What is ‘Life Design/ Designing your Life’ (DYL)?

‘Life Design/ Designing Your Life (DYL)' is a framework, a philosophy with a set of well thought out tools and methods.

 

The Life Design framework has been developed at the Life Design Lab at Stanford University to help individuals figure out where they are now and plan what they could do next with their lives.

What does it mean to have a ‘Well-Designed Life’?

A well-designed life is about coherence - it is one in which who you are, what you believe, and what you do all align together.  

 

Who is behind ‘Designing your Life’ (DYL) framework, philosophy and methodology?

Designing Your Life is conceived by Bill Burnett who is the executive director of the Design Program at Stanford and Dave Evans who is a Lecturer of the product design program at Stanford University. DYL uses the principles of Design Thinking for designing human lives.

• More about Life Design Lab at Stanford - https://lifedesignlab.stanford.edu/
• More about Designing Your Life (DYL) - https://designingyour.life/ 
• More about Bill Burnett and Dave Evans - https://designingyour.life/about/      

 

Why should individuals design their lives?

• Research estimates that two-thirds of people have no idea what they are good at or what their strengths are. 
• There are plenty of people who have highly qualified but are living with dysfunctional beliefs and debilitating self-doubts which prevent them from fulfilling their potential and find meaning or fulfilment in their lives.
• There is a critical need for interventions based on scientific and proven principles such as ‘Designing your Life’ to enable such people to get ‘unstuck’ and unravel what they could do next with their lives. 
• DYL offers tools and methods based on the principles of Design Thinking to help individuals overcome these issues and find meaning and fulfilment in their lives, no matter at which stage.

 

Who would benefit most from a Designing Your Life (DYL) intervention?

• Students in their final or pre-final years or are recent college grads (RCGs) about to start their careers . 
• Mid-career professionals who are looking to grow in their current job. If their current job is not giving them the scope or the freedom to grow, a coaching intervention would enable them to figure out their next role/ career option and chart out alternate career paths if needed either within their current organization or outside of it. 
• Individuals who have had a career break and want to get back to their careers form the third profile group. A coaching intervention would enable them to work out the kind of path which would suit their changed lifestyle and priorities.

Meet Your Designing Your Life (DYL) Coach

• Junaid is a 'Designing Your Life (DYL)' certified Coach and a Stanford Life Design Educator for Universities. 
• Junaid has been enabling individuals (through 1:1 coaching) and university students (through workshops & courses) to design and create a rewarding life and a fulfilling career using Life Design/ Designing Your Life (DYL).
• Junaid has extensive industry experience as a Design Practitioner working with organizations such as Adobe, Oracle, ABB, IBM and Intel (among others) during his career spread over fifteen years.
• Junaid has a couple of MS degrees - one in Psychology and the other in Electrical Engineering – both from the US while his undergraduate degree (BE) is in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Bangalore. He is also the author of the book 'Creating Your Life in 101 Steps'.
• Junaid is also an entrepreneur and is a co-founder of the Organisation ‘My Chat Lesson (MCL) Pvt Ltd’ - enabling learning through 'Chat Stories'. 

Junaid's journey from a Design Practitioner to a ‘Designing Your Life (DYL)’ Coach and a Stanford Life Design Educator….

 

Contact: Junaid can be reached at asadjunaid (at) gmail (dot) com or schedule a time with him for a 1:1 session through this link.

More info and articles written by Junaid

• Junaid's journey from a Design Practitioner to a ‘Designing Your Life (DYL)’ Coach and a Stanford Life Design Educator….
• Article on - Top 5 issues faced by mid-career working professionals which a Designing Your Life Coaching Program can effectively address
• Article on - Seven benefits from working with a Life Coach
• Article on - A Curated List of The Best Life-Changing Hacks

 Testimonials

Life Design Workshops & 1:1 Coaching

 

Junaid has coached a number of individuals and conducted several Life Design workshops. Some handpicked testimonials below-

 

Thank you so much for doing this! It has found me at the perfect time, when I'm starting my career in this industry. I was definitely overwhelmed if not only excited. But now I'm feeling much more confident that I'll be able to navigate this new chapter of my life. My biggest takeaway is the reiteration that I could quite literally design my life. Even though I am a designer myself, I had always separated it from my personal life. - Product & Experience Designer, Titan Company Ltd.

 

You are one of the best coaches I have come across. This wouldn't have been possible without your support and guidance - Organisational Change Strategist, NITI Aayog 

 

Junaid was a great coach and has brought up quite some things where I can change my approach towards problem solving – GM, Brookfield Properties.

 

Now I will think about my life situation from different angles & perspectives by using reframing. I love how you integrated many quotes for every concept. - Sr UX Researcher, Tech Mahindra

 

The workshop was a truly transformative experience for me, particularly in how it shifted my perspective on constraints and challenges. Interacting with Junaid and learning new ways to "prototype" my life was incredibly valuable.  – Student, Final Year, Design, PES University

 

I really appreciate how Junaid was able to bridge the gap between DYL concepts and real-life applications by providing case studies and real examples. This approach really helped with grasping all the new concepts easily and make sense out of them. All the sessions were very interesting and thought provoking, encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone and actively engage in discussions. – Student, Final Year, Design, PES University

 

Its perfect for students who are looking for options beyond their degrees. It helps you plan your life and career with space and consideration for your health and social life. It's well rounded and useful. – Student, Final Year, Design, PES University

 

It gave a lot of new perspectives towards the way we approach decision making with regards to life and career planning and more of a practical approach with actual active activities we can engage in to measure our growth in both skills and mental well-being. – Student, 1^st Year, Dayanand Sagar University

 

It was a wonderful experience. It gave me a sense of clarity about myself and my life. - Student, 1^st Year, Dayanand Sagar University

 

The last two weeks were extremely meaningful. I have been a little stuck (in life) for a while now. This class helped me get closer to finding my own voice. It gave me the clarity I so badly yearned for. The tasks we did, were helpful in building a realistic vision for myself. The process of building a vision, more than the plan itself, helped me understand myself/ conflicts better. Overall, this course was very "whole", or better said "unabridged". In the sense that it helped me get closer to myself, which was fun and a little scary. Thank you for the formative two weeks! It truly meant something to me. – Student, Year 3, Human Centred Design, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology

 

I feel like I have a better sense of direction. I remember talking about how worried I was about not knowing how my life will turn out to be and just yesterday, when I was telling a senior about my work plans, I noticed a sense of clarity and noteworthy lack of anxiety. I know a little better about what I want out of life and what thought pattern to follow when I feel lost again.  – Student, Year 2, Human Centred Design, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology

 

Over the course of the two weeks, I found myself deeply involved and engaged in the larger discourse of this workshop. The content introduced to us addressed our deepest concerns and conflicts, and this is perhaps the reason behind my enthusiasm and engagement. Overall, one of my biggest takeaways from this course was the clarity, it brought into my process. Class discussions were very meaningful. – Student, Year 3, Human Centred Design, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology.