Subtitled: How to build a well-lived, joyful life
The recommendations I’ve been getting these past few months have been amazing books, so y’all keep those coming in and this book is no exception. I love it! It’s a wonderful book for those trying to find out what they want and how to create it.
I love their approach and their style – they take this subject seriously – providing data, processes and prototypes – yet they present the information with a light touch and sense of humor. Which reflects their philosophy as well – they are big on bringing a sense of play and curiosity to our lives, especially as we explore what we want and how to create it. Why NOT enjoy the process?
OK, so what is their process for designing our life? The authors have spent most of their careers as product designers and as leaders in Stanford University’s design programs. As they’ve worked with students of all ages, they’ve found that the same design thinking they apply to design problems also works really well with life and career challenges!
They encourage readers to adopt design processes and mindsets, providing wonderful exercises and prompts to get us thinking like designers. And having spent 30 years as a designer myself, I’d say they are spot on with how the processes I used that role absolutely apply to the challenges I’ve seen with my clients and to Life in general.
Let’s touch on a few:
- Curiosity: asking a lot of questions about the challenge, the environment, and the desired outcomes is certainly a designer mindset – and those people who stay curious throughout their lives and careers are those who tend to move through challenges more quickly and with deeper, more positive results
- A bias toward action: avoiding paralysis by analysis – try options and then use that experiment to inform future options & decisions
- Prototyping: this is what we would call proofs or comps or concepts in marketing & advertising – and it’s basically taking those experiments a little deeper – look for ways to test the theories as fully as possible – volunteering, internships, and such.
- Reframing: this is a big one! Similar to curiosity – it’s all about looking at challenges from different angles and perspectives!
So if you or someone you know is looking for some direction in their career or life in general, check out “Designing Your Life” – it’s easy to read, has some excellent tools, resources and exercises to evaluate and test as you go about building a well-lived, joyful life.
And if you do read it, let me know what your top takeaways are!
