The big idea: Before you change jobs, change the job: notice what gives and drains energy, reframe it as good enough for now and run small experiments to redesign it where you are.
In 60 seconds
- Before you change jobs, try changing the job you have.
- Notice what gives you energy at work and what drains it.
- Reframe, run small experiments and, if it is time to go, leave well.
Do this: read the assigned chapters and complete the Designing Your Work Life handouts.
How work life design works
Your first job will not be perfect. In Designing Your Work Life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans apply the same life design mindsets to the job you have: notice what works, reframe what does not, redesign it where you are and, if it is time to go, leave well. This matters most in your first one to three years after graduation, when the urge to quit fast is strongest and the learning is steepest.
Notice
Log moments in your week that give you energy and moments that drain you. The authors call it a Good Work Journal.
Ask: what did I learn, start or help with?
Reframe
Find what is true and useful about this job right now. “Good enough for now” is a stage, not settling.
Ask: what is this job giving me at this stage?
Rebalance
Compare what work gives you now with what you want: money, impact and self-expression.
Ask: where is my biggest gap?
Redesign in place
Change the job before you change jobs: reframe it, remodel it, move within the organization or reinvent your role.
Ask: what small experiment can I run this month?
Leave well, if it is time
If redesign is not enough, plan the exit with care so you leave people better off and your reputation intact.
Ask: what story will people tell after I go?
Money and meaning
The authors describe work as producing a mix of money, impact and self-expression. No job maxes out all three. The right mix changes with your life stage, so the question is whether this job gives you a mix you can live with right now.
Your first one to three years
Early jobs are hard partly because everything is new. Before deciding a job is wrong, log your weeks for a month, run two small experiments and talk to your manager. You will make a better decision either way.
The mix: money, impact and expressionA way to see what you want from work right now
- Money. Pay, security, paying down loans, saving for something specific.
- Impact. Making a difference for customers, patients, a team, a community.
- Expression. Using your own ideas, skills and style: building, designing, writing, leading.
Rate what you get from your job now on each, then what you want now. A big gap on one dimension tells you where to aim your redesign. For example, a new analyst who rates impact low might ask to join a process improvement team or mentor the next new hire.
Four ways to redesign in placeChange the job before you change jobs
Reframe and re-enlist
Same job, new view of it. Name what it gives you and recommit on purpose.
Remodel
Change how you do the job: automate a drain, take on a project, shift tasks with a teammate.
Relocate
Do similar work in a different team, site or part of the organization.
Reinvent
Take on a very different role inside the same organization, often after building skills on the side.
The authors’ Design In-Place worksheet asks you to write a short story of one of these redesigns, as if it already happened. Writing it makes the next step easier to see.
More tools from the work life bookWhat the free worksheets cover
The authors share free Designing Your Work Life worksheets (PDF) (opens in a new tab). In brief:
- Good Work Journal. A daily log of what you learned, started and helped with.
- Maker Mix and Impact Map. Tools for seeing what kind of value your work creates.
- Minimum Actionable Problem. Shrink a stuck problem into a “How might I…” question and a few small prototypes.
- Best Doable Option vs. Best Theoretical Option. Pick a solution you can actually do now instead of waiting for the ideal one.
- Getting Over Overwhelm. Check for burnout and decide what to cut, delegate or renegotiate.
- Power-Sort. Map who has influence and who has authority on an issue at work.
- Job Satisfaction Checklist, Imagining Your Quit and the Quitting Well Planner. Tools for deciding whether and how to change jobs.
Use the versions your instructor assigns for class.
Deciding when and how to changeLeave on purpose, and leave well
Some signs it may be time to look: you have run real experiments and talked to your manager, and the job still drains you most days; there is no path to the mix you need; or your values and the organization’s practices clash. If a workplace is unsafe or asks you to do something unethical, that is not a redesign problem. Get help from someone you trust and act sooner.
When you do leave, leave well: finish strong, leave your colleagues better off, write down what your replacement needs to know, reconnect with your network and tell a short, positive story about why you are moving on. Your first employer will be a reference for years.
