your work
5. Focus in most actionable problem and how some problems need to be redefined if they ate gravity problems or hidden solutions problem
Key takeaways
1. There are 3 different dials on how we cab evaluate our job
- making money : how much your work provides
- impact: how meaningful it is for you
- expression; creating something to be shared and seen by the world
These 3 dials are independent and at different times of our lives we will have different levels of these dials .
Looking at this helped me know where i am , where i wanted to be and the little steps i can do now to move the dials
2. Matrix of new vs existing type of work and local bs global type of impact
- plotting my past work and where i enjoyed myself more help create a clearer view for myself where i want to focus on
3. Reflection daily of
- what did i learn
- what did i initiate: this was the biggest insight for me as through initiation of new initiatives we create more value and more fun in our jobs. Which also lay lead to new opportunities
- who did i help
4. Many ways to relook at work
Reframing your views of just good enough for now , refocus your why.
Renovate or redesign your work
5. Focus in most actionable problem and how some problems need to be redefined if they ate gravity problems or hidden solutions problem
September 3, 2024
If you are like the 69% of Americans that feel unhappy and disengaged at work, this book is worth picking up. Very inspiring, practical, and actionable with ways to increase satisfaction and happiness in your current work situation. I liked how throughout the authors took very commonly-felt notions and reframed them, showing the power of reframing. The “Good Enough for Now” sentiment really resonated. Nothing is a “hack” and things require time and effort, but it’s worth it. “Life’s too short to be disengaged at work.”
February 4, 2025
TLDR: Add value, take ownership, don’t get complacent, and good things will happen
Reading this book almost felt like attending a self-help seminar - there are even exercises after most chapters. The intended audience is apparently people who don’t like their jobs and aren’t sure what to do about it. Although I can’t currently relate, I do think there are some solid ideas in here. Would recommend if you’re feeling “stuck” at work and need some motivation
Reading this book almost felt like attending a self-help seminar - there are even exercises after most chapters. The intended audience is apparently people who don’t like their jobs and aren’t sure what to do about it. Although I can’t currently relate, I do think there are some solid ideas in here. Would recommend if you’re feeling “stuck” at work and need some motivation
November 23, 2021
Not a lot ideas that are new-to-me in this book.
For some it's important to be given permission or a push to take charge of their lives -- and to actively chose a mindset with which to interact with the world.
As others have written, the examples and the frames in this book are cis-white male centered, and it's impossible to read around that.
For some it's important to be given permission or a push to take charge of their lives -- and to actively chose a mindset with which to interact with the world.
As others have written, the examples and the frames in this book are cis-white male centered, and it's impossible to read around that.
July 21, 2021
This book will certainly contribute to my work as a career coach. While the book was a bit repetitive and long-winded at times, there were some nuggets I took note of to take with me.
The activities and ideas that seem likely to have the most cogency in my work include: the job burnout reflection questions, how to discern whether you're developing a passion, how to quit well, questions for leaders for developing staff, good reflection frameworks for work, and how to "try stuff" and "get curious" when you're ready to switch to something else.
The activities and ideas that seem likely to have the most cogency in my work include: the job burnout reflection questions, how to discern whether you're developing a passion, how to quit well, questions for leaders for developing staff, good reflection frameworks for work, and how to "try stuff" and "get curious" when you're ready to switch to something else.
January 17, 2025
A fantastic book about using design-thinking at work and to define/create your jobs at work.
I appreciated that the authors added a couple of chapters on the new realities of work in the midst of the pandemic. Interestingly enough, those are probably some of the chapters where the advice feels obvious and/or outdated now.
All of this said, this book is not to be missed! This is an important book for anyone considering a career switch or is looking to redesign their work.
I appreciated that the authors added a couple of chapters on the new realities of work in the midst of the pandemic. Interestingly enough, those are probably some of the chapters where the advice feels obvious and/or outdated now.
All of this said, this book is not to be missed! This is an important book for anyone considering a career switch or is looking to redesign their work.
December 4, 2021
Such a good book for designers about to enter the workforce.
May 16, 2020
Fantastic book! Insightful with hands on examples of what you need to do to reframe your mindset and either make the best of your current situation or find a way to design your way out of it.
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