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Life and work are about much more than getting from A to B

Let’s use carefully placed questions, the power of storytelling, and simple activities to find a sense of purpose and create more delight for ourselves.

ARE YOU READY FOR CHANGE?

Are you at the point where you want things to change in your life and work? Ready to find more delight, balance and freedom in your day to day life?

If you’re stuck and frustrated, tired of life, or lost and looking for direction then Design for Life can help you to get clarity, find focus, and take actions to get things moving. Unblock your energy, take control of your own wellbeing, and find a new sense of freedom. Delight in your daily life!

LET’S MAKE THAT CHANGE!

I love working with people who want to get clear on their values and aims in life, do no harm, and create a positive lasting impact in the world. Through their way of life, the work they do, and the decisions they make. People who are ready to freshen things up – whether they’re early in their career and ready for their first pivot, or have more career years under their belt and are ready for something new.

If that sounds like you, we’ll work together over 3 or 6 months to define the changes you want to see in your life. You’ll take manageable actions towards a new life for yourself. This isn’t about writing a plan and then sticking to it like glue. This is all about you getting to know yourself better, learning by doing, and adapting your plan as you learn new things.

I want to help you to identify what you want to change and how you might make those changes. Rediscover your sense of purpose and have some fun. We’ll use stories, short activities, and self-discovery tools to get you the insights you need.

Want to explore how I can help? Book your free, no obligation chat!

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Introducing: Design for Life

  • One to one consultations by phone or WhatsApp call
  • One session per month (60mins)
  • Long-lasting change on your terms
  • Activities tailored to your situation and goals
  • A personal Change Guide that collates your learnings
  • Learn tons about yourself and find that making changes can be easier than you think

It’s such an incredibly loving process

Anonymous
Architect

It’s very easy to feel that there’s nothing you can do to change your situation. Or that you just don’t know where to start. Taking no action means that you stay in the status quo, feeling stuck and frustrated.

Maybe you have a lot on your plate. It’s easy to get stuck in a holding pattern, or a ‘just surviving’ pattern. It’s easy to wait until you’re less busy, or less stuck, before you make some changes.

Let’s find space and make changes now. No more waiting, hesitating, or feeling stuck. Instead, take small, consistent actions that will help you to find more space straight away and will also add up to big changes in the long term.

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How It works

I work with simple frameworks and tools to help you make tiny changes right here, right now. Small, gentle changes that give you a greater sense of control over time, and increase the delight you find in your day to day. I love hearing the shine in people’s voices as they realise how empowering it is to take small consistent actions and see the lasting effect that has on their life. And you’ll be surprised by the difference that will make in three or six months.

Over the course of each call, by WhatsApp call or a phone number of your choice, we’ll explore what’s got you stuck and find a little space for you to start making changes straight away whilst we keep working on the bigger picture.
Our sessions are audio only, so you can be in your PJs, your lounge, your garden shed – wherever is comfortable for you. I just ask that you are a place where you can speak freely and won’t be interrupted.

Sick of quick fixes, or committing to a new habit and then losing momentum within days or weeks? One session at a time, one activity at a time – we’ll work together to define the change you really want to see in your life and take small consistent actions to make it happen.

Your situation is unique, so let’s use what we learn together to inform the best activities to help you with what you’re stuck on at the moment. We’ll discover what makes you happy, find small ways to add that in to every day, work on your health and wellbeing, discover your sense of purpose – we’ll design your life to bring you more delight and less frustration.

As we work through your activities together, you’ll gain insights into yourself and the life you want to create for yourself. I’ll take notes in our sessions and distill these down into a personalised pdf guide that you can refer to whenever you need it.

Figuring out your intent – choosing the one thing you want to focus your attention and energy on – is the tricky bit. That’s why it’s really helpful to have me as your guide to uncover it with you, to get every drop of clarity we can. Then that clarity will drive a series of small, specific, manageable actions to move you towards your intent, one day and one week at a time. And we’ll come back together to problem solve, identify obstacles, and overcome them in each session.

I am still using all the tools we developed six months ago, which are really helping right now.

Anonymous
Architect
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Portrait of Lou Shackleton - a woman with long hair and glasses with some added illustrations of a rainbow, rocket, star and notebook

ABOUT YOUR GUIDE: LOU SHACKLETON

HELLO!

I’m Lou, and I’ve built a reputation as a catalyst for change.

I love working with people who want to get clear on their values and aims in life, do no harm, and create a positive lasting impact in the world: through their way of life, the work they do, and the decisions they make.

For the past twenty years, I’ve been fascinated with change and transitions and their effect on us humans. This fascination started when I studied for my degree in Psychology. Since then, I’ve worked with people who want to change things – in their own life, in their work, or in their organisation (and, sometimes, all three!). I’m really proud of my clients and the changes they’ve made for themselves – from creating tiny kitchen gardens near their back door, taking up cycling, and changing their morning routine to writing books, moving countries, and going freelance. Their progress and bravery inspires me every day.