For job search timing, offers and first-year advice, see Career Advice.
Try it: Work Life Redesign
Tool · BUAD 427
Work Life Redesign
Notice what your job gives and takes, reframe it, and design small experiments before you decide to leave.
- 1Notice
- 2Reframe
- 3Try
My redesign
All checks
Put it to work: your Designing Your Work Life handouts
The last weeks of Dr. Lane Morris’s BUAD 427 move from Designing Your Life to Designing Your Work Life. You read the book in sections and complete the Designing Your Work Life handouts, which are pass/fail. Class preparation and participation are pass/fail too: come having read and with something to say. If you do not have a job yet, design for your internship or the first job you expect.
Log a normal week
For a week, note moments that energize you and moments that drain you at work, an internship or your heaviest campus role. Be specific.
Your deliverable: your good work log in the handouts.
Rate your mix
Rate money, impact and expression now and what you want now. Find your biggest gap.
Your deliverable: your mix ratings and your biggest gap.
Reframe the job
Finish the sentence “This job is good enough for now because…” and mean it.
Your deliverable: a one or two sentence reframe.
Choose a move and two experiments
Pick a redesign move and plan two small experiments for the next month. Use the Work Life Redesign tool to check them.
Your deliverable: your redesign plan in the handouts.
Connect it to what you already know
Look back at your self-assessment results and Good Time Journal. Do your energizers line up with your strengths? Write a short note in your private journal.
Your deliverable: one link between your assessments and your work log.
Bring it to class
Bring your biggest gap, your move and one experiment. Be ready to hear how classmates would redesign the same job.
Your deliverable: your prepared contribution to the discussion.
Do this, not thatHabits for your first years at work
Do this
- Log specific moments, not general moods.
- Try a redesign in place before you start job hunting.
- Run small experiments with a clear time frame.
- Talk to your manager with a specific, small request.
- Revisit your mix every six months; it will change.
Not that
- Deciding a job is wrong in the first few weeks.
- Logging “meetings” or “my boss” with no detail.
- Treating “good enough for now” as giving up.
- Quitting without talking to anyone first.
- Leaving in a way that burns a reference you will need later.
Before you submitCheck your Work Life handouts
- [ ] At least three energizers and two drains, each a specific moment.
- [ ] Money, impact and expression rated for now and for what you want.
- [ ] A “good enough for now” reframe in your own words.
- [ ] One redesign move chosen, with a reason.
- [ ] Two or more small experiments with a time frame.
- [ ] The person you will talk to first, and when.
- [ ] One link to your self-assessment results or Good Time Journal.
Go deeper
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 Designing Your Work Life about?
Designing Your Work Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans applies design thinking to the job you already have. Instead of assuming you must quit to be happier, it shows how to notice what energizes and drains you, reframe your current job, redesign it from where you are and, if needed, leave well. It is a follow-up to Designing Your Life.
What does good enough for now mean at work?
Good enough for now is a reframe from Designing Your Work Life. It means accepting that your current job is acceptable for this stage of your life, without pretending it is perfect or forever. That acceptance lowers panic and frees energy to improve the job through small experiments, which often works better than quitting in frustration.
How do I balance money and meaning in my first job?
Think of work as producing a mix of money, impact and self-expression. No job maxes out all three, and the right mix changes with your life stage. Rate what your job gives you now and what you want now, find the biggest gap, then design small changes that move that one dimension before deciding to change jobs.
How can I redesign my job without quitting?
Burnett and Evans describe four ways to redesign in place. Reframe and re-enlist means seeing the same job differently and recommitting. Remodel means changing how you do it. Relocate means doing similar work in another team or site. Reinvent means taking a very different role in the same organization. Start with small, time-bound experiments and a talk with your manager.
When should I leave my first job?
Consider leaving when you have logged your weeks, run real experiments and talked with your manager, and the job still drains you most days or offers no path to the mix you need. Leave sooner if a workplace is unsafe or unethical. When you go, leave well: finish strong, document your work and keep good relationships.