One of the biggest misconceptions with human design is that it’s a personality test. Something you look up once, find out what you are, bond a bit with others over it & move on. Many people will take the time to look up their human design type and stop there. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all that your human design can teach you. Far from a personality test or assessment, your human design is a living roadmap for how you’re designed to energetically flow and function, allowing you to experience more ease in your life… all while living in attunement with your natural gifts and purpose. Your human design isn’t some quiz or assessment – it’s a map of who you truly are at a soul level.
In this post, we’ll explore how to integrate insights from your human design type, strategy, authority, and more into your everyday work, life, and relationships. This 6-phase ‘plan’ will give you an actual roadmap for getting to know yourself at a human design level.
Phase 1: Discovering Your Human Design Type
The first layer of understanding your human design is finding out what your type is (anyone can look this up for free using a human design chart generator – my tool of choice is MyBodygraph)
Your type is like your energetic signature – your aura – the energy you bring to the world and leave with others. Based on your energetic design type, there is a big picture energetic role that you are designed to play in the collective.
There are 5 human design types (technically 4 types & 1 subtype):
The Human Design Types:
1. MANIFESTOR: the big picture visionary
Manifestors are society’s visionaries, designed to blaze a new trail and new ways of being for others. Fiercely independent and resistant to being told what to do, manifestors thrive as lone wolves or as the overall visionary with a team supporting them to execute their visions into reality.
2. GENERATOR: the busy, builder bee
The Generator is the busy bee designed to actually build and make things happen! When a Generator is tapped into their sacral centre (the centre responsible for producing our creative and life force energy) and what that sacral centre determines is a YES for them, the Generator actually will create more energy for the rest of the world to use.
3. MANIFESTING GENERATOR: the multi-passionate creative
Born to do things differently, MGs are designed to skip steps or bounce between their many passions and interests, and are not really intended to follow a linear path. An MG’s power comes from embracing the many things they’re passionate about, rather than trying to define their multifaceted nature into any one thing.
4. PROJECTOR: the great guide
The projector has a very clear role: to guide. Although this makes for incredible coaches, leaders, mentors, and guides, you don’t have to be a projector to be an excellent guide, and you don’t have to be a coach if you’re a projector. There are many ways to embrace this role.
5. REFLECTOR: the great mirror
The rarest human design type, the Reflector, comprises only 1% of the world’s population. An open aura allows them to reflect and mirror back to society how we’re doing and where we need to improve.
Dive into the magic of your human design type in this free guide before moving on to phase 2!
Phase 2: Integration – Working Smarter With Strategy
One of the things that was most revealing to me when I first started studying human design was when I discovered that the reason that this model is so popular (yet doesn’t work for everyone) is because it was created to suit the majority of the population – the Generators (and Manifesting Generators, which are a subtype of the Generator).
Generators (36% of the world population) and Manifesting Generators (32% of the world population) encompass well over half the human population and are society’s great builders, so it makes sense that their powerful, defined sacral and their boundless energy would be seen as “the norm.”
But what about the rest of us? We all have our own unique strategy based on our human design type. This strategy informs us of how we are designed to interact with others. While Generators and MGs are intended to respond based on their sacral, which energetically ignites them, if the rest of us move this way, we WILL burn ourselves out and our true magic won’t reveal itself.
The strategy for each human design type is:
- Manifestor: Inform – Before taking action, you’re designed to inform those who will be impacted by your action about what you’re doing. This isn’t about asking for anyone’s permission – it’s about clearing the way and calling in the right support to bring your vision to life.
- Generator + Manifesting Generator: Respond – You’re designed to respond to life around you. This involves an element of waiting for the right thing to respond to – your sacral (gut) will be the one to tell you what the right things to respond to are
- Projector: Wait for the Invitation – The projector has a powerful gift of sight that is so incredibly intense and on-point, often allowing the projector to see others more clearly than they see themselves, which is why projectors are designed to wait for the invitation to go there with the people ready to receive their wisdom.
- Reflector: Wait for a Lunar Cycle – Reflector is designed to regularly check in with themselves over that complete lunar cycle to consider how they feel about the thing they’d like to take action on, or the relationship they’d like to engage in, at that moment.
Working Smarter, Not Harder with Human Design
Embracing our strategy allows us to live in attunement with our actual energy, considering how our aura will interact with others, so that we ensure maximum ease and flow. For example, for non-sacral beings (everyone who is not a Generator or MG), our magic is never found in doing more, more, more; we typically aren’t designed for the traditional 8-hour workday.
Let’s break down how to work smarter, not harder, based on your design.
