Introduction to Cycle Tracking
Do you ever have days when you thought you’d be ready to write, film an IG Live, or host a coaching call, and then your energy just plummets?
Or perhaps you were expecting a light week, but you get the energy to create 20 social posts, rebrand your biz, and suddenly you’ve gotten more done in a day than you did all last week?
If this is you, you’re not alone! These patterns happen to everyone, including myself.
And if you’re a person who has a cycle, these energy swings are highly impacted by four different phases; each requiring different environments, care, and boundaries.
But here’s the good news: cycle management is an easily attainable, habitual approach to sync your cycle to your work and lifestyle. I started cycle tracking about a year ago, and now I’ll never go back.
Today, I break down the four phases of your cycle, so you can schedule and balance your workload around each phase’s energy level and needs.
What Is Cycle Management?
Cycle Management is the act of creating a habit to sync your cycle to your work and lifestyle. Women can use their cycle’s phases in order to track and anticipate how their energy will peak and valley throughout the month, making it a fun way to schedule and show up in both areas of your life.
Tracking your cycle encourages you to nurture your body with certain foods and exercise during each phase, which could mean experiencing less body notifications (PMS) before your bleed.
At work, understanding your cycle can guide how you set timelines and boundaries with your team, clients and vendors by honoring your energy’s flow. With this same knowledge, you can schedule boundaries based around your work commitments like scheduling major meetings during the phases where you have the most energy to slowing down to work on projects that need your utmost quality attention during your low-energy phases. It’s a great way to prevent burnout!
The Phases
Menstrual Phase (Inner Winter)
When your bleed starts, hermit mode is activated. You will want to create a cozy environment for yourself. The three words to remember during this phase are rest, reflect and receive.
During this time, you’re feeling your most spiritual. You’re receiving clarity, which means letting go of things that are no longer serving you- personally and at work. Put ideas down to paper and rest on them before putting them into action in your next cycle phase.
Make sure to go easy on your body with yoga and walks instead of major cardio or weight lifting. Don’t forget to eat those iron-rich foods and drink your tea to keep your body nourished!
Follicular Phase (Inner Spring)
This phase begins when your bleed is officially over. You’ll most likely be channeling energy that resembles a squirrel: high energy, easily distracted, scattered, and overwhelmed with lots of chaotic energy. The reason for this chaotic energy is because your body is transitioning between the menstrual and ovulation phases. The key to remember though is that you do have energy in this phase, so initiate those projects and work longer! Just make sure to give your mind a few breaks along the way.
Ovulation Phase (Inner Summer)
This is peak Queen energy! Since your energy is attracting others (in the hopes to make a baby), use it to go out to events, network, show up live- anything and everything where your charm is needed. Use this time to prepare for your Luteal phase as well. The day you ovulate, you may notice your energy shift immediately into Luteal vibes which means more rest, and less work!
Luteal Phase (Inner Fall + Winter)
This is the longest phase in your cycle. This is when you want to start slowing down, creating time and space for less work and showing up for the few, not the many. Now is the time to start going inward.
For the first week, aka your Inner Fall, you’ll start to get your cozy, nesting vibes. The second week, aka the start of your Inner Winter, is when your hermit mode starts activating. You’ll want to stay home or do much lower-key hangouts. Be intentionally productive on the major priorities you want to get done while honoring your body with rest.
This is a good time to edit, organize and problem-solve. It also happens to be when your bullsh*t meter is most accurate. During these two weeks, you’ll start to feel your body notifications as well- frustration, cravings, anxiety, mood swings, impatience, etc.
So what can you do to start tracking your cycle and manage it? For starters, write down how you’re feeling each day and the color/thickness/texture of your period including cervical mucus. Add it to your notes app, journal, or a cycle tracking app. As you track it, you’ll start to see patterns in your energy levels that will likely line up with the phases above.
Now that you know the basics of cycle tracking, stay tuned for upcoming services geared toward balancing your cycle with your work and personal life. Or to learn more, check out our recent blog The Magic of Cycle Tracking over on our sister brand Remotely Balanced!
Can’t wait to see you try it,
