One Thing: Read the Room
Design Thinking Mini-Series, Part 2
Hi friends,
Last week, you chose an area of life you want to more intentionally design and ran a quick audit of it. If you missed that, you can read Part 1 here before you dive in.
Now, we’re looking at the systems that quietly shape your every day, especially your environment.
These big areas of life often feel stuck not because you’re unmotivated, but because the systems around you are perfectly designed for the status quo. The good news: your environment can be a mirror and a lever for change.
Read the Room
Bring your focus area to mind (work, health, money, time, relationships, etc.). Pick one space that you use often in that area:
Your desk
Kitchen counter or fridge
Phone or laptop home screen
Stand back and notice what’s helping and what’s getting in the way here. You might ask:
Supporting me:
What’s within reach that genuinely supports how I want to live or work this year?
Is there one object or habit here that reliably grounds or focuses me?
Working against me:
What pulls my attention away from my goals every time I land here?
What about this space signals stress instead of ease?
Choose one tiny tweak to prototype this week. You could remove one distracting object or app from sight. Alternatively, you could add a supportive cue: a glass of water, a quote, or picture.
Design thinking isn’t about overhauling everything at once. It’s about running one small test at a time, seeing how it feels, and building from there. Next week, we’ll keep building with more radically doable experiments.
Take good care,
Lisa
p.s. If you’re ready for a change this year you’d like some structure and company while you design into it, that’s exactly what Design Your Joyful Life is for. The next group starts 2/24 — save your spot here: https://www.lisavandyk.com/designyourlife.