Odyssey Plans

Introduction > Wayfinding > Ideation > Odyssey Plans > Life Prototypes

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.”

— Gloria Steinem, American feminist, journalist, and social political activist

“Wayfinding” is about figuring out where you are headed without actually knowing what that destination might be. That’s because life has not one, but many possible destinations. You cannot put the destination in Google Map and get step by step directions. You’ll just have to figure out where you currently are, be mindful of the clues in front of you, and use them to figure your way forward. It also helps if you have some form of internal compass that could guide your way.

“You are here”

A well-designed life is one that considers how these 4 areas of your life fit together. 

Love/Play/Work/Health Dashboard

Love

People need love for a life that’s meaningful. Love comes to us in different ways from parents, spouse, family, friends, lovers, classmates, colleagues, and many other sources. It is the sense of connection you have to other people.

Play

Play is about doing activities that bring you joy. It can include any individual or organized activities. If it’s done “for the joy of it”, it is considered play. Competitive activities done to achieve, to advance, or to win are not considered play even if it is fun to do.

Work

Work could be activities you participate in that are paid or unpaid. Activities that are unpaid includes study activities, internships, and other co-curricular activities.

Health

Health is a combination of emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing. How much importance you want to assign to each of these areas to form your total score level is totally up to you. How you assess your health in these areas is also up to you. 

Balance in the areas of your life

There is no perfect balance for these 4 areas since we all have different combinations of health, work, play, and love at different times.

For a college student, you might have an abundance of health, work, and play. But a meaningful relationship might not exist in your life yet. Someone in the mid-forties might face more health issues, work more and play less, and have found his lifelong partner (or going through a difficult relationship). 

The goal of the dashboard is to see if any area in your life needs attention. Think of the indicator lights on your car dashboard that indicates a problem with your engine or brakes. When you see any of it lights up, you need to pull over your car and figure out the issue.

Try It

Download Template

Assess where you are in terms of your health and how you work, play, and love.

1. Mark where you are (0 to full) on each gauge.

2. Write a few sentences on how you’re doing in the 4 areas (see Love-Play-Work-Health Balance worksheet).

3. Ask yourself – “Do I have a design problem that I want to work on in any of the 4 areas?”