The Magic of Aligning Productivity with Cycle Phases ✨
Learning how the 4 district phases of my menstrual cycle impact my mood, energy, and focus transformed my productivity. Here's how to do it! + Productivity Download
Have you ever spent an afternoon staring at a blank screen, unable to muster up the creative energy to start writing? Or beat yourself up for not being able to focus? Or felt guilty for abandoning a project after a week of being super excited about it?
If you have a menstrual cycle, you might not be creatively blocked, unfocused, or a procrastinator who never finishes projects. You might just be working out of alignment with your hormones!
Learning about the four distinct phases of my menstrual cycle and understanding what was going on in my body and with my hormones made a massive difference in my productivity. It helped me understand what I’m uniquely GOOD at during each phase and has helped me shift my workload and schedule to align better with my cycle. It has eliminated so much frustration and overwhelm in my life and has helped me make steady, sustainable progress on big projects.
In this post, I’ll walk you through it and provide you with a really helpful cheat sheet that can help you begin aligning your productivity with your cycle phases.
Cycle Crash Course
If you need a quick crash course in the menstrual cycle, here it is: the first day of your cycle is the day your period starts (not spotting, the first day of full bleeding) and progresses into each phase from there. Most menstruating people have a cycle that is around 28-31 days, and our hormones tend to change in four distinct phases: Menstrual, Follicular, Ovulatory, and Luteal. Generally, each phase will last 5-10 days. However, each phase can be unique, and tracking is the only way to determine how your body operates. So, in a nutshell: the day you start bleeding is day 1, then day 2, day 3, and so on.
It’s also important to understand that hormonal birth control can alter the experience of your cycle and its phases. The shifts between phases are typically more prominent for people experiencing a natural cycle, without hormonal birth control or other hormone treatments. However, even people who have experienced peri-menopause, menopause, or have a cycle induced by hormone treatments or birth control can benefit from cycle syncing.
I’ll also say that this isn’t for everyone. If understanding this doesn’t serve you or meet your needs, that’s understandable! Take what’s helpful, leave the rest.
Menstrual Phase (usually days 1-5)
🌟 Superpower - Reflective and introspective.
♻ What’s happening in this phase – Estrogen levels rise slightly, and progesterone levels dip. The uterine lining begins to shed. Can leave you feeling low on energy but reflective. Actively menstruating (bleeding).
☑ What that means for productivity – This is a good time for detail-oriented solo tasks like brainstorming, goal-setting, research, and reviewing data.
👩🏻💻 What I work on - I love using this time for planning and brainstorming! This is often when I’ll work in coffee shops with just a notebook and do a lot of reflecting on business plans, brainstorming post topics, looking at analytics, updating goals, or mapping out new programs. This is also when I do a deep dive into all the projects I’m currently working on and assess where each one is at and what the next step is.
Follicular Phase (usually days 6-10)
🌟 Superpower - Energetic and motivated.
♻ What’s happening in this phase – The hypothalamus releases FSH. Estrogen and progesterone levels rise. Energy and motivation rise along with it. Your body is preparing for ovulation (aka releasing an egg).
☑ What that means for productivity – The increase in estrogen can increase your energy and motivation…making this is your week to get sh*t done. Take projects to the next step and do difficult or creative work.
👩🏻💻 What I work on - I love using this time for “deep work” or things that require focus and effort. I’ll review some of the planning and brainstorming I did last week (in my menstrual phase) and decide what to move forward with research, writing, etc. Often, these are projects I need to set down when I move into the Luteal Phase (I used to see this as “losing momentum or interest”), but the next month I am eager to pick them back up and continue moving these projects forward.
Ovulatory (usually days 11-18)
🌟 Superpower - Confident and persuasive.
♻ What’s happening in this phase – Estrogen and testosterone levels peak in this phase, making you feel very social and confident. Your body ovulates and releases an egg.
☑ What that means for productivity – This is when you want to take action -- do the presentation, book the meeting, have the interview, record the videos! You feel more confident, and your communication skills might be heightened.
👩🏻💻 What I work on - I love using this time to launch or promote new products or programs, host live events such as webinars or office hours, do podcast interviews, network, or record video content for YouTube, Instagram Story, etc.