Manifestor Workflow Tips:
- Ensure you have alone time every day to be in your own energy.
- Inform those around you who will be impacted by your actions before you enter your work cycle’s create phase to clear the way by eliminating potential disruptions or miscommunications.
- Leave whitespace in your calendar to allow flexibility.
- Embrace your leadership energy by aiming for roles that allow you to lead and pass the baton to someone else once you’ve gotten the ball rolling.
- Embrace your unconventional ideas – you’re genuinely here to blaze a new trail and challenge the norm!
Generator Workflow Tips:
- Your sacral (gut) doesn’t lie. If you’re feeling in your gut that something isn’t right for you or isn’t exciting you, practice saying no to save room for more of what you really like to do.
- Embrace your naturally methodical nature by using checklists and clear procedures to keep you on track with your goals.
- Integrate movement and exercise into your day – it will help you focus when you can release some of your excess energy.
- If you’re feeling stuck on a project or task that was previously exciting to you, you may have hit a plateau. Try re-engaging your sacral energy by giving it something new to respond to – going out for a walk or taking a break may provide something to respond to and help you get back in flow.
MG Workflow Tips:
- Batch similar tasks together to help you focus on all the many things you’re passionate about
- If you’re feeling stuck, allow yourself the freedom to bounce over to another task or thing that delights you.
- Don’t force yourself to follow strict linear A-Z pathways if they don’t make sense for you and the way you’re doing things.
Projector Workflow Tips
- Embrace your natural efficiency by working through shorter periods with plenty of breaks. A Projector can get done in a couple of hours what takes others a full day, so we’re really not designed to work full 8-hour days
- Spend time alone each day to reconnect with your own energy.
- Embrace your natural curiosity and interest in others by pursuing a subject that genuinely interests you.
- Practice waiting for the invitation to share your deep insights with others to protect your energy
- Look out for feelings of bitterness – this is a sign you’re likely accepting invitations that are not aligned with you, or you’re not honouring your authority.
Reflector Workflow Tips
- Ensure you’re in the correct environment for you – your environment is essential, and what feels right may change
- Daily rest and alone time to restore and get back into your own energy is significant for you
- Getting to know your daily transit chart will provide you with a sense of how you’ll feel on a given day, which can be helpful for planning purposes in your work
Explore more ways to optimize your workflow around your human design in this post
Phase 3 – Make Easier Decisions By Following Your Authority
Your authority is like your decision-making compass, showcasing how you are specifically designed to make decisions.
There are seven possible authorities in the human design system.
1. Emotional Authority
Those with Emotional/ Solar Plexus authority are designed to allow themselves to ride the full emotional wave of a big decision (such as where you’re going to live, who you’re going to enter relationships with and what jobs you will take) before making that decision from a place of relative neutrality.
This doesn’t apply to the day-to-day, little decisions, like what to eat or wear, but rather to those major life decisions.
- Types that can have Emotional Authority: Manifestors, Manifesting Generators, Generators and Projectors
2. Sacral Authority
Those with sacral authority are meant to ask their sacral yes or no questions to clarify how they feel about a big or small decision. This will be felt as a physical response in the gut and will take time to reconnect with, as we’ve been conditioned to not trust this type of incredible bodily guidance.
- Types that can have Sacral Authority: Manifesting Generators, Generators
3. Splenic Authority
If you have splenic authority, you’re designed to tap into *and follow* your intuition in the present moment. It’s easy to miss the guidance of the spleen because it doesn’t repeat itself, and it only speaks at the moment.
- Types that can have Splenic Authority: Manifestors and Projectors
4. Heart (Ego) Authority
If you have Heart/ Ego authority, you are designed to make decisions based on whether you want to do something and if you feel you can commit to it. It may feel selfish to make decisions this way, but when you have Heart authority and prioritize decisions that support your desires, these decisions will also benefit your community or tribe.
- Types that can have Heart Authority: Manifestors and Projectors
5. Self-Authority
Those with Self-authority are designed to make decisions by talking them out loud with an impartial sounding board. It’s not that you necessarily need advice – you need the space to clarify how you feel about a decision.
- Types that can have Self Authority: Projectors
6. Mental (Environmental) Authority
If you have mental authority, it does not mean you are meant to make decisions from the mind – it means you need to be in the correct environment to make a decision.
If the energy of a space doesn’t feel right for you, it’s not the space to make a decision.
- Types that can have Mental Authority: Projectors
7. Lunar Authority
If you’re a Reflector, you must have lunar authority, and if you have lunar authority, you must be a Reflector! That’s because Reflectors, the rarest type in human design, have all energetic centres open or undefined – they feel very different every day and therefore are designed to wait for a full lunar cycle (about 1 month) before making a significant life decision – every few days checking in to see how they feel about the decision before reaching an overall sense of clarity. For simple day-to-day decisions, Reflectors can tap into whatever their preference is.
- Types that can have Lunar Authority: Reflectors
Phase 4: Support Yourself With Aligned Self-Care
There are specific core desires that each human design type has that we can nourish with personalized self-care and mindfulness rituals. This will allow us to attune to our own natural energy in ways that will actually feel good for you.
Self-Care For Manifestors:
- Ensure you have quality alone time to ‘be in your shell’ in solitude
- Spend some time carving out more ‘white space’ in your schedule
- Try confidence-building exercises like journaling and mirror work
- Regularly check in with what you’re spending your time on and consider if there’s anything you want to let go of. You’re not designed to finish everything you start, and knowing when to let something go can be a bold act of self-care for a manifestor
For Generators:
- Regular physical movement and activity are essential for Generators – it will help you to burn any restless energy you may feel, and likely improve your sleep
- Create a list of all the self-care practices you enjoy that you can regularly engage in to allow your sacral chakra to respond to what it feels like doing that day.
- Journal on: “what am I doing because I think I ‘should ‘do it? am i ready to let this go to make room for more of what makes me feel lit up inside?”
Self-Care for MGs:
- Allow yourself to switch or bounce between the different hobbies and self-care activities that bring you joy
- Practice tapping into your sacral (gut) ‘s response to how you wish to practice self-care in the moment – your sacral will respond based on the external environment.
- Journal on: “what am I doing because I think I ‘should ‘do it? am i ready to let this go to make room for more of what makes me feel lit up inside?”
For Projectors:
- Create a slow and steady morning routine that allows you to pour into yourself before turning outward to others
- Study something that interests you – this feels very fulfilling for projectors and is a form of rest for us!
- Go to bed before you’re exhausted
- Ensure you have dedicated alone time each day to rest and practice self-recognition and validation
Self-Care for Reflectors
- Journal daily to check in on how you’re feeling about your day-to-day emotions and any big decisions you’re considering
- Give yourself permission to change your environment or who you’re around
- Practice following what surprises and delights you in the ways you practice self-care
- Ensure you’re creating strong boundaries to protect your natural sensitivity.
Phase 5 – Eliminate Energy Drainers
Human design is about embracing what comes naturally to you at a soul level, allowing you to experience greater ease, fulfillment, and abundance in your life. To fully enjoy all that life has to offer, it’s helpful to consider which elements of your life are draining your energy, so you can optimize them for a more fulfilling experience.
Not sure where to start? Here’s what typically drains each human design type:
- What Drains a Manifestor: having to be constantly available to others, being asked to (over) explain yourself, feeling like you’re being controlled or not in charge of your time
- What Drains a Generator: saying yes when your sacral is actually telling you no
- What Drains an MG: tight and rigid schedules or routines that don’t allow for you to switch things up or ‘bounce’ between the many things you care about
- What Drains a Projector: trying to prove your value, overworking, accepting invitations that are not in alignment
- What Drains a Reflector: trying to push yourself to decide things quick, in unaligned environments
Phase 6 – Evolve – Let Your Design Grow & Continue to Explore
We’ve delved deeply today into a human design roadmap to help you start confidently embodying your human design. Nevertheless, what we’ve explored in this post is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to exploring your human design. As you begin to feel more confident with embracing your type, strategy and authority, you can then start to explore the nuances of your own chart. A deep dive reading will take you through your unique chart and energetic circuitry, allowing you to genuinely understand yourself at a deeper level.
Your Design Is A Journey, Not the Destination
Embracing your human design is not about being perfect – it’s about taking small, intentional steps that align you more with who you genuinely are and how you function energetically.
Here are the next steps you can take:
1. Book a personalized guided reading to explore the ins and outs of your design.
2. Read on to dive deeper into any of these topics:
- All About Authority in Human Design
- How to Work Smarter, Not Harder (with Human Design)
- Self Care (by Human Design Type)
- How Human Design Supports a Creative Entrepreneur
- 3 Ways Human Design Improves Your Life + Relationships
- Using Human Design to Overcome Creative Blocks
- Why Human Design is a Powerful Mindset Tool
- Aligning Your Daily Routine with Your Human Design
- Using Your Human Design to Build Authentic Connections
- Discovering Your Soul’s Purpose (Using Human Design)
3. Explore more of the magic of your human design type with this free guide:
