<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In April of 2025, a small UK-based startup announced that they were shifting their workweek to accommodate female employees\u2019 menstrual cycles. In a LinkedIn post<\/a>, Lumen SEO founder Aled Nelmes noted that the shift from four-day workweeks to working 32 hours per week (in any format) was, in part, a nod to \u201cMenstrual health. We’re a female dominant workforce, and there are periods during a woman’s cycle where energy and the immune system are higher and lower, flexibility allows for women to lean into and maintain high performance around their cycle.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, Nelmes noted that the 32-hour instead of four-day requirement also allowed men to work to their best advantage based on \u201cTestosterone<\/a>. Men’s cycle is daily, with many men (including myself) being highest performing and focusing best early in the morning before 9am.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cycle syncing\u2014the practice<\/a> of adjusting your workouts<\/a>, social calendar, nutrition<\/a>, and even professional commitments based on which menstrual cycle phase you\u2019re in\u2014is increasingly built into female health and wellness apps. (Of note, those recommendations will only be helpful to the extent that the app incorporates your personal fertility cycle biomarker health data<\/a> and isn\u2019t just a high-tech version of the rhythm method<\/a>. Also of note, women on hormonal birth control <\/a>will not<\/em> experience these predictable, cycle phase-specific hormonal shifts with accompanying variations in energy, cravings<\/a>, and, as some research suggests, injury risk.<\/a>) Adjusting your lifestyle when you\u2019re in your follicular vs luteal phase gets even easier when your fertility awareness app<\/a> syncs with your Apple watch, for example. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But is ease of access to our personal cycle data (with accompanying fitness or nutrition-based recommendations) leading us to give our hormones too much say over how we live our lives? <\/p>\n\n\n\n A September 2023 TIME<\/em> piece<\/a> observed that \u201ccycle-syncing programs seem to be predicated on the assumption that menstrual hormones are the most powerful <\/em>forces in determining your mood and energy at any given moment\u201d (emphasis added). But this \u2018assumption\u2019 risks ignoring \u201cthe multitude of other physiological and mental factors that play a role in how someone feels.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The article quotes University of Illinois at Chicago clinical psychiatrist Tory Eisenlohr-Moul saying, \u201cExercise [as one example of an activity impacted by cycle phase-specific hormonal shifts] is so much about the brain and your ability to make yourself do things that are sometimes physically uncomfortable.\u201d Absent a diagnosis of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) or other significant hormonal issues, Eisenlohr-Moul asserts that other factors such as work stress or hours slept the previous night are more likely to impact mood or energy than hormonal changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ironically, our hormones impact both our sleep<\/a> and<\/em> our ability to cope with stress<\/a>, so Eisenlohr-Moul might not be giving them the credence they deserve. Still, it\u2019s true that there are definitely other factors besides our hormones that impact our day-to-day health and wellbeing. So, perhaps the question we should be asking is: What might it look like to respect our hormonal milieu on any given day, without<\/em> letting these invisible chemical messengers hijack or dictate our lives? The most practical and thoughtful treatment of this topic I\u2019ve seen is in The PLAN: Manage Your Time Like a Lazy Genius<\/em>, by Kendra Adachi, aka \u201cThe Lazy Genius.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Adachi\u2019s first book, The Lazy Genius Way,<\/em> advocated being a \u201cgenius\u201d about the things that matter to you, and \u201clazy\u201d about the things that don\u2019t. This approach, Adachi argued, leads to compassionate, integrated living, avoiding the pitfalls of, on the one hand, phoning it in from the couch, and what Adachi calls Big Black Trash Bag Energy on the other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In The PLAN<\/em>, Adachi observes that 93% of time management books are written by men and for men, noting in her trademark tongue-in-cheek style, \u201cMost time-management authors and experts are men who do not have a boss, a home to run, or a menstrual cycle. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re aware, but all three are notoriously unwieldy\u201d (xiv). <\/p>\n\n\n\n In The PLAN<\/em>, Adachi observes that 93% of time management books are written by men and for men, noting in her trademark tongue-in-cheek style, \u201cMost time-management authors and experts are men who do not have a boss, a home to run, or a menstrual cycle. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re aware, but all three are notoriously unwieldy\u201d (xiv). <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Adachi acknowledges, \u201cFor women, there is an inextricable link between the organization of their time and the management of their hormones, and if we try to live detached from that link, we will feel the consequences\u201d (76). Adachi encourages women to incorporate their natural hormonal rhythms by Noticing, Preparing, Living, and Adjusting (the letters of PLAN, though not in that order, since she envisions a pyramid with \u2018Live\u2019 at the top and Prepare, Notice, Adjust as the supporting sides) in approaching each \u2018season\u2019 of the month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She writes, \u201cA woman\u2019s hormonal patterns, and therefore her energy, vary multiple times over a single month. If, as a woman, you start to notice<\/em> those patterns and adjust<\/em> your decisions based on the energy you have, you will prepare<\/em> differently and therefore live <\/em>the way you desire to live (79).\u201d Adachi correlates the various phases of the menstrual cycle with the four seasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adachi leads off with humor, writing \u201cThis is when you bleed. A delight.\u201d She continues more seriously, \u201cBut this is also when you are slower, you retreat, and you easily notice<\/strong> what\u2019s happening in and around you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n With the changes that occur in the natural world during winter in mind, she urges, \u201cAs much as it\