Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip comes from Bill Burnett and Dave Evans book
Speaker 1: Designing Your Life, which is about using design principles to
Speaker 1: craft the life you want. They suggest using the design
Speaker 1: technique of prototyping to get insight into whether you want
Speaker 1: to pursue a particular life option. If you're pondering a
Speaker 1: big move in professionally or personally, your best bet might
Speaker 1: be to start small. Here's what I mean. According to
Speaker 1: Burnett and Evans, designers don't think their way forward. Designers
Speaker 1: build their way forward. They create a prototype, which is
Speaker 1: a simplified model, to see how well a given idea
Speaker 1: will work in practice. Just like you'd pilot a new
Speaker 1: feedback system with one team before trying it on the
Speaker 1: whole organization, Prototyping a big move you're considering can help
Speaker 1: you see what the option would be like before you
Speaker 1: commit to it. Here's why prototypes work. Prototypes help you
Speaker 1: visualize alternatives in a very experiential way. Burnett and Evans right.
Speaker 1: That allows you to imagine your future as if you
Speaker 1: are living it. A prototype is not a thought experiment.
Speaker 1: It needs a component of the real thing, just not
Speaker 1: the full fledged real thing. This allows you to evaluate
Speaker 1: what works and what doesn't in a relatively low stakes way.
Speaker 1: So how do you go about prototyping an option you're considering.
Speaker 1: One approach that Burnett and Evans advocate is what they
Speaker 1: call a life design interview or prototype conversations. Talk with
Speaker 1: people who are pursuing the path you are considering. What
Speaker 1: do they do on a day to day basis, What
Speaker 1: do they love and hate about their work? How did
Speaker 1: they get to their current roles. As you talk with
Speaker 1: people about their life designs, Burnett and Evans emphasize that
Speaker 1: you should be listening to the people you're interviewing, not
Speaker 1: talking about yourself. You want to take in all you
Speaker 1: can about their actual experiences. Then you'll be able to
Speaker 1: reflect on what you learned and consider how similar you
Speaker 1: are to the people thriving in that path. After you've
Speaker 1: had some prototype conversations, Burnett and Evans suggest pursuing prototype experiences,
Speaker 1: which they compare to taking a car on a test drive.
Speaker 1: A prototype experience can be as simple as spending a
Speaker 1: day shadowing a person pursuing a path you're considering, or
Speaker 1: it could be more intensive. Burnett and Evans suggest working
Speaker 1: on a time to find project without pay, or taking
Speaker 1: an internship doing the work you're considering. It can be
Speaker 1: fun to imagine prototype experiences. If you're prototyping being a
Speaker 1: freelance writer, you might volunteer to write the annual report
Speaker 1: for a nonprofit that you care about, or you could
Speaker 1: start a blog where you post articles of the type
Speaker 1: you'd one day like to be paid to write. If
Speaker 1: you're contemplating becoming an elementary school teacher, you could volunteer
Speaker 1: as a Cup Scout troop leader or as an assistant
Speaker 1: in an after school program. Or you could take a
Speaker 1: few days off work to help out in a classroom.
Speaker 1: If you're brave, you might try becoming a substitute teacher.
Speaker 1: Prototype experiences don't have to be complicated, but you do
Speaker 1: need to actually try out living the life you're imagining.
Speaker 1: If a prototype experience is rewarding, great, continue having conversations
Speaker 1: and experiences. You may eventually decide to pursue the path
Speaker 1: that you've explored, And if you don't like them, well
Speaker 1: that's not failure, that's useful information. You can identify other
Speaker 1: paths to explore. It is far better to decide that
Speaker 1: you don't want to be a lawyer before you spend
Speaker 1: years of your life in law school and take on
Speaker 1: thousands of dollars of debt. There are many options out there.
Speaker 1: You want to know what's best for you. So what
Speaker 1: big moves are you considering in your life? How can
Speaker 1: you use short term experiences and life design interviews with
Speaker 1: people pursuing those paths to prototype these options? As Burnett
Speaker 1: and Evans advice, try stuff. That's what designers do if
Speaker 1: you prototype options you're considering. I'd love to hear what
Speaker 1: you learned in the process. You can email me at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number
Speaker 1: four then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot
Speaker 1: me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at I heeart
Speaker 1: media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with
Speaker 1: all the letters. Thanks so much. I look forward to
Speaker 1: staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I
Speaker 1: heart Radio. For more podcasts from i heart Radio, visit
Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.