Designing Your Work Life

LESSON 1: Our position in our professional lives.

We all wish to find meaning in our jobs. No matter how much we rely on others to instill meaning in what we do, the onus lies on us. As companies work towards being more active and evolve according to changing markets, the workplace has become increasingly unpredictable and difficult to navigate. We often wonder if we are there yet. Even though we cannot really define what ‘there’ is, it is always present in the back of our minds. Our younger selves would often be fascinated with what our final destination might be. As adults, this question might not bother us much. However, when it comes to our career, we tend to be concerned with where we want to reach, and rightly so. 

We might feel dissatisfied and unhappy when we aren’t moving towards our goal. It is easy to feel sad when we are dissatisfied with our professional lives. Looking forward to where we are headed is an enormous distraction. It prevents us from taking drastic steps that would help us make changes to our current work environment. 

The primary message that we must focus on is the fact that, the position we are in our career currently, is okay for the time being. 

Psychologists use a term called ‘hedonic treadmill’. This term describes the phenomenon where a person repeats the same tasks over and over again just because they get pleasure out of it. The hedonic treadmill is a metaphor for the idea that an individual's level of happiness tends to return to where it started from, regardless of good or unpleasant experiences. The chemicals in our brain run out and we are stuck in this repetitive cycle. This is why psychologists call it a ‘hedonic treadmill’. 

Dave Evans and Bill Burnett call a person who follows this rehearsed life, a “non-life designer”. This type of person longs for material luxuries from his career. They want a higher salary, more power, or a bigger office. However, they don’t identify or acknowledge why they want such things. The authors advise that we should try to become “life-designers”. These are people who live life intentionally and are satisfied with their position in their work-life. We must develop the ability to accept what is good enough for now. This urges us to reframe and restructure our mindset.  We should not accept our job despite its shortcomings. We must focus on the positives and the tasks we genuinely enjoy. 

LESSON 2: The true meaning of work and money.

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