There has been a personal development trend of creating a magical morning routine but most people just can't maintain it. This is generally because we are trying to follow a routine that works for someone else and we are all wired very differently.

When you are trying to make positive changes in your life, whether it is health, personal development, business development, healing etc. it really does help to take consistent action which requires some sort of routine. If you want to create a routine that truly works for you, I have five things for you to reflect on!

First, let's take a look at your Human Design. If you need to run your chart, you can do it for free here. If you look at the the top left arrow in your chart, it will either be facing left or right.

If your arrow points left, you are wired to follow a very structured and organized routine. Having a set routine frees up your brain space to handle other things that arise in life. This means when you are reflecting on how to set up your daily routine, you need to create set times for your habits, schedule them into your calendar, and get detailed about what your actions will be.

If your arrow points right, you are designed to go with the flow. Having a super fixed routine will feel too rigid and forced which will make it very difficult to stick with. You need to give yourself more freedom in changing up your schedule and exactly what you do. It may help you to have a little structure like "I am going to get up at 6am every day and spend 30 minutes on myself". But what you do in those 30 minutes may change daily from working out to yoga to going for a walk to journaling. You need to let your intuition guide you on what your body, mind, and spirit truly need each morning.

You may already know this about yourself without even looking at your chart but have been forcing yourself to do the opposite. That is part of the beauty of Human Design. It empowers you to be your true self instead of trying to do what works for other people. Give yourself permission to do what truly works for you, don't feel forced to be anyone but who you are. Your life will flow with greater ease when you lean into your true authentic self.

Second, I would like you to look at one more aspect of your chart. Is your ego/will center defined or undefined? If you have a defined ego center then it will be easy for you to access willpower and discipline. If it is undefined then this will be harder for you. Your willpower will ebb and flow. If this is true for you, I highly recommend setting goals. Although you may have a big goal like losing 20 pounds, it is important to set up micro-goals that you can achieve daily or weekly to help keep you on track. Setting a goal to work out for 20 minutes a day or sticking to healthy eating six days a week could help move you toward your longer-term goal.

It is also important to note that if you are undefined in this center, you gain access to this energy by being around the right people. If they have this center defined it changes everything. You will pick up on their defined willpower and amplify it even more. This means it can be really helpful for you to find a friend, mentor, coach, trainer, or instructor who will help support you with your goals and provide you with a level of accountability.

Setting goals will be helpful whether or not your ego center is defined or undefined, I just find it especially important for the undefined ego center.

In order to set goals you will need to gain clarity, our third step! What exactly are you trying to achieve or move towards in your life right now?

• Do you want to improve your health and well-being?

• Do you need to practice self-care, break habits of people-pleasing, and set boundaries?

• Would you like to work on healing the past and facing your shadows?

• Are you working to develop a more positive mindset?

• Are you trying to make more money or start a business?

• Would you like to budget and save money for something?

• Do you want to learn or improve a certain skill or talent?

If you don't have clarity on what you are trying to achieve, there is no way to create a daily routine that will get you there. Take some time to sit down and get very clear and specific on what you truly want and why you want it. I actually find a lot of people struggle with clarity on what they want so this step may require a little time to reflect on.

This leads us to the fourth step. It is time to assess what has worked for you in the past and what hasn't. Maybe you have never worked towards this specific goal before so you are uncertain of what will work, but you can still reflect on anything you have achieved in the past from this lens.

Focus on what has worked and how to recreate that in your life with this new scenario. When you look at what hasn't worked, don't bother trying to recreate those patterns or habits. Reflect on what hasn't worked and question why it didn't work in case there is something you could tweak. Maybe you set a goal of working out daily in the past but didn't have a long-term goal or clear reason of the why behind it so you did it for a few weeks and then dropped the habit.

It is helpful to have clarity on why this goal is so important, what will it add to your life when you achieve it, and what are the negative effects of staying the same. Try and keep asking yourself why you want this again and again so you are aware of all the layers behind why you are trying to create this change. Your first answer may be superficial, but if you keep asking yourself "but why?" you will discover more truth, clarity, and motivation.

Last but not least, it is time to create an action plan! What are the actions you need to take to move you toward the life you are trying to create? How can you embody your human design and make these actions a part of your daily routine that will truly work for you?

Some people find it helpful to reverse engineer their goals. Let's use weight loss as an example again. If you want to lose 20 pounds in the next five months then that means you would need to lose 4 pounds a month. That is a pound a week, a totally achievable goal. There are 3,500 calories in one pound so you would need to burn off an extra 500 calories a day, or eat 500 calories less than normal a day, or combine the two to burn off 250 calories and eat 250 calories less than normal. Now, instead of trying to lose 20 pounds, you only need to lose a pound a week and you have clear steps on what you need to do daily to achieve it. If you don't feel like working out then you need to eat healthier, and on the days you work out hard you may be able to have a little treat. You can make this into a routine that is simple and easy.

You can use this approach to help break down any big goal and help you figure out the small steps you need to take in your daily routine. The biggest mistake I see people make when creating a new routine is trying to go from 0 to 100. I highly recommend starting small.

If you are trying to start exercising to lose weight, start with small steps. Dedicate 15 minutes a day to moving your body. Go for a walk, jump on a spin bike, do some stretching or calisthenics, try some yoga, or whatever resonates with how you feel good moving your body. Once this becomes a habit in your routine for a couple of weeks, then increase the intensity or time. If you try to go from not working out at all to working out for an hour a day, every day, it probably won't last long. You will most likely be so sore after the first workout that you can't move for a couple of days and then that messes up all the motivation and breaks your habit immediately.

Ultimately you need to find what works for YOU! This may take a little experimentation. You may set up a new routine and then find it isn't working. That is just a sign that you need to reassess, not give up entirely. Come back to this process and see which step you need to be more mindful of.

I hope these steps help you understand how to embody your human design a little more and enable you to create a routine that truly helps move you toward the life you desire. If you need more help, don't be afraid to reach out! I'm here to help you along the journey.