Want to Be Happier in Your UX or Product Role? Invest in Your Life Outside of Work.

Many UX and Product professionals feel unhappy, burned out, and unfulfilled because their identity is too closely tied to their work.

A third of your life, about 70,400 hours, is spent at work.

In the past month, you’ve likely:

• Vented about your job, boss, clients, or colleagues to friends and family.
• Thought about a stressful work situation long after the work day ended.
• Said no to something in your personal life because you felt you had to say yes to a work obligation.
• Found it hard to be fully present in your personal life because work situations played on repeat in your mind.

The ripple effect your career has on your relationships, finances, and experiences, as well as your physical, mental, and emotional health, is undeniable.

At some point, you’ve likely found yourself stuck in your UX or Product career and felt underpaid, undervalued, unfulfilled, underutilized, or unsure of where you’re headed — and you’re not alone.

According to a 2021 study of 14,600 people from thirteen countries by Oracle and Workplace Intelligence, an HR research and advisory firm, over seventy-five percent of people globally feel stuck personally and professionally.

The study went on to report how seventy percent of those people said feeling stuck negatively impacted their personal lives and how forty percent said they experienced added stress and anxiety. Though this study was conducted during the pandemic, other studies before and after showed similar results.

To be happier at work, you need to examine and expand the sources of happiness in your life.

The Ripple Effect Of Tying Your Identity To Your Job

It’s only natural that our professional lives significantly impact our personal lives. Stress from work doesn’t just leave our mind the moment we walk out of the literal or virtual office door.

Many UX and Product people tie a big part of their identity (if not the whole thing) to what they do professionally.

The problem is that when things go wrong in your career or get difficult, you internalize it and take it personally. And when these things happen multiple times a day, it sends you into a spiral of doom-thinking, imposter syndrome, and catastrophizing.

• When your boss rejects your idea, you feel like a failure.
• When a stakeholder dismisses your design, your happiness is deflated.
• When a colleague disagrees, you question your skills and expertise.

The reality? These situations aren’t personal failures but inevitable parts of the job. Not all your ideas will be a hit with your boss, team, or stakeholders, often because they have information you didn’t when you came up with the idea. There will always be people who deliver feedback dismissively or negatively. And people will always disagree with you—maybe you even disagree with me about this article!

But when your identity is so wrapped up in your work, it’s hard not to let situations like these impact your self-worth, confidence, and happiness.

This is where the ripple effects come in.

Without passions, pursuits, or people outside of work to bring you joy, your job becomes your sole source of fulfillment — and that void only deepens. Stress and dissatisfaction from work spill into your relationships, draining your patience and energy. It takes a toll on your health, making it harder to relax or recharge. Neglecting activities that once brought you happiness also erodes your personal growth.

Expecting your job to make you happy is no different than expecting a partner to make you happy.

You can’t outsource your happiness to your job. Happiness starts with you.

And yes, you may be thinking, “Well, you don’t know my boss!” There will always be bullshit situations at work that inevitably spill into your personal life. I dealt with my fair share of challenges last year. In the past, I would have fixated on them 24/7, disrupting my sleep, mood, and mental clarity. But I’ve learned that I can’t let those moments take over my life.

When difficult situations arise, you have a choice: will they affect you for a few hours, days, weeks, months, or years?

You can’t control what happens to you. But you can control how long you let it impact you.

3 Ways To Cultivate More Happiness in 2025

Even if you have the “perfect” job, there will always be days when things go sideways. If your entire identity is tied to your role and what you do professionally, those bad days hit even harder.

The solution isn’t to detach from your job and be void of emotion; it’s to build a life outside of it. Think of your career as one part of a broader happiness portfolio, not the whole thing.

When you have interests, hobbies, and pursuits outside of what you do, it allows you to make deposits in your happiness portfolio. It also creates a buffer for when work challenges inevitably arise, allowing you to find joy, fulfillment, and resilience, even on the most challenging days.

When I was interviewed for the book, Morning Routines, I spoke about how when I was training for the NYC marathon, I always tried to do my runs in the morning because, as I said, “I love starting my day already feeling so accomplished. If frustrating things happen during the day, I can always look back to my morning workout and think, “I ran ten miles this morning, so I can handle _____.”

Here are three ways to invest in and diversify your happiness portfolio in 2025.

