Why We Should Start Making “Day Menus” Instead of “To Do Lists”
(especially for Generators and Manifesting Generators)
Image via DesignByGemini
For starters, this concept and name are fully stolen from my BFF Jessie so she deserves all the credit. But I have adopted this hack as my own and have found myself recommending it to every Generator and Manifesting Generator I do a reading for (though honestly I think everyone could benefit from it in some way or another).
The thought of going through your days and weeks and decisions being guided by your Sacral Center and the things that light you up always sounds wonderful in theory, but can be hard for some to grasp on a practical level (including myself). Having the strategy of “responding” through our Sacral Center is an incredibly useful internal GPS that is constantly sending us information on the opportunities, next steps, invitations and more that are right for us in that moment or day. Since that’s one of the motor centers, it’s literally a physiological “gas gauge” as to whether or not we have enough energy to proceed with that task or plan, and so it benefits us greatly to pay attention to it.
My strategy is hands down the most used component of my Design, in that it’s what I actively check in on and utilize the most throughout a day. And the more I practice paying attention to it, the stronger that muscle and practice becomes. Which leads me to one of my favorite practical ways you can use Human Design wisdom in your everyday life, utilizing your energy in the most powerful ways that lead to a more enjoyable experience:
Using a Day Menu rather than a To Do List (or a set schedule)
Let me break it down. Because of life and work and tasks we inevitably need to get done, we typically have to create some kind of schedule for ourselves and note the tasks that need to get done that day or week. I’m a big to-do list person myself. I love the satisfaction of crossing things off my list, and also just know that if I don’t write something down, or schedule it in for myself, there’s a decent chance I’ll forget about it (it’s my way of being able to “snooze” tabs that are open in my brain and let myself come back to them at a later time).
But learning my Design, and then hearing Jess talk about this method she does for herself, made me rethink the way I was creating these lists. My energy or excitement for tasks comes and goes and changes on an almost hourly basis. There are moments where all I want to do is sit down and write and let content pour out of me. And then there are moments where I could force myself to sit down in front of a computer knowing I “have” to get something done, and not a single word comes out because I’m so fidgety or distracted or in the mood to do something else. And what I’ve learned is that it doesn’t benefit me or anyone receiving my content to get inspiration that was forced out of me. I would so much rather create from an aligned and flowy state, making the most of my excitement and energy, than waste hours trying to do something because I think I’m supposed to.
So reminding myself of this truth, I’ve learned to schedule my days and weeks in a way that provides structure, but also flexibility and room to be able to check in and ask what I’m actually feeling pulled to do in that moment. For instance, I have my calendar segmented and blocked out for the week, with dedicated time blocks each day for different work tasks I know I need to get done. Each block allows several hours for me to buckle down and stay focused on the task at hand. I initially created these knowing my general preferences for when I’m most in the mood to work alone, or be engaged with others (like when I’m doing Readings or recording podcasts), and then when I need to dedicate time to other tasks, jobs, or chores I need to get done in a week. But even with those general preferences and time blocks, I’m most likely not always going to be in the mood to create social + blog content every Tuesday morning. This is where I allow myself some flexibility.
Knowing my general schedule + the specific tasks I need to get done in a week, I’ll make note of these, but then allow myself to check in on a day-to-day basis and ask what I feel pulled towards in that moment the most, essentially letting myself choose from my “menu” of tasks. The reason this works so well with Generators and Manifesting Generators is that our strategy of responding does best when given options to choose from. Instead of waking up and asking “what do I want to do today?” (an incredibly problematic question for most Generators lol), if given 2 or 3 options, your body will have a much easier time choosing what sounds best when checking in with your Sacral response.
For those who have careers or schedules that may be out of your control at times, ask yourself where you still might be able to find some flexibility in your schedule to complete tasks when you feel more excited by them (i.e. maybe knocking out emails for the first hour of your day feels really good, so ask that you not be scheduled in meetings for the first hour of every day). Always remembering that it’s in your best interest and for the highest good of everyone involved when you can stay in line with working and producing from a place of alignment and consciousness, and that it’s not about you being entitled or selfish, but rather wanting to harness and maximize your energy in the best way possible.
This even works for chores I typically dislike. Because if I’m being honest with myself, there are some moments in my week where I love the satisfying and “in-the-zone” feeling of putting on a podcast or music and using my hands to clean the kitchen or take on my laundry or even deep clean my bathroom. So if I can harness that desire and enjoyment in the moment and give myself permission to engage with that task then, everything just becomes easier and more enjoyable.
This a lot of words to say: it is to your benefit and those around you to complete tasks you’re as lit up by as possible in that moment, and there are ways to engineer your schedule to make this happen.
In summary, here are the main takeaways from this post and tips on how to create your own Day Menu:
For those ruled by their Sacral Center, paying attention to what you feel pulled towards or excited by is your indicator of what you should likely be spending your energy on
Following your strategy of responding is what allows you to devote your time to the tasks that will create the most aligned use of your energy, and offers the best of your energy to those around you as well
When planning out your day or week, jot down the things you need or want to get done and loosely schedule them in to provide yourself with structure
If you find yourself getting to a task, project, event, etc. that feels very restrictive or is bringing up lots of resistance or frustration for you, take a look at your “menu” and see if there’s another task that feels better and sounds more exciting and fun in that moment
Give yourself permission to do that, knowing that you feel pulled towards it for a reason, and you’ll be using the most “high quality” energy when you do it!
You can create this for yourself every day, or at the start of every week, whichever feels best to you
Let yourself enjoy the process, have fun, and remember that you can let go of the should’s and design a life that feels amazing for yourself in a way that only you could uniquely create
If you want more insights into how to plan your schedules in alignment with your Design, grab a Reading with me here or snag a personalized Design Guide to learn in-depth about your Strategy and how to best follow it.
