Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans: What It Teaches, Who It’s For, Who Should Skip It
3 min read
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Nobody paid to be on this page — no author, no publisher. This is our plain-language overview of what the book argues, who it suits and who should skip it, so you can decide in two minutes whether it deserves a place on your shelf.
Click hereto see it→Click to see Designing Your Life
Stanford’s most popular elective in book form: use design thinking to prototype a life instead of planning one.
What the book argues
The authors apply designer habits to career and life: get curious, try stuff, reframe problems, know it is a process, ask for help. Tools include the good-time journal, three five-year odyssey plans, prototype conversations and the idea that there is no one perfect life, only many good ones to build.
Three ideas you can use this week
- Build three different five-year plans; the comparison reveals what you value.
- Prototype with conversations and small experiments before committing.
- A gravity problem, one you cannot change, is not a problem; it is a circumstance.
Who it is for
Students, career changers and midlife professionals who feel stuck between options.
How to turn it into a routine
Keep a good-time journal for a week, noting when you were engaged and energized.
Who should skip it
Best done as a workbook with a partner; reading alone yields less. Some tools feel workshop-ish.
Verdict
One of the most practical career books written. Do the exercises.
Click hereto see it→Click to see Designing Your Life
If you liked the sound of this
Range by David Epstein
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Linchpin by Seth Godin
Are you indispensable? The case for doing emotional labor and art at work instead of following the manual.
Tools that put the book to work
Reading is the easy part. Three simple tools that turn the idea into a daily routine:
Professional Laptop Backpack
Everything has a pocket, nothing gets crushed, and it looks like you meant it.
Resume Paper
The one paper copy you hand over should feel different from everything else in the pile.
Packing Cubes
Pack in ten minutes, find anything in five seconds. Travel smoothly and arrive ready to work.
Links are affiliate links; the price to you is identical. Nothing here is medical, financial or professional advice. Filed under Career & Purpose.
More picks, with pictures
Three tools and three books that fit the same goal. Each has its own full review here, including who should skip it.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Images are our own review cards, not product photos.
Launch list
Be there on day one.
One email when the book opens on Kickstarter. Nothing else. Already reading the book? Your Cheat Sheet is at wisdomdeck.com/free.
Coming soon on 
The book itself — 40 laws in ten parts, 320 pages, each ending with The Work — is funded first on Kickstarter.