I ask questions and use simple tools to help people like you to discover their intent and then execute it. Which means: More delight, and less frustration! The tools I use are based on storytelling, design techniques and planning frameworks. They form a whole toolkit I have collected and tested with myself and others.

I’m a dreamer and a doer with a lover of stories. I’ve used these tools and techniques myself to find a fitness routine that works for me, change my job, and find more joy every day. I believe in the power of design and storytelling to help us all do less with more delight in our day to day lives.

my go-to person for my life and business

Lou is simply the best at helping you see things differently, which allows for dramatic and positive change to happen, quickly and easily.
Neil Prem
Leadership and performance coach
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What will we learn together?

After completing Design for Life, you will be able to:

  • Understand yourself and your story so far
  • Use that new understanding to make confident decisions
  • Access your strengths, characteristics and values to inform your next steps
  • Identify small actions you can take right now to move the needle of your life in the direction of your choosing
  • Determine what’s important to you, giving a new sense of confidence in who you are
  • Create space and just-enough-structure to reduce the risk of overwhelm, fatigue and burnout and find new options for yourself
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I feel more free and open

I learned f***ing tons about myself – the tools for how I analyse certain decisions, looking at things from a long-term decision-making position, and how they fit into the bigger picture.

Now, I live in a different city, I’ve changed my work, and my day to day life is more grounding than it was before – even though it’s more fluid and less structured.
JE
Creative Producer and Project Director

Curious about the activities and guides?

Following each session, I will give you the activities and guides that will help you the most. You can get a sense of the activities I offer here:

  1. Knowing You, Knowing You
    Figure out what’s really important to you so that you can use it to inform your next steps.
  2. Draw Your Story
    Take a moment to reflect on the events that have brought you to this point, including highlights and lowlights, twists and turns. Label key events and capture your feelings along the way. Own your story so you can move forwards with confidence.
  3. Inner Compass
    Turn what you learn about yourself into a tool you can use to make decisions, big and small, long after we have completed our sessions together.

Still curious?

Find the answers within

Lou has the ability to ask exactly the right questions, enabling you to find the answers within yourself. This is supported with tools and resources which invite you to engage and explore.

The process gave me a real understanding of what is important to me and the key things I want and need for the future. The discussion and activity brought to life a clear rich picture of my dreams and importantly enabled me the freedom to give them validation.
Kathy Bullock
Non-profit leader who pivoted to work in her dream field, the natural environment

Design for Life makes it easier to create changes with momentum

How would your life be different if you felt more in control, less overwhelmed, and more certain about the future you want to build for yourself?

  • You would be excited to wake up in the morning and get started with your day
  • You would have more confidence in the decisions you make
  • You would be adopting new habits and routines that contribute to your wellbeing and happiness
  • You would have a sense of freedom, and be able to flex more with what life and work sends your way
  • You would find day to day life more grounding
  • You would be content with figuring stuff out as you go, based on your own inner compass

If you’re still not sure if this programme is for you, it’s true that not everyone can benefit from this type of work. If you’re looking for a quick fix, it won’t work.

If you’re willing to show up, learn, be honest with yourself, and do the work between sessions, Design for Life will help you create the space and momentum you need.

What Design for Life and Work Is

Designed around you
Taking tiny actions that add up to long-lasting impact over time
Growing your own confidence, with the help of a guide
Encouraging and fun
Turning possibilities into real learning about what will really make you happy and healthy
Focusing on what you can control, and letting go of the rest
Holding yourself accountable

What Design for Life and Work Is Not

A replacement for counselling or therapy
Lots of boring homework
Lots of long words that you don’t understand
Doing the work for you
For people who are not ready to start taking small steps to change their life today, with the resources they currently have

Clarity drives action

Before I met Lou, I felt completely lost – like a puppy on a boat at sea in the middle of a storm!
During the first session, my vision of what I wanted and why I wanted it became clearer and clearer. At the end of the session I felt extremely happy because I knew where I wanted to get to and exactly how to get there.
Adelina Chalmers
Speaker, coach, and entrepreneur

How to Pay

If you’re not sure what you need, let’s have a chat! We can explore what you’d like to get out of Design for Life and find a way forwards that you’re happy with.

Subsidised optionS

If you can’t make the full price work right now, I am offering a sliding scale for people with different incomes.

  • If you have the resources, pay the full price
  • If not, pay what you can – No guilt!

If you are able to pay the full price without causing any financial stress, please do. And if not, I ask that you pay one of the subsidised rates. This can be as low as £150 for a three session block for people on the lowest incomes, and I can organise payment by instalments too.

Contact me for a code to use at check out – via @loushackleton on instagram.

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