How to Make a Mandala Chart, Step by Step

Updated October 21, 2026

A Mandala Chart takes about an hour to fill in the first time. Here is how to do it well – from choosing the goal to the weekly habit that makes the chart actually work.

You can follow along in the online editor (free, no sign-up) or on a printed blank template. If you are new to the method, start with what a Mandala Chart is.

Step 1: Choose one specific goal

Everything in the chart depends on the center cell, so spend the most time here. A good goal is specific, measurable and has a deadline:

Pick a goal that is a stretch but realistic within 6–12 months. If you have several big goals, make one chart per goal rather than squeezing them into one.

Step 2: Find eight themes

Themes are the areas that decide whether you reach the goal. Ask yourself: what would someone who has already reached this goal have had to get right? Write down every answer you can think of, then group them into eight.

A few patterns help:

• Skills – what you need to be able to do (speed, grammar, sales).
• Habits – what you need to do regularly (training plan, study habits, budget).
• Body and energy – sleep, food, health, stress.
• Environment – your home, tools, schedule, distractions.
• People – support, teachers, customers, your boss.
• Mindset – motivation, setbacks, confidence.

Themes shouldn’t overlap. If two themes would end up with the same actions, merge them and find a new one. It’s fine if one or two themes seem indirect – Shohei Ohtani famously had “Luck” and “Character” on his baseball chart.

Step 3: Write eight actions for each theme

This is where the chart becomes useful. Each action should be something you can do, schedule or repeat – not a wish. A simple test: could you tick it off, or count how often you did it this week?

Mix one-off tasks (“Register for the race”, “Open a savings account”) with habits (“Run 4 times a week”). The one-off tasks give quick wins; the habits do the real work. Stuck on a theme? Look at how others did it in the template examples.

Step 4: Check the whole chart

Before you call it done, read through the full grid and ask:

• If I did most of these 64 things, would I very likely reach the goal?
• Is anything important missing? Replace the weakest theme if so.
• Are any actions so big that they need their own chart? (That’s fine – some people make a second chart for one theme.)
• Is every action concrete enough that I know what to do tomorrow?

Step 5: Use it every week

A chart you never look at again is just a nice drawing. To make it work:

1. Pick a few actions to start. Nobody starts 64 new things at once. Choose one or two per theme, or one theme per week.
2. Put it where you see it – printed on the wall, or as your phone background.
3. Review it weekly. Ten minutes on Sunday: which actions did you do, which themes did you neglect, what will you focus on next week?
4. Update it. When an action has become a habit, keep it; when one turns out to be useless, replace it. The chart is a living plan.

Common mistakes

• A goal that is really eight goals. “Have a better life” can’t be broken down usefully.
• Themes as actions. “Go running” is an action; “Endurance” is a theme.
• Filler to fill the boxes. A blank cell is better than “Stay positive” written for the third time.
• Copying someone else’s chart unchanged. Templates are a starting point – change them to fit your life.
• Making it once and forgetting it. The weekly review is where the results come from.

Start now

Open the Mandala Chart editor and begin with the center cell. It works on your phone too, one block at a time. Or start from an example: learning a language, saving money, getting promoted or starting a business.