Prototype your next step

Use a tip from the book Design Your Life to figure out what’s next

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip comes from Bill Burnett and Dave Evans book
Designing Your Life, which is about using design principles to
craft the life you want. They suggest using the design

(00:26):
technique of prototyping to get insight into whether you want
to pursue a particular life option. If you're pondering a
big move in professionally or personally, your best bet might
be to start small. Here's what I mean. According to
Burnett and Evans, designers don't think their way forward. Designers

(00:48):
build their way forward. They create a prototype, which is
a simplified model, to see how well a given idea
will work in practice. Just like you'd pilot a new
feedback system with one team before trying it on the
whole organization, Prototyping a big move you're considering can help
you see what the option would be like before you

(01:09):
commit to it. Here's why prototypes work. Prototypes help you
visualize alternatives in a very experiential way. Burnett and Evans right.
That allows you to imagine your future as if you
are living it. A prototype is not a thought experiment.
It needs a component of the real thing, just not

(01:30):
the full fledged real thing. This allows you to evaluate
what works and what doesn't in a relatively low stakes way.
So how do you go about prototyping an option you're considering.
One approach that Burnett and Evans advocate is what they
call a life design interview or prototype conversations. Talk with

(01:52):
people who are pursuing the path you are considering. What
do they do on a day to day basis, What
do they love and hate about their work? How did
they get to their current roles. As you talk with
people about their life designs, Burnett and Evans emphasize that
you should be listening to the people you're interviewing, not
talking about yourself. You want to take in all you

(02:14):
can about their actual experiences. Then you'll be able to
reflect on what you learned and consider how similar you
are to the people thriving in that path. After you've
had some prototype conversations, Burnett and Evans suggest pursuing prototype experiences,
which they compare to taking a car on a test drive.

(02:36):
A prototype experience can be as simple as spending a
day shadowing a person pursuing a path you're considering, or
it could be more intensive. Burnett and Evans suggest working
on a time to find project without pay, or taking
an internship doing the work you're considering. It can be
fun to imagine prototype experiences. If you're prototyping being a

(02:57):
freelance writer, you might volunteer to write the annual report
for a nonprofit that you care about, or you could
start a blog where you post articles of the type
you'd one day like to be paid to write. If
you're contemplating becoming an elementary school teacher, you could volunteer
as a Cup Scout troop leader or as an assistant
in an after school program. Or you could take a

(03:18):
few days off work to help out in a classroom.
If you're brave, you might try becoming a substitute teacher.
Prototype experiences don't have to be complicated, but you do
need to actually try out living the life you're imagining.
If a prototype experience is rewarding, great, continue having conversations
and experiences. You may eventually decide to pursue the path

(03:42):
that you've explored, And if you don't like them, well
that's not failure, that's useful information. You can identify other
paths to explore. It is far better to decide that
you don't want to be a lawyer before you spend
years of your life in law school and take on
thousands of dollars of debt. There are many options out there.

(04:05):
You want to know what's best for you. So what
big moves are you considering in your life? How can
you use short term experiences and life design interviews with
people pursuing those paths to prototype these options? As Burnett
and Evans advice, try stuff. That's what designers do if

(04:26):
you prototype options you're considering. I'd love to hear what
you learned in the process. You can email me at
Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com. In the meantime,
this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making
the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

(04:51):
hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number
four then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot
me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at I heeart
media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with

(05:13):
all the letters. Thanks so much. I look forward to
staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I
heart Radio. For more podcasts from i heart Radio, visit
the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows.