Designing Your Work Life summary

It’s time to make some choices. Are you going to pay cash or credit? Will you have that with, or without, cheese? Do you want to take the freeway or the scenic route? Life is full of choices. And in your working life, there’s one big choice to be made: do you want money or meaning?

But here’s the secret: you don’t have to pick. That so-called choice is a false dichotomy. 

Meet Bernadette. Like 85 percent of workers around the world, she’s unhappy in her job. And, even though she can see the wisdom in redesigning her work life, she’s pretty sure her job can’t be fixed. She’s got problems that design principles alone can’t solve. 

The thing is, Bernadette feels underappreciated by her boss because her boss is a bit of a jerk. And so Bernadette is convinced that the only way to solve her problem is by leaving it behind and finding a new workplace with a better boss. 

Like Bernadette, you might feel unhappy at work, and there could be many reasons why. Maybe your boss micromanages your every move, maybe your workload is relentlessly dull and repetitive, or maybe it’s that coworker who likes to heat up tuna in the microwave.

But, if you look a little deeper, there’s probably a bigger reason: and that’s motivation.

Do you ever daydream about stepping into your boss’s shoes? “If I were in charge,” you think, “things would be different around here.” “If it were up to me, our workflows would have a complete overhaul.” “If I were calling the shots, there’s no way we’d have taken on that stinker of a project.”

That’s a lot of ifs. If you were in power, of course, you’d create real, positive change. But the thing is, you’re not the CEO of your company, and you can’t do these things.

Great designs don’t happen overnight. Thomas Edison didn’t come up with the lightbulb over a long weekend. The iPod wasn’t invented during a lunch break.

Most great designs are the result of many painstaking iterations. They’re the result of a design cycle. A designer creates a concept, then a prototype, she trials it, and seeks feedback. And that’s repeated and repeated until her design functions flawlessly. 

Let’s say you’ve redesigned your way toward a new career opportunity. Now it’s time to think about the best way to leave your current position. You should probably start by telling your boss exactly what you think of him and his fashion choices. Don’t forget to photocopy your posterior for posterity. Or, go the extra mile and toss your chair through the window.

OK, don’t do that. But don’t just hand in a bland resignation letter, then go through the motions until you’ve worked out your notice period, either.

Nowadays, a growing number of professionals are choosing to be self-employed. Things like flexibility, creative control, and the ability to work in your pajamas mean the freelance life has many perks. But, taking those first steps and making the leap to self-employment can feel intimidating. 

And even if you do strike out on your own, just because you’ve left an office doesn’t mean you’ve left all your workplace problems behind.