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 - Observant and sensitive.

♻ 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.