Four Tips for Working with Manifestor Energy (from a Manifestor)

So you’re a Manifestor. Or, in keeping with our character class analogy, a black mage. Now what? As you may know, being the second rarest Type in Human Design is far from chocolate frogs and butterbeer.

Luckily for you, my black mage adventurers, as a Manifestor myself, I’ve learned a thing or two about working with this often-volatile energy over the years.

I’m still learning, of course, but considering info on Human Design can be hard to come by as is, I figured: why not share my findings with all you other Manifestors out there?

Even if you’re not a Manifestor, don’t run! A lot of the info you’ll find here could be applicable to the “non-energy” Types (Projectors and Reflectors) as well as Manifesting-Generators and Generators. After all, overwhelm can happen to any of us, regardless of our Type.

And even if it doesn’t resonate with you personally, at the very least, it should hopefully give you a better understanding of the Manifestors in your life. We are, after all, a secretive and mysterious bunch.

The Hard-Knock Life

Considering that Generators comprise roughly seventy percent of the world, things ain’t always easy for those of us remaining thirty-percenters. We’re expected to go, go, go. To input a steady amount of energy. To tough out the nine-to-five.

And hell, even in our free time there doesn’t seem to be much solace. I don’t know about you, but my Generator friends are always marathoning games and TV shows and books and wondering what the heck’s wrong with me when I don’t do the same.

Sure, I might be pretty obsessive when I first start something, but—without fail—there comes a point where I just want to take it slow. Gradually. If I even end up finishing that game/show/book at all.

And that’s just not how I roll. It’s who I am. And chances are, if you’re also a Manifestor, you can relate.

We can play along in the Generator’s world for a little while. We can take the actions. We can pretend. But sooner or later, we’re gonna burn out. Hard. And meanwhile, if we do start saying, “hell no” to the Generator world, we’re seen as lazy.

There’s just no winning. What gives?

The Black Mage Dilemma

If you give a mage a sword and a shield and turn off their magic, chances are, they’re not gonna last very long. They may be able to defend themselves for a little while, but when it comes down to it—they just aren’t built to wield that kind of equipment.

And by forcing them into such a role, their potential is wasted. They let down themselves and quite possibly, the entire party.

And it is, quite frankly, the same for Manifestors. We’re living in a warrior-heavy world, forced to tank. When in actuality, doing so not only screws us over, but everyone else as well.

The thing is, we Manifestors do have a special brand of “magic”—we’re literally the only Type capable of “making things happen.” Of initiating. All the other Types more or less need to wait to respond to external stimuli, but not us. We’re the ones that give them something to respond to.

I like to think of it like dominos, with Manifestors being the force that knocks the dominos over, and the other Types being the dominos themselves.

In other words, we were meant to start things, but not necessarily finish them.

The Follow Through

But, if Manifestors were meant to start things, you may be thinking, just how in the hell can we ever actually get anything done?

The short answer? We don’t.

But, as I suspect that’s a pretty unsatisfying answer, allow me to share my tips for mastering this special kind of “magic” as someone who still manages to finish things despite the near-constant barrage of ideas attempting to seduce me away.

Keep an “Idea Journal”

If you’re anything like me, maybe you also find yourself possessed by a steady stream of insistent new ideas on pretty much a daily basis? Sometimes it may just be a few easily dismissible ones here and there. Other times it may verge on the full-on manic, keeping you up through the wee hours of the morning.

But the fact is, as Manifestors, we’re always getting ideas. Lots of ‘em.

Personally, my response to this used to go in one of two ways. One, I’d ignore the ideas, particularly if I was already engaged in other projects. (Only to have them basically threaten to tear away my sanity.) Or two, I’d drop projects I was already engaged in to pursue the shiny new ones. (Never to return to the old ones, naturally.)

But nowadays?

I simply keep what I call “idea journals.” Which are exactly what they sound like: journals for all my new ideas. This way, I’m able to acknowledge the ideas and get them the hell out of my head without allowing them to take control of my life. Win-win!

Depending on your work and interests, you may want to categorize your journals. For example, I keep one for blog posts, one for my fiction, one for spiritual insights, one for travel, and one for everything else. These journals can be digital or physical, whatever you prefer.

The point is, they give you a nice, safe place to store all your ideas for whenever you’re ready to take on something new.

Nap

Yeah, that’ right: nap.

I’ve found napping to be crucial as a Manifestor, especially during high school and points where I’ve worked nine-to-fives. In those days, whenever I got home I couldn’t not nap. And usually, when I’d wake up, I’d feel refreshed enough to get side hustles done or at least enjoy myself.

As Manifestors, we’re “energy” Types, sure, but we can’t exactly “generate” a constant flow of energy like the Generators do (see what I did there?). We work best in spurts. That means we can only work our magic when we have, you know, mana?

And when you spend all day at school or a job it completely drains that mana. Sleeping becomes the only way to recover. Even if you have more of a flexible, Manifestor-friendly schedule, you may still find naps beneficial, especially if you take one just prior to some physically or mentally-intensive activity.

And, of course, remember to just keep a healthy sleep schedule in general! Personally, I need about nine hours to get my mana gauge back up to one-hundred percent. I recommend experimenting until you find the amount most beneficial to you. The best way to figure this out is to simply not set an alarm and see when you naturally wake up.

Delegate

Now I know this one isn’t always possible, but if you can manage it, I promise there’s no better feeling. It’s what we were made for, after all—starting things and then allowing the other Types to run with them.

So just remember: you don’t have to do it all!

I realize this can be a tough pill to swallow for a Manifestor, however. And that’s because, when it boils down to it, we don’t actually need people like the other Types.

In theory, we can do it all. But just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.

Trust me. I’ve learned this one the hard way time and time again. And what I’m finally starting to come to terms with is that it’s okay to ask for support. If ever you’re feeling overwhelmed or overburdened, just say so. “Inform.” It is our strategy after all, and I’m sure there are plenty of non-Manifestors in your life just waiting to respond to such an invitation.

Take Daily Action

This, more than anything else, has been fundamental for me actually following through on projects. But by taking daily action, I don’t mean tanking through projects like a Generator—rather, I recommend a more Manifestor-friendly approach.

To demonstrate what I mean, I’ll use an example from my own life: writing.

Though I’d always wanted to write a novel, I didn’t for the longest time because I’d only ever write when I was feeling “inspired.” But, unfortunately, in doing so I never actually finished anything.

It wasn’t until I applied the daily action principle that I started pumping out books like a boss.

But as I’ve discovered, the way I tackle daily action as a Manifestor is fundamentally different from all the Generators I know. After all, as Generators, they’re good at outputting a steady amount of energy—in this case, hitting the same daily word count (Stephen King, I’m looking at you).

So what did I, as a Manifestor, do?

Daily Action for Manifestors

My method was simply to apply a more intuitive approach, listening to my body and personal, Manifestor needs. And now, these days – no matter what – I take some sort of action to get me closer to the goal of finishing whatever novel I’m working on. Without fail.

Just what kind of action that may be and how long I keep at it, however, depends wildly on my mood and mana reserves.

Some days, when I’m not really feeling it, I might just listen to a podcast on writing, brainstorm a plot problem, or do a single, fifteen-minute writing sprint. Other days, when I’m really feeling “manic,” I might work on my novel for 8+ hours, writing, revising, brainstorming, or all of the above. And on days where I’m totally drained or sick or whatever, I may just read something in my genre.

But the fact of the matter remains, all of those things get me closer to my ultimate goal of finishing the novel, and that’s what counts.

No mater what your pet project may be, the same applies to you, my black mage friends: make the promise to take daily action, no matter how small and insignificant an action it might seem, and—eventually—you will finish.

In Conclusion

So Manifestors, tell me: did you find any of today’s tips helpful? Do you have any of your own tips to share? And am I the only one who sometimes wishes I could just be a strong, independent Manifestor who “don’t need no mana”?

A Day in the Life

What I’m Playing: Stardew Valley – So I finally just picked this up on a whim and can admit, without shame, that it is my new obsession. You can totally tell it was made by a Harvest Moon fan! It’s got all the awesome aspects of HM without all the annoying ones! <3

What I’m Watching: The Dragon Prince, season 2 – Just started it but it’s already good!

What I’m Listening to: One More Light, Linkin Park – Like basically every Linkin Park album ever, I LOVE this one. But goddammit, does it make me sad after what happened to Chester Bennington.

What I’m Reading: Words of Radiance, Brandon Sanderson – Still chipping away on this one but almost done. I gotta say, I think I want my own spren familiar. That shit is so cool!

What I’m Writing: Stalwart Night, draft 5 – Also chipping away on this baby. So far so good! I feel like things are really coming together this draft.

What I’m Contemplating: My Saturn Return – My natal Saturn returns to the exact spot it was when I was born THIS MONTH. So excited!