A good tip – During this phase of your cycle, you might also find yourself feeling more maternal. You might enjoy channeling that energy into babysitting for friends, volunteering with a kid or animal organization, or arranging work-related tasks that involve mentorship. This can also be when you get a wave of “baby fever.” It can help to be aware of where you are in your cycle when that urge occurs and avoid deciding to start (or grow) your family due to hormones.
Luteal (usually days 19-28+)
🌟 Superpower - Observant and sensitive.
♻ What’s happening in this phase – If you are not pregnant, your progesterone will rapidly decrease, making you feel sluggish and possibly depressed. Your body prepares to shed the uterine lining.
☑ What that means for productivity – Your energy is low but ideal for simple, repetitive, low-energy tasks such as journaling or proofreading.
👩🏻💻 What I work on - I love using this time to plan and schedule content, reorganize computer files, make sure my inbox is in shape, update software, or even rearrange or deep clean my workspace. Whenever possible, I avoid product launches or new endeavors during this phase, as my hormones can make me think they are failing even if they aren’t!
A good tip - The luteal phase can also be a time when you feel the least confident. Struggling with body image, mood swings, or even feeling depressed is not unusual. People with ADHD who menstruate can also have increased symptoms during the luteal phase. Knowing that these “lows” are driven by hormones and will end can be really helpful.
A Helpful Tip
I truly believe that knowledge is power, and that understanding the details of each cycle phase can be incredibly helpful. However, life is busy and we all have different availability and bandwidth. So, if “cycle syncing” seems overwhelming to you, try this simple reminder “First two weeks: go, go, go! Last two weeks: slow, slow, slow!”
That short slogan simplifies and summarizes what cycle syncing is ultimately about. Basically, on day 1 of your period (the day you begin bleeding) you can count forward 14 days and assume your energy will be pretty good. This is your “go, go, go!” time. The the last 14 days of your cycle, when hormones drop, can be a low energy phase, or time for “Slow, slow, slow!”.
Taking Action
You might feel like learning all this was helpful, but how the heck do you actually put it into practice? Especially if you work in a job that doesn’t offer you full control over your schedule.
Keep in mind that these changes don’t need to be drastic or all-encompassing. Even shifting your workload or schedule 5-10% toward alignment can have a huge impact on how you feel overall. If you want to talk to your supervisor about aligning work with your cycle, consider talking to other co-workers first and approaching the topic as a group. If you have suggestions for how this could align as a team, bring them to the table.
Perhaps it’s not possible to adjust your 9-5 to align with your schedule at all, but being aware of these changes in your mood and productivity might help you shift the work you do at home, your hobbies, or how you spend your free time. Sometimes small shifts can have a huge impact on how we feel, and it might also just help you navigate or understand frustration and overwhelm when things aren’t going your way!
Your Unique Cycle
As I mentioned in the intro, everyone’s cycle is different. Not only can each phase vary in length or intensity, but your mood or energy level might be different from what is typical.
A great exercise I like to use for understanding your own cycle goes like this:
On day #1 of your cycle (the day you begin bleeding), open a up a Doc or Spreadsheet and number rows 1-28.
Every day (or few days), assess how you’re feeling. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and ask yourself what you’d enjoy working on right now if you could choose anything. What would be the ideal tasks and situation? i.e. Journaling in a coffee shop with a lavender latte OR putting on an instrumental playlist with headphones and doing focused research for a couple hours.
Stop this journaling exercise when you land back on day #1 of your cycle (the day you begin bleeding again).
Reflect back on the entries and look for patterns. When did you seem focused? Creative? Energetic? Confident?
This exercise can be particularly helpful for people who have irregular cycles, are going through perimenopause or menopause, are settling into post-menopause life, or are taking Hormone Replacement Therapy. Tracking your cycle in this way can help you identify what your unique phases look like.
Get the Cheat Sheet
Paying Subscribers can click below to download my PDF guide for Aligning Productivity with Cycle Phases. It summarizes the information in this post so that you have it in one place and can easily reference it throughout the month. It includes a copy that you can fill out yourself to make note of the types of work you want to try focusing on in each phase. It can also be helpful to reference if you feel frustrated or unfocused — to perhaps see what’s going on hormonally and if it might be impacting your work.
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