DESIGNING YOUR LIFE BY BILL BURNETT & DAVE EVANS

Key Concepts 

• The "Workview" and "Lifeview" Compass: To establish a direction for your life, the book suggests developing a personal philosophy about the meaning of work and a broader set of beliefs about life's purpose. The goal is coherency, where your actions and choices align with these views, acting as a reliable internal compass.
• Odyssey Plans: Instead of striving for one "dream job," the authors recommend creating three plausible, alternative five-year plans for your life. This exercise broadens your perspective and helps you realize there are multiple satisfying ways to live.

•  Prototyping: This is the core method for testing your Odyssey Plans in a low-risk, low-cost way. Prototypes can include:
  • Experiential Prototypes: Engaging in low-stakes activities like volunteering or a short-term project to gain hands-on experience of a potential path.
  • Life Design Interviews: Conversations with people currently living a life you might be considering, to gather real-world data and insights.
• The "Good Time Journal": An exercise to track your daily activities and rate them on engagement and energy levels. This helps you identify what brings you into a state of "flow" and what drains you, providing clues about a fulfilling career path.
• "Gravity Problems": The concept of identifying problems that are not actionable (like gravity itself). The advice is to stop agonizing over unchangeable facts of life and focus energy only on solvable problems.
• Failure Immunity: Reframing failure as a natural part of the design process and an opportunity for learning and growth, rather than a personal setback.