I must admit: I’m rather steeped in the world of “woo.”

I know my “big three” (I had my first chart reading at age 10 and my 5th grade AIM screen name may or may not have been aquariusscb); I was well-aware of what my Saturn return was when I was going through it (I’ve written about Saturn Returns with Caggie Dunlop, and reviewed her book last year); I’ve been known to surreptitiously place my crystals by the window in advance of a full moon (don’t really believe in this one, but I’m nothing if not superstitious) and if I see a post on manifesting come across my explore page, I’m going to throw it a like.

So, it’s hardly surprising that I know my human design type. In fact, in the past two years, I’ve written two articles about human design and even attended a workshop hosted by my friend and mentor Carolyn Bothwell, courtesy of her amazing Freelance Founders network. BUT: human design hasn’t exactly hit the mainstream yet. And some claim understanding your type is key to optimizing your life.

That’s where our book of the week, the aptly named “Human Design: the revolutionary system that shows you who you came here to be” comes in. Written by Jenna Zoe, a big name in the Human Design field, it’s an extremely simple and user-friendly guide to the concept and it’s practical methods of application.

Human Design is rooted in a mix of new age philosophies (it wasn’t even invented until the late eighties), but to discover your type, all you need is your birthdate/time/place (and if you’re still reading at this point, you likely already know your “big three,” which means you have this information readily available). Using that information, you’ll fall into one of the following types: generator, manifesting generator, manifestor, projector, or reflector.

The idea behind the concept is that each type is put on earth to do something different; and, as a result, they all work in different ways. Zoe’s book is a simple guide to your human design chart and how to use to it to excel (her belief, not mine!) in the real world.

As with all of these concepts, it’s not something I’d ever take at face value, but it can guide you towards some interesting insights. For example, I’m a projector, which is the human design type that needs the most “rest.” Anyone who knows me would probably agree that, at face value, I don’t require much rest (I’ve only slept past 9am ~5 times in my entire life and I can’t sit still), but, when I actually drill down, I realize that it may be more accurate than I’m willing to admit (I go to bed early; my friends have accepted the fact that I’ll say no to going out after dinner more often than not; and I can sit for four hours straight with a book). Beyond that, my human design “strategy” is to “wait for the invitation,” which means instead of aggressively pitching and promoting yourself, you’re meant to wait for opportunities to fall into your lap. Sounds annoying (especially for a writer), and it is, but when I reflected on it, I realized that every job I’ve ever gotten has come to me, and the only common thread for the many I’ve been rejected for is that I’ve sought them proactively.

Obviously, this could all be coincidence. But, to me, especially at the start of the year, it never hurts to play around with little lifestyle tweaks to see if they make a measurable (or even minute) difference. At the very least, mulling over your chart is a fun way to pass 15 minutes.