Design Your Life Workshop
- Young Women's Leadership Connection
- Feb 26
- 3 min read
At the start of the year, Young Women’s Leadership Connection (YWLC) hosted the Design Your Life (DYL) Workshop, inviting participants to step out of autopilot and reflect on how they are intentionally designing their lives, beyond default expectations and linear career paths.
Inspired by the book “Designing Your Life” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, the workshop was led by certified life design coaches Dane Tang and Mush Ridzwan focusing on two core themes: balance & energy, and designing possibilities through Odyssey Plans.
Designing Balance Through Energy (Led by Dane Tang)
Participants began by redefining what balance means to them personally, recognising that it is not universal, static, or permanent. Instead, it shifts with life stages, priorities, and responsibilities.
Instead of focusing solely on time management, participants were introduced to energy management as a more meaningful diagnostic. Through guided reflection and an energy-mapping exercise, participants identified which activities energise them which drain them , and where they experience flow, which are moments of deep engagement when time fades and effort feels meaningful.
Flow was framed as a powerful indicator of alignment and engagement, rather than a state of constant excitement. Participants learned that even within the same category of activities, energy levels can vary depending on context, sequence, people, and environment.
The session emphasised small, testable changes over radical life overhauls. Participants explored practical design strategies such as timeboxing, combining activities, re-sequencing tasks, changing environments, and reframing responsibilities, which empowered them to reclaim agency over how they expend and replenish their energy.
Through collaboration, participants shared reflections with one another, using conversation as a mirror to uncover blind spots, surface insights, and generate new possibilities.
Designing Possibilities Through Odyssey Plans (Led by Mush Ridzwan)
In the second session, participants shifted from diagnosing their present to imagining multiple futures.
Using the Odyssey Plan framework, participants designed three five-year life scenarios:
Their current trajectory
A future where the first path is no longer available
A future unconstrained by money, image, or societal expectations
Mush challenged participants to move beyond career-only planning and intentionally include relationships, health, community, play, and meaning. The exercise reinforced that a meaningful life can be multi-dimensional and that work is only one part of a larger story.
Participants were encouraged to visualise their plans using timelines, symbols, and sketches; not for perfection, but to activate imagination and emotional clarity. Uncertainty, especially in later years, was reframed as a sign of growth rather than failure, and Odyssey Plans were positioned as prototypes, not commitments.
Through sharing their plans with others, participants experienced how storytelling builds trust, reveals assumptions, and expands perspective. Many found that hearing how others structured their life stories was as insightful as the content itself.
Key Reflections
Across both sessions, participants were reminded that:
Life design is iterative, not linear
Awareness without action is incomplete, and insight should be tested through small steps
Conversations create opportunity without needing guaranteed outcomes
It is never too late to redesign one’s path
The workshop concluded with a strong emphasis on agency, curiosity, and purpose, equipping participants with practical tools to navigate life transitions intentionally rather than by default.
Organising team: Evonne Li – Director, Member Engagement, Maxine Mak - Director, Leadership Development, Joelene Wo - Deputy Director, Member Engagement, Ho Zhi Hui – Deputy Director, Leadership Development, Yangting Tan, Philline Cheng, Phoebe Koh
