We often talk about the need to understand your mindset and work with your brain, rather than against it.
But one area that we often overlook is our bodies and the chemical cycles within. Both men and women experience hormonal cycles, and understanding these better can provide many clues as to how to work more effectively and to help your body help you.
The male cycle happens daily and is relatively simple, but the female cycle is much more complex and lasts on average 28 days.
Understanding more about these hormones, and their effects, can give you insights into the best times to push yourself creatively, and when you should back off and give yourself a break.
Of course, we are not medical experts here at Freelance Success, and everybody is different, so don’t take anything we say here too literally.
But this overview will hopefully help you to start you thinking about how your body can affect you – and how you can work more productively and in sync with it.
We talk mainly about the female cycle here and what monthly cycle means if we view it from a perspective of a productivity tool. But the intention of this article is to be useful for all sexes. The men might also find it helpful to understand a little more about what their partners and workmates are experiencing on a monthly basis, and how their productivity is influenced by their monthly cycle.
The Male Hormonal Cycle
Everyone knows that women go through a monthly cycle which lasts, on average, 28 days.
But men also have a hormonal cycle – which lasts for 24 hours.
Like women, men also produce estrogen and progesterone – but in much smaller amounts, which is why their 24-hour cycle is mostly centred around levels of testosterone and has the following phases:
Phase I – Testosterone at its highest
This is the time of the day when testosterone is at its peak.
This tends to make men feel energetic and ready to tackle the day. They will tend to be more focused, task-oriented and confident.
This is usually the best time of the day for men to attack their most challenging tasks and complex projects.
Phase II – Testosterone in the middle of the cycle
Testosterone begins to drop slowly, which can make men more communicative and sociable.
That’s why this is the perfect time to have meetings, pitch clients, brainstorm with the team, and network.
Phase III – Testosterone dips to its lowest
As testosterone hits the bottom of the cycle, this is the time for relaxing, unwinding and doing activities that are aligned with low-level energy.
The Female Hormonal Cycle
To understand how to work with the hormonal cycle better, you first need to know what is actually happening in the body, and how the different hormones interact with each other.
The female hormonal cycle has four phases, each related to specific hormonal influences:
- Follicular phase
- Ovulation phase
- Luteal phase
- Menstruation phase
Note: even though we are taught that menstruation marks the first day of the cycle, it is widely believed today that this idea is outdated. The majority of studies these days use the follicular phase, which are the days after bleeding ends, as the start of a new cycle.
What hormones are important for female cycle?
While the dominant hormone in a man’s cycle is testosterone, there are several hormones that play important roles in a woman’s cycle, and change levels during different phases.
Estrogen – the “superstar” of the cycle, it participates in the ovulation and is responsible for thickening the uterine lining in anticipation of a pregnancy
Progesterone – it’s main job is to control and maintain the buildup of the uterine lining in anticipation of a pregnancy, which is why the levels of this hormone start growing around ovulation. If pregnancy hasn’t happened, levels of progesterone starts to fall which eventually causes uterine lining to shed.
Testosterone – present in much lower levels than in men, it rises slightly during and immediately after ovulation, enough to give a sexual drive boost.
While these are the three most-talked hormones of the cycle, there are others that deserve attention and are equally crucial for keeping hormonal balance:
Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) – this hormone stimulates ovarian follicles to mature. If this hormone is out of balance, it can lead to fertility issues.
Luteinizing hormone (LH) – triggers the release of an egg from an ovarian follicle. Abnormal levels of this hormone can cause fertility issues and PCOS.
Insulin – this hormone is responsible for putting the glucose into our body’s cells that we use for energy and keeping our blood sugar levels in balance. When levels of insulin are out of balance, it puts blood sugar levels out of balance – which for women can lead to menstrual irregularities.
Cortisol – the primary stress hormone, high levels of cortisol can disrupt ovulation, decrease progesterone levels and cause fertility problems.
To keep our hormonal cycle in balance, all of the hormones above have to be in balance.
Monthly Cycle as a Productivity Tool
The phases men go through daily, women go through during a monthly cycle of (on average) 28 days.
This is a crucial difference – and means that women tend to have more protracted creative waves and dips. We will have days when we are communicative and at our best to do social activities and interactions, days when we are most focused and task-oriented and days that we should leave for activities that align with our lower levels of energy. So, when you understand in which phase you are, you can actually start using your monthly cycle as a productivity tool!
Alisa Vitti, author and creator of the Cycle Syncing Method, discusses in her book In the Flo what the different phases mean in terms of productivity – and how we can use them as a productivity tool.
Alisa uses the POWR acronym: Prepare, Open up, Work and Rest as an easy way for us to memorise what are we at our best in each phase.
The Follicular Phase – PREPARE
This phase starts right after the bleeding days are over – and is a fresh start in every way. It lasts for 7-10 days and the hormones are in a quiet phase, with estrogen starting to slowly increase.
In terms of productivity, this is the time when you are riding creative waves. You are open and confident to start new things, and the creative juices are really flowing.
Write down any idea that comes to your mind during this phase – whether if it sounds stupid or great – you will have the phase later when you will be in the right place to evaluate it.
But at this time, don’t let any ideas escape. You have most access to creativity during this period – so think long term, and do plenty of brainstorming sessions.
It’s a great time for planning and project management. If you can choose when to start new projects, this phase is a perfect time.
The Ovulatory Phase – OPEN UP
Next comes ovulation and this is the time to shift towards social activities.
Your verbal skills, thanks to your hormones, are at their highest now, so this can be a great time to network, pitch to clients, have sales calls and book back-to-back meetings.
The Luteal Phase – WORK
This phase is the longest and it puts your body in a mode for getting things done, wrapping up projects and tidying up loose ends.
This is the time when you are happy to work alone with a big cup of coffee and some background music to keep your focus sharp.
You are most task-oriented and able to get-things-done.
Your attention to detail is at its highest, so use it to do admin tasks, accounting, reports, or anything that you’d find yourself drifting away in, for example, the follicular phase, when you are more creatively orientated.
After this phase, you enter the resting phase – so use this time of your monthly cycle and productivity boost to push yourself to finish everything urgent and important before so you can take things easier in the next phase.
The Menstrual Phase – REST
Your energy, focus and productivity will be at their lowest ebb during this phase.
In the book, Vitti says this is because our right and left hemispheres are in strong contact – giving access to both intuitive and analytical reasoning.
In simpler terms, it’s a good time to listen to your gut feeling. Your mind is at your disposal to evaluate it from a reasonable perspective.
Use this time to reflect on the previous week, evaluate your performance, course correct, think about what tweaks you need to make in order to stay in the track of being happy and successful in your career.
Monthly Cycle as a Productivity Tool in real life
While everything above sounds great, in reality, it’s easier said than done – simply because our bodies are all different.
And of course, whether you are your own boss or you are working for somebody, you can’t schedule all of your tasks around your body’s cycle – you can’t move a networking event to the next week, or change immovable deadlines like your tax return, for example.
But, the point is to start recognising your strengths in each phase and to try to make the most of them. And you do have control to schedule brainstorming sessions, or book meetings for times when you’re likely to be in the best place for them.
When you feel in the zone, make the most of it, because you will have days when your body won’t be able to give you that much energy to work with.
And it’s okay to give yourself some slack at times too. Don’t feel bad about it – you will have days when you will be super productive and make up for it.
During the menstrual phase, go easy on yourself. If you need a day off – and you can take it – don’t think twice about it.
You will be much more productive if you give yourself a break and then attack the work rested than if you are pushing yourself too hard when your body is against that.
Try to listen to your body more and try to work with it, not against it – help your body help you.
Useful resources
Nowadays, there are many useful apps, books, articles that can help you understand your cycle better and use it to your advantage. Here are some of my favourites that I highly recommend checking out:
Books
I highly recommend reading both Woman Code and In The Flo by Alisa Vitti, Women’s Hormonal Health Specialist and Coach.
Woman Code will teach you everything you need to know about your hormones in an easy to understand way. It will also show you how to rebalance hormones and maintain the balance through natural ways, like healthy food and lifestyle changes.
Over-the-counter pills and chemicals are not an option here. Alisa herself has suffered from conditions like PCOS, so everything she preaches, she’s been practising.
Grab your copy of Woman Code here.
Once you understand how your body works, In The Flo will teach you how you can use your natural, monthly cycle to optimise every aspect of your life – time, work, relationships.
If you like this article, then you will definitely find this book interesting and useful.
Grab the copy of In The Flo Here.
Apps
To be able to sync in with your cycle, you need to track it properly, including all symptoms that you are experiencing at certain days. All that will help you understand through what phase your body is going through and what that means for your wellbeing and to-do list.
Flo is my absolute favourite app and I don’t think I will ever make a switch from it!
You can track as many symptoms as you’d like, and it’s not just focussed on your cycle but your entire wellbeing. For example, I have a regular reminder to drink more water, get away from the laptop and stretch my legs. You can set up reminders that would be helpful to you, but of course, this is all optional.
Another thing I really like about this app are resources and daily tips that I get based on the symptoms that I’m experiencing. You have access to anonymous forum as well, so you can also get a plenty of tips and advice there.
The paid plan of the app might seem pricey, but it’s definitely worth it for what you receive. You can try it for free for 30 days.
Or, you can use free plan – though you will have limited access to some resources, it’s still doing the job.
Other
Floliving Blog is Alisa Vitti’s corner of the internet where you will find plenty of useful tips and resources to help you keep your hormones in balance.
From food tips, to self-care and menstrual symptoms, you will find a lot of your questions asked. If you have read her books, then you will definitely want to visit this blog often!
MindBodyGreen has plenty of amazing articles about wellbeing, mindfulness, and health.
Instead of checking your Social Media in the morning, enjoy a cup of tea with an article from this blog – it’s a much nicer way to start your day, not to mention it can help you become a healthier version of yourself!
I honestly hope this article will help you understand your body, and how monthly cycle can actually boost your overall productivity.
As someone who has been struggling with PCOS and hormonal disbalances that were affecting every aspect of my life, I am recommending only resources that I have been personally using that have helped me make my body work for me, not against me.
If you have any question, please let me know in the comments and I will do my best to help you out.
By Maja Nenadov Webster
