Have you ever had moments in the month where you feel so fired up, ready to take on the day and like you finally have your shit together?
Only 2 weeks later you feel so tired, you’re a mess and the only thing that sounds good to you is chocolate and napping?
Well, it turns out it’s totally normal and happens to most women. Our productivity, efficiency and energy is more closely tied to our monthly cycle than we realize.
Ok great, so why is this important?
Well, once you become aware that your menstrual cycle might be affecting your work, relationships as well as your physical and mental health, you can hack it! It’s called cycle syncing and essentially it’s syncing up projects, specific workouts, or meetings with times in the month where you will be the most efficient at those tasks.
I honestly hadn’t heard of cycle syncing until just recently and it makes so much sense!
So if one week you are crushing it at the gym, at work or at home, and then the next week you feel like nothing is going right- don’t stress too much over it. Your hormones may be influencing your productivity and self-esteem more than you give them credit for.
It’s no surprise that the work day was built around the male’s hormonal cycle – one that resets every 24 hours. However, that’s not how a women’s body was designed to work best. Our hormones don’t “reset” every 24 hours so certain tasks are better suited for certain times of the month when the right hormones can help us rather than hinder us.
“Cycle syncing means you can put yourself forward for certain things that will make you feel happy and fulfilled at the points that work for your cycle, rather than feeling inhibited or like you’re failing,”
How to Make Your Menstrual Cycle Work for You
There’s a really interesting article about it here where you can read more about cycle syncing. I’ve included a chart below from the article that sums it up quite nicely.
Another article I found has a really great “cheat sheet” that breaks down what to work on when. I’ve included a brief summary below from the article – How Women Can Use Monthly Periods as Productivity Tool:
Phase 1: Follicular Phase (6- 14 days long) – Creative Superstar
Here you have the most access to creative energy that you will the entire month. This is a good time to start new projects at work. Plan the month ahead do some project management. Break out the excel document and plan. Brainstorm with people in meetings. Dream big. Mastermind how you will take over the world.
Phase 2: Ovulatory Phase (15 – 17 days) – The great communicator
Communication and collaboration skills are at the highest all month. The brain chemistry you have during this phase heightens your verbal skills. This is a great time to have important conversations. Maybe ask for that raise, plan to negotiate deals, work with your vendors.
Phase 3: Luteal Phase (18-28 days) – Power
The luteal phase is the Power phase for getting things done. You are most task oriented and feel the most pleasure at completing projects during this phase. Wrap up projects, bring things to completion, do administrative type tasks, your accounting, submit your monthly reports, your expense reports.
Phase 4: Menstruation Phase (1-5 days long) – Intuition and Reflection
Course correct, evaluate, listen to that gut feeling. Reflect on the past month. How was your performance? How are you getting along with your colleagues? How are you thinking and feeling about your business as a whole? What are the big changes you need to make to stay happy and successful in your job and career?
Now that you’ve been equipped with this knowledge, use the information to your advantage by tracking your cycle and scheduling in certain tasks or activities when you know it will be best for you.
Or, if that seems like a headache (and like one more thing you should be doing) then simply use it to better understand why you may be feeling the way you are and to give yourself a little more grace.
This article makes a really great point “Girls are taught to view their bodies as unending projects to work on whereas boys are taught to view their bodies as tools to master their environment.” – Gloria Steinem, founder of Ms. Magazine and women issues expert
We fight with our bodies way too much and it’s time we started embracing them. Let’s stop beating ourselves up. Let’s listen to our bodies, honour them and work with them instead.
The women’s body is truly fascinating if we can let it be.
With this knowledge in hand, let’s make sure we set ourselves, and the future generation of women, up for success.
Until next time,
xoxo
