Productivity with Human Design
Human Design is so much more than telling you who you are or predicting your future.
Although it integrates a lot from astrology, ("because you have this, then you are like this"), its real value is in its explanation of how energy flows through your body and how your soul (energy) interacts with the world. It is similar to going to a Chinese traditional medicine doctor, who will tell you how your thoughts and fears affect your body, how your body subsequently affects your mind, and finally how stagnant or misused energy will find ways to wreak havoc on your health. Human Design incorporates important lessons from Indian Chakras, Chinese Medicine and philosophies and most notably, The Yi-Qing (I-Ching)'s 64 hexagrams, or 'life mirrors', as I like to call them. It is wholistic, and aims to bring together all types of ancient wisdom to give you the best vision what energy you embody in this world.
The best way to use Human Design is not necessarily trying to figure out 'who you are', 'where you must go' or to see 'where you will end up', but rather, how to live in alignment with your energy, your expression at any given moment in the present.
As my understanding of my Human Design body graph evolved past the light level descriptions on who I am energetically and what I am here to do, I began to truly understand how I need to work to unlock my potential and most radiant self. I realised then, with great catharsis, why I was always burnt out and why I always seemed to have difficulty coming back to my seemingly full-proof productivity systems.
In this article, I want to lead you to some aspects of your chart that specifically relate to how you work, and how your energy flows within you, and through you. It is important that you consider your inner energy flow (how you create energy) and your outer energy flow (how you communicate energy) to really see results in your life. And most importantly, you shouldn't feel mentally exhausted, frustrated, angry or whatever other not-self theme when you are utilising your energy correctly. Your goal is to feel pleasure as you unlock your greatest expressions day to day.
If you don't yet have your human design chart, there are soo many free tools to get it (they're always free), and my favourite app to dig deeper is called 'Neutrino Design'.
Inner Energy Flow (how you create energy)
The body has 4 energy centres or 'motor centres' that create energy in different situations and in different ways. But it is important to note that consistent energy to show up and get work done is solely created in your sacral centre, and if you consistently rely on other centres to do what the sacral should do, you will cause physical stress on your body.
And to release energy from your sacral centre, you must be aligned with your purpose and design's motivations.
Your Motivation
There are a lot of different things that can motivate you. Fear, is a strong motivator, self-determination, ego etc. are also strong motivators. But the strongest motivations lie in your purpose. Finding a big 'why' or a great umbrella connector for the things you do is monumental in unlocking your energy and sustaining your life force.
Here are aspects on your chart that tell you about your purpose/whys.
1. Your profile (ex, 2/4), will tell you your 'character' in this life, and how you enjoy to show up for yourself and others.
2. Your incarnation cross, will tell you your greater why, a purpose you may choose to fulfil
3. Your incarnation cross's quarter, will tell you who you long to serve in this life (self, community etc)
Where your energy comes from: Motor Centres
Each motor centre gives you energy to show up for certain things in different ways. Your defined motor centres show you the areas that you have reliable energy to act. If your energy centre is undefined, then you don't have reliable access to it, but when you are around someone with a defined centre, you are able to take in their energy and amplify it in the short term. The planets' movements also gift you with seasons of defined energy, also.
Sacral Centre - Consistency, The Energy to Build & Create
As we mentioned, Generators and Manifesting Generators with defined sacral centres are the only types that create stable and reliable energy daily that can be used to work in the traditional sense. The sacral centre produces energy when you have a task that aligns with who you are. Generators must utilise this energy and burn it out by the end of the day to properly refresh themselves for the next day. Much like a battery, you can't leave yourself on charge too long, and when the battery is dead, it's dead!
Just like a real battery, you can't let it go completely dead. The more often you do, is the shorter the overall capacity becomes. Consistency is about keeping the balance of the charge.
Heart Centre - Your Willpower & Motivation
Something I look at right off the bat for my clients wondering about their work style is their willpower or heart centre. This centre governs your ego and your feelings of self-worth. It is a centre that rewards showing up and being accountable to what you say, and will become wounded if you make a lot of promises you can't keep. The heart gives energy in pulses, and is consistently there for your goals, when you feel aligned, and will often push you even when you aren't. It is great when working together with sacral energy, but can be dangerous because when we try to work purely off of willpower instead of in alignment we can severely damage our health.
For those with an undefined heart centre, it means that a lack of willpower may become something you obsess over and allow to lower your self-esteem. You are not the kind who gets up early, and starts long consistent habits. Because of the way our society values burnout and relentless exertion of willpower over waiting and the natural flow of things, you have been taught to hate this aspect of yourself. To hate that you work with your system and not despite of it. Allow yourself to go at the pace that your sacral or 'authority' commands you to, and never subject yourself to proving your worth in a room.
Solar Plexus - Your energy from emotions
The Emotional Solar Plexus is the place where you carry the energy that makes you human - your emotions. I find a lot of creatives and artists have their throat connected to their solar plexus. A defined solar plexus gives energy in emotional waves. It works hand in hand with contemplation, integration and creative expression. It knows best about the energies of intimacy, awareness and connection.
You are inspired by muses, and your emotions hold the energy to create your expression.
Root Centre - Your energy in a crunch
The Root is the centre for adrenaline, the driver that helps us to get things done. Having a defined root centre makes you great in a pinch, and this centre amplifies your energy when you need to push through to get things done. In addition to being a motor centre, it is also one of the two 'pressure centres', meaning it is there to thrive in pressure and also give you pressure when the needed. The root centre's energy operates in pulses and when the energy comes is defined by your gates in that centre.
Things get done, when you say they will get done. You are immune to the outside pressure, and provide it to yourself in your own pace and based on your own values.
Your ability to initiate: Throat to Motor Connections
Your throat is your gateway. It brings your dreams and essence into this reality through communication and expression. It represents your manifestations in dream form and whatever is connected to it will be how you manifest into this world. Manifestors, in addition to their aura type, are manifestors because their throat is connected to a motor centre, giving them the ability to create directly from self-assertion. Manifesting Generators also have a 'motorised throat' but also a defined sacral, giving them the best of both worlds.
Check which motor centre your throat is connected to and it will give insight into how you can initiate your hopes into this world.
How you process: Definition
Definition is all about how you process information and connect the dots together. More deeply, it is about how energy flows through your body. Your definition tells you how your defined centres are connected. It's like if your body was a circuit board, having single definition means it is all connected, split definition means you have two separate circuits that sometimes need outside energy to allow them to communicate between them.
Look at your definition to learn how to best unlock the energy within your chart (single, split, triple split or quadruple split).
Outer Energy Flow, Aura Type (how you communicate energy)
The first thing you learn in human design is your aura type. There are 4 auras, Generator, Manifestor, Projector and Reflector. Each type communicate their energy with the world in different ways. Some attract energy, some repulse. Some have a directly connection with the outside world, and some have to wait a full month cycle to give and receive answers.
Once you learn how to cultivate your energy within, you must also learn how you communicate out, so that you do not frustrate or tire yourself with futile efforts. As you learn more about your aura type, reflect on what it means about your 'goal setting' and how you 'envision' things. For example, a Generator will likely get opportunities that are perfect for them that they never imagined. The more they try to set and start specific things is likely the more frustrated they will make themselves in the long run, so I think a more **open-ended goal setting structure** is ideal.
Generator: Attracts opportunities that expand them, also needs those opportunities to shine rather than initiating on their own. Focus goals on your tasks and work rather than what that work should become.
Manifesting Generator: Same as Generator, with the bursts of a Manifestor. Attracts opportunities that expand them, ability to initiate great new ways of doing things within the opportunities given to them.
Manifestor: The initiator, moves very fast, thoughts directly become reality. Great at getting the ball rolling, attracts ONLY the people that will help create their visions. Their VISION and ideas are their greatest asset.
Projector: Must wait for the invitation to guide. Their aura cuts deep and is hyper specific-- they truly can move mountains inside of people. They are natural guides but must be invited in to do so. Until then the projector is constantly increasing their knowledge and honing in on their articulation for the right space to utilise them.
Reflector: Reflectors are guided by their community. Their goals must be in alignment with a higher purpose that directly serves their community. With reflectors, it is daily joy, connection and environment over any other vanity. Their aura works with the moon cycle, and it would be great to include the lunar calendar into your system.
Energetic Blocks
Energetic blocks speak to the fears and attachments we lock onto that prevent us from experiencing flow, both with our energy inside the body, and then subsequently with our experiences projected into our lives.
If you think you are working in complete alignment with your human design and energy type etc. but still feel blocked from pleasure and satisfaction as you self-actualise, then there is some kind of block, fear, shadow, preventing you for leaning into yourself.
Here are some ways I suggest to start working through these blocks:
1. Visit the gates in your charts, especially the ones that are not complete channels in your motor centres. Read the 'not-self' versions of those gates (shadows) and reflect on them.
2. Use the Gene Keys format for working through your shadows (my favourite way to do Shadow Work)
3. Use an app like the 'Neutrino Design' to review the your Melancholy gates, Fears, and Genetic Trauma.
This article is meant to be a guide to pay more attention to certain aspects in your chart to help you understand how you work, and how the common advice may not apply to you are your design in the ways you expect it to. In all honesty, your whole chart points to different aspects of how you work because it is *all* about how to show up in your greatest authenticity daily. I will be writing more articles about more specific areas of your chart and how it aligns with your productivity style and goal setting, and if you'd like to see them, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on instagram to see when it happens!