1. Pursue Hobbies Unrelated To Work

When was the last time you did something just for fun — or even better, for yourself? Building hobbies outside of work gives you joy that is not tied to deadlines, KPIs, and other people’s opinions and decisions.

You might be thinking you don’t have time for hobbies. I’m not suggesting that your hobby feels like a part-time job or that you sign up for a marathon; it could be just 30 minutes a week.

• Start small: Take up something low-commitment, like a 5K run, cooking a new recipe every week, or reading for 10 minutes before bed. Or try a new hobby like pottery, photography, or pickleball. You might even consider volunteering at a local animal shelter, Meals on Wheels, or farmer’s market.
• Reconnect with past interests: Maybe you used to love painting, hiking, or writing before work took over. Revisit those passions, and if you think you don’t have any, think back to your childhood for some clues!

The goal with hobbies isn’t to become an expert but to find fulfillment, joy, and renewal in something outside UX or Product work.

2. Prioritize Physical and Mental Health

Work stress doesn’t just stay in your head — it shows up in your body too. Investing in your health is one of the best ways to boost your overall happiness and prevent you from literally holding on to stress that can become debilitating.

• Move your body: Find an activity you enjoy, whether it’s swimming, yoga, running, dance, or something else. Get creative, and don’t be afraid to try new things. One of my local pools has a log rolling class, though I haven’t tried it! Exercise is proven to reduce stress and improve mood.
• Practice mindfulness: Meditation, journaling, and noting what you’re grateful for can help separate your self-worth from your career struggles. It’s easy to lose sight of the positive things that happen when it feels like your world is imploding with negativity.
• Get professional help if needed: Talking to a therapist can provide tools to cope with stress and set boundaries. No amount of running, pottery, or cooking can help you properly process big things that have happened in your life, either personally or professionally.

3. Redefine What Success Means To You

Instead of measuring your success by job titles, promotions, salary, the names of companies on your resume, or external validation, define what truly matters to you. Maybe it’s having the flexibility to travel, time to pursue a side project, volunteer in your community, pick your kids up from school, not have to work on weekends, or

Write down your values and check in regularly to see if your career aligns with them. If it doesn’t, it might be time to rethink your path — not because you’re a failure, but because your priorities have shifted. Of course, we all have bills to pay and, thus, need a source of income. Sometimes, you may have seasons where your career doesn’t align with your goals, values, and measures of success, and that’s okay and normal.

One of my measures of success is to create a business that allows flexibility over when and where I work. This is important to me because I love to travel and ski, which is why I left Manhattan after 12 years and moved to the mountains in Utah. I’ve spent years designing a career that lets me drop everything if it’s going to be an epic ski day or go on a last-minute adventure. This flexibility helps me navigate the inevitable stress and constant curveballs of running a business.

When something crazy happens at work, I’m not going to lie — I get mad and annoyed and vent to close confidants. However, I don’t ruminate on it and let it ruin my day or week. Instead, I take a moment to pause and then prioritize doing things in my happiness portfolio — whether going skiing, working on details for an upcoming trip, or cooking a new recipe — so the ripple effect of work stress doesn’t spill over into the rest of my life.

Remember, success is about designing a life that aligns with your values — both in and outside of work. When your career is only one part of your happiness portfolio, the other areas of your life help buffer the impact of work stress, making it easier to maintain your peace and perspective.

Make 2025 The Year You Invest In Your Life Outside Of Work

It’s easy to fall into the trap of tying your happiness and identity to your job. After all, a third of your life is spent working. But, when you invest in the other two-thirds of your life, the stress from work won’t feel as heavy, the setbacks won’t feel as personal, and your successes will feel more satisfying and grounded.

Being intentional about your life outside of work isn’t just about hobbies — it’s about creating a foundation of happiness that isn’t dependent on performance reviews or stakeholder opinions. It’s about realizing your worth is more than your work.

When your career is just one part of your happiness portfolio, work stress doesn’t have the same hold on you. Investing in what brings you joy outside your job helps you build resilience and creates a more balanced, fulfilling life overall.

Hi, I’m Sarah Doody, a UX Researcher & Designer.

I help UX and Product people position themselves for 5-figure salary increases and create careers that let them live the life they want to live through my company, Career Strategy Lab.

🗓️ Check out my events calendar for this month.