Disclaimer: This guide reflects one clinician's perspective on using this book as a psychoeducational adjunct to psychotherapy. It is intended for educational purposes only and should not replace individualized clinical judgment. Clinicians should determine whether this resource is appropriate based on each client's needs, developmental level, culture, reading ability, and treatment goals. ADDITIONAL TERMS OF USE
Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life
Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home—at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve.
In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.
Why This Book?
Overview
Designing Your Life applies principles of design thinking to personal and career development, encouraging readers to approach life not as a problem to solve but as a process of experimentation and discovery. Rather than searching for a single "right" path, the authors introduce practical tools for building a meaningful life through curiosity, reflection, and iterative change.
The book is particularly useful for clients feeling stuck, overwhelmed by major life decisions, or uncertain about their future. Its structured exercises help reduce paralysis by shifting the focus from finding perfect answers to testing small, manageable experiments. The framework aligns well with therapeutic approaches that emphasize values, behavioral activation, and psychological flexibility.
Best For
Presenting Concerns
Life transitions
Career uncertainty
Burnout
Identity exploration
Decision paralysis
Lack of purpose
Quarter-life or midlife transitions
Difficulty setting goals
Client Populations
College students and recent graduates
Adults considering career changes
Professionals experiencing burnout
Clients exploring retirement or major life transitions
Individuals seeking greater meaning and direction
Clinical Strengths
Reframes uncertainty as an opportunity for exploration rather than failure.
Reduces all-or-nothing thinking around life decisions.
Encourages action through small, low-risk experiments.
Provides practical exercises that integrate easily into psychotherapy.
Helps clients connect daily behavior with long-term values and goals.
Clinical Considerations
This book may be less appropriate for:
Clients in acute crisis who require stabilization before long-term planning.
Individuals seeking symptom-focused treatment rather than personal development.
Clients who become overwhelmed by multiple options without therapeutic structure.
The book assumes a level of flexibility and personal agency that may not be equally available to all clients. Clinicians should adapt the exercises to account for financial, health, cultural, and environmental realities.
When to Recommend
Early Therapy
Helpful after immediate concerns have stabilized and clients begin asking, "What's next?" or expressing uncertainty about their future.
Middle Therapy
Often most effective while exploring identity, career decisions, relationships, or life transitions.
Maintenance
Supports continued personal growth by encouraging ongoing reflection and intentional life design.
How to Use This Book
Treatment Goals
This book may help clients:
Clarify personal values and priorities.
Reduce fear of making the "wrong" decision.
Increase behavioral activation.
Develop greater psychological flexibility.
Explore multiple possible futures.
Build confidence through experimentation rather than certainty.
Create a more intentional and meaningful life.
Discussion Questions
Which exercise challenged your thinking the most?
What assumptions about your future did you begin to question?
Where have you been waiting for certainty before taking action?
Which possible life felt most energizing?
What small experiment could teach you something this week?
What does a "well-designed life" mean to you?
What fears arise when you imagine changing direction?
Which parts of your current life feel most aligned with your values?
Therapeutic Interventions
Life Balance Assessment
Invite the client to rate their satisfaction (1–10) in areas such as:
Career
Relationships
Health
Community
Personal growth
Recreation
Explore which areas feel most important to address and identify small changes that could improve overall life satisfaction.
Alternative Life Paths
Have the client write three different five-year life narratives:
The path they are currently on.
A path they would pursue if fear were less influential.
A path they would choose if success were guaranteed.
Discuss common themes, emotional reactions, and values reflected across each version.
Prototype Experiment
Identify one meaningful goal the client has been postponing.
Design a small, low-risk experiment that can be completed within one to two weeks to gather information rather than prove success.
Examples include:
Shadowing someone in a new career.
Volunteering.
Trying a new hobby.
Scheduling an informational interview.
Attending a community event.
Energy Journal
Ask the client to track activities that increase or decrease energy throughout the week.
Discuss patterns that emerge and consider how these observations might inform future decisions about work, relationships, and daily routines.
Follow-Up Activities
Complete one "prototype" experiment before the next session.
Journal about moments when curiosity replaced certainty.
Reflect on activities that consistently create energy versus exhaustion.
Revisit long-held assumptions about success, purpose, and fulfillment.
Identify one small behavioral change that better aligns daily life with personal values.
Integration Tips
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
The book aligns naturally with values clarification, committed action, and accepting uncertainty while building a meaningful life.
Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
Explore the emotions that arise during major life decisions, including fear, grief, hope, and excitement, while strengthening clients' confidence in their emotional experiences.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Use design experiments as behavioral experiments to challenge catastrophic predictions, perfectionism, and decision paralysis.
Narrative Therapy
Invite clients to examine the story they have inherited about success, identity, and purpose while authoring new possibilities that better reflect their values and aspirations.
Editor in Chief
Cody Thomas Rounds
Cody Thomas Rounds is a licensed clinical psychologist- Master, Vice President of the Vermont Psychological Association (VPA), and an expert in leadership development, identity formation, and psychological assessment. As the chair and founder of the VPA’s Grassroots Advocacy Committee, Cody has spearheaded efforts to amplify diverse voices and ensure inclusive representation in mental health advocacy initiatives across Vermont.
In his national role as Federal Advocacy Coordinator for the American Psychological Association (APA), Cody works closely with Congressional delegates in Washington, D.C., championing mental health policy and advancing legislative initiatives that strengthen access to care and promote resilience on a systemic level.
Cody’s professional reach extends beyond advocacy into psychotherapy and career consulting. As the founder of BTR Psychotherapy, he specializes in helping individuals and organizations navigate challenges, build resilience, and develop leadership potential. His work focuses on empowering people to thrive by fostering adaptability, emotional intelligence, and personal growth.
In addition to his clinical and consulting work, Cody serves as Editor-in-Chief of PsycheAtWork Magazine and Learn Do Grow Publishing. Through these platforms, he combines psychological insights with interactive learning tools, creating engaging resources for professionals and the general public alike.
With a multidisciplinary background that includes advanced degrees in Clinical Psychology, guest lecturing, and interdisciplinary collaboration, Cody brings a rich perspective to his work. Whether advocating for systemic change, mentoring future leaders, or developing educational resources, Cody’s mission is to inspire growth, foster professional excellence, and drive meaningful progress in both clinical and corporate spaces.