Career Development: How to design your life from the Stanford Design Lab

Overview: Most of us don’t know what we’re going to do in life. Only 27% of college grads get to practice their majors on the job. In the U.S., over 66% of people dislike their work, and 15% hate it! Success doesn’t make you happy, rather finding work that fits you makes you happy. In the U.S., 31 million people (ages 44-70) want a career with meaning, income and purpose. Often, we try to find our life’s work by thinking ourselves toward it, when really “building” our way forward is most often how it actually happens. And a well-designed life is one constantly adapting and staying open to wonder and surprise. The 5 steps of the Stanford design process are curiosity (questions), trying stuff (a bias for action), reframing problems, knowing it’s a process, and asking others for help.

1.     The Design Course: Life’s about deciding who you want to become—grow into. Research about the Stanford life design course demonstrated that it was effective by helping students conceive their futures, hold fewer dysfunctional beliefs, and increase their career and idea options. The life design path forward involves the five mindsets: Curiosity (invite exploration and stay open to possibilities); bias to action (build, not think, your way forward); reframing (get unstuck by stepping back); awareness (trust in the process); and, radical collaboration (ask people for their help to test ideas). While passion might help, it often eludes you and needs to be discovered along the way—and failure and hardship are part of the process.

2.     The Question: Deciding on the question or problem to work on is critical, and not falling in love with our first idea helps a lot. Authors warn us not to try solving “gravity” problems—ones that you can’t solve. Break down life into four areas: Health (well-being in mind, body, spirit); Work (all the “stuff you do” to contribute); Play (doing what gives you joy); and, Love (sense of connection in life). So, write a few sentences on how it’s going in these four areas to find out where you are now—and what problem you’d like to start solving.

3.     Your Compass: To get direction, you’ll need to determine both your Workview and your Lifeview.  Write down your Workview—consider what work means to you, why you do it, and what makes it worthwhile. Next, write down your Lifeview—consider describing what gives your life meaning, what matches your values, what really satisfies you, and what gives you a sense of purpose. Find your own compass, not those of your parents or friends. Finding coherency is central: Who we are, what we believe, and what we do. Then compare both Workview and Lifeview and see where both views complement, clash or drive each other. This is often where the big AHA moments come. True North comes when they’re both aligned.

4.     Finding Your Way: Doing what others want in life can leave you frustrated and restless. Enjoying work is a clue to finding meaningful work. “Wayfaring” is about finding your way—even when it’s not evident. Paying attention to clues, like energy and engagement, leads to wayfaring in a career. Keeping a log of your activities will identify important motivators for you. Try to “catch yourself having a good time.” So, trying and doing things, more than thinking, helps a lot in this step. Flow—described as adult play—produces excitement, euphoria, and a sense of time flying. The brain is only 2% of body weight but consumes 25% of our energy. So, tracking energy flow becomes vital. Craft your job to fit your strengths—energy and engagement. How does your work fit your values and priorities and how coherent is it with your beliefs? Keep a journal of daily activities when you’re energized and engaged and reflect weekly on your insights—using AEIOU: Activities (what you were doing); Environments (where); Interactions (w/people or machines); Objects (devices); and, Users (who else was around).

5.     Personal Odyssey Plan: What could your life look like in five years? Describing three alternative states helps immeasurably, because it opens you up rather than closing you down. Life #1: What do you do now and how do you expand on it toward something even better? Life #2: What would you do if you had to make a living but it could not be what you’re doing now? Life #3: What would you do if neither money nor image were important? Use a dashboard to gauge the following for each choice: Resources, likability, confidence, and coherence.

6.     Prototyping: By testing and building possible futures (prototypes) to explore questions with others, you can beat endless mental research that seems to stall our brains. “Building is Thinking.” Prototyping is reiterating and “sneaking up on the future.” The key is to isolate one variable at a time and design a prototype to answer that variable only. Conversation presents the simplest and least costly prototyping available. Conduct a “life design interview” with people doing the work that you’re focused on—get their story/journey—warts and all. What does their typical day look like and would you like it? The interview is ALL about them talking, not you. Stay open and interested in their story. Prototype experiences, like shadowing and internships (paid or unpaid) give you a more direct sense of the work. When stuck, try brainstorming (with a group) or mind-mapping (by yourself). Then, prioritize to start at the best place.

7.     Designing Your Best Job: The best job for you probably does not exist and must be created—by you! Only 20% of available jobs are posted. Thus, the hidden job market is open to those who are connected. Looking for a story, not looking for a job, opens the door. The ratio of prototype interviews to job offers is roughly 8:1. You need to be after their story (empathy for them). When you’re interested in others, they get interested in you, and often they initiate the hiring path. Great conversation-shifting question: “What steps would it take to become part of an organization like yours?”

8.     Collaboration: We live in a community, not in a vacuum. As you engage in life with others, you co-create your future—by discussing prototypes and trying on new identities. The types of collaborators vary. Supporters care about your life, no matter what. Players are actively involved in your prototype exercises. Intimates are family, friends and those affected by your choices—keep them close and informed about your quest and don’t spring your final decision on them at the last moment. Your team should be between 3-5 people for diversity and manageability. Finally, here’s a summative quote: “You never finish designing your life—life is a joyous and never-ending design project of building your way forward.”