The big idea: You can only design from where you really are, and a written Workview and Lifeview give you a compass to check every big choice against.
In 60 seconds
- Take an honest reading of health, work, play and love before you try to fix anything.
- A Workview says what work is for. A Lifeview says what gives life meaning.
- Check that the two connect, then use them as a compass for big choices.
Do this: complete Accepting Where You Are and Building Your Compass in the workbook before class.
How the dashboard and compass work
Designers start with an honest look at the current situation before they try to fix anything. Life design works the same way. First you take a reading of where you are. Then you write down what you believe about work and about life, so you have a compass to steer by when the choices get hard.
Your dashboard: four gauges
Health
Body, mind and emotions. Sleep, exercise, stress and how you are really doing.
Ask: do I have the energy my life asks of me?
Work
For a student: classes, jobs, internships, research and leadership roles. Paid or not, it counts.
Ask: is my work going the way I want?
Play
Things you do just for the joy of it, not to win, build a resume or get ahead.
Ask: when did I last play?
Love
Family, friends, a partner, community: the people who connect you to life.
Ask: who am I close to, and do they know it?
Rate each gauge from empty to full. There is no right score, and the gauges change through the year. A finance senior in recruiting season and an accounting senior in a busy-season internship will read very different dashboards, and both are fine. The point is an accurate picture of where you are, so you know where to start.
Accept where you are
You cannot design from a place you pretend you are not in. Accepting your starting point is not giving up. It is the first design step.
Watch for gravity problems
Burnett and Evans call problems you cannot act on gravity problems, like gravity itself. If a gauge is low because of something truly fixed, accept it and design around it. Many “fixed” problems turn out to be actionable once you reframe them.
Your compass: two views
Workview: what work is for
- Why work? What is it for, beyond a paycheck?
- Good work. What makes work good or worthwhile?
- Money. What does it have to do with your work?
- Others. How does your work connect to people, community and society?
- Growth. What do experience and learning have to do with it?
Lifeview: what life is for
- Why are we here? What is the meaning or purpose of life, for you?
- Others. How do you relate to family, community and the wider world?
- Good and bad. How do you think about right, wrong and fairness?
- Something bigger. Is there a higher power or larger purpose, and what does it mean for daily life?
- Joy and hardship. Where do they fit in a full life?
Support
Where do your Workview and Lifeview agree and strengthen each other?
Look for: shared values
Clash
Where do they pull in opposite directions?
Look for: trade-offs to watch
Drive
Does one shape the other? Which leads?
Look for: what you will protect
When who you are, what you believe and what you do line up, life feels more meaningful. Burnett and Evans call that alignment coherence. It is the real reason to write both views.
How to fill in the dashboardFifteen honest minutes
- Write a few lines for each area first. What is going on in health, work, play and love right now?
- Then rate it. Mark each gauge from empty to full. Use your gut, not a formula.
- Look at the shape. Which gauge is lowest? Which is so full it might be crowding out the others?
- Sort the problems. For the lowest gauge, ask: can I act on this, or is it a gravity problem to accept and work around?
- Date it. You will look again later in the semester and see what moved.
The free Love, Play, Work, Health Dashboard worksheet (opens in a new tab) from the Designing Your Life site gives you a blank page for this, and your workbook has its own pages.
How to write a Workview and a LifeviewAbout 250 words and 30 minutes each
Set a timer for about 30 minutes and aim for about 250 words for each. Write in plain sentences, not bullet points, and write what you actually believe, not what sounds impressive.
- Do not write a job description. A Workview is not “I want to be a CFO.” It is why work matters and what makes it worth doing.
- Do not write a bucket list. A Lifeview is not places to visit. It is what you think life is for.
- Name money plainly. Pay, debt and supporting family are real parts of a Workview. Leaving them out makes it less honest, not more noble.
- Include other people. Both views should say how you relate to others, not only what you want.
- Expect drafts. Your views will change. Rewrite them when your life changes.
Example: a supply chain student’s compassWhat coherence looks like in practice
The sample student in the tool below wrote a Workview about solving real problems (medicine reaching a hospital shelf on time) and a Lifeview about family, faith and community.
- Support: both put people before profit and connect leading with serving.
- Clash: the Workview wants fast growth and long hours; the Lifeview says family time matters.
- Drive: the Lifeview leads. Work has to let her keep promises to family and community.
The clash is the most useful line. Now she can ask about expectations for hours in every interview instead of being surprised in year one.
Why “start where you are” is harder than it soundsThree traps
- Comparing dashboards. Your roommate’s full work gauge says nothing about yours.
- Grading yourself. A low gauge is information, not a failing grade.
- Fixing everything at once. Pick one gauge and one small change. Bias to action works best small.
The life design ideas on this page come from Bill Burnett and Dave Evans of the Stanford Life Design Lab, explained here in our own words. Read the original in Designing Your Life (Knopf, 2016) and work through The Designing Your Life Workbook (Clarkson Potter, 2018).
Try it: Dashboard and Compass Builder
Tool · BUAD 427
Dashboard and Compass Builder
Read your health, work, play and love gauges, write your Workview and Lifeview, then check how well they fit together.
- 1Gauge
- 2Write
- 3Connect
My dashboard
My compass
All checks
Put it to work: Accepting Where You Are and Building Your Compass
This topic matches the workbook assignments “Accepting Where You Are” and “Building Your Compass,” completed before class and checked as part of the pass/fail leadership assignment. Read chapters 1 and 2 of Designing Your Life first.
Read chapters 1 and 2
Read about the dashboard, gravity problems and the compass. Note one idea you want to discuss.
Your deliverable: reading notes for class discussion.
Fill in your dashboard
Complete the dashboard pages in the workbook. Use the tool to try the gauges and reasons first if that helps.
Your deliverable: a dated dashboard in your workbook, with a reason for each gauge.
Write your Workview
Timer on, about 30 minutes, about 250 words. Draft in the tool, then copy it into your workbook.
Your deliverable: a Workview in your workbook.
Write your Lifeview
Same process. Write it on a different day if you can, so the two views do not blur together.
Your deliverable: a Lifeview in your workbook.
Check coherence and bring it to class
Answer the three fit questions and write your one-sentence compass. Decide what you are willing to share.
Your deliverable: coherence notes and your compass sentence, ready for discussion.
Do this, not thatKeep it honest and useful
Do this
- Rate the gauges from where you are this week.
- Give every gauge a reason.
- Mention money in your Workview.
- Write the clash, even if it is uncomfortable.
- Keep your full views in your private journal if you prefer not to share them.
Not that
- A dashboard that is all high so it looks good.
- A Workview that reads like a cover letter.
- A Lifeview that is a travel list.
- Pretending the two views never conflict.
- Copying a classmate’s compass or an AI draft. Your views are only useful if they are yours.
Before classCheck your workbook pages
- [ ] Dashboard filled in and dated, with a reason for each gauge.
- [ ] I know which gauge is lowest and whether it is actionable or a gravity problem.
- [ ] Workview written, about 250 words.
- [ ] Lifeview written, about 250 words.
- [ ] Support, clash and drive questions answered.
- [ ] One-sentence compass written.
- [ ] I know what I will share in discussion and what stays in my journal.
Go deeper
Back to all BUAD 427 topics · Next: Wayfinding: The Good Time Journal
Part of BUAD 427 Designing Your Life and Career, taught by Lane Morris, PhD, in the Smith GLS human-centered leadership program, toward the Human Centered Consulting Certificate.
Frequently asked questions
What is the health, work, play, love dashboard?
It is a quick self-assessment from Designing Your Life. You rate four areas of your life from empty to full: health (body, mind and emotions), work (including classes and unpaid roles), play (things done just for joy) and love (family, friends and community). The point is not a perfect score but an honest picture of where to start designing.
What is a Workview in Designing Your Life?
A Workview is a short written statement, about 250 words, of what you believe work is for. It answers questions like why work, what makes work good or worthwhile, what money has to do with it and how your work connects to other people and society. It is not a job description or a list of career goals.
What is a Lifeview?
A Lifeview is a short written statement, about 250 words, of what you believe life is for. It covers questions such as why we are here, what gives life meaning, how you relate to family, community and the wider world, and where joy and hardship fit. Together with a Workview it forms your compass for big decisions.
How do you check if your Workview and Lifeview are coherent?
Read both views side by side and answer three questions. Where do they support each other? Where do they clash? Does one drive the other? Coherence means who you are, what you believe and what you do line up. The clashes are useful because they show trade-offs you can plan for before they surprise you.
What is a gravity problem?
A gravity problem is a term from Designing Your Life for a situation you cannot act on, like gravity itself. Fighting it wastes energy, so you accept it and design around it. Many problems that feel fixed turn out to be actionable once you reframe them, so it is worth checking carefully before you label something a gravity problem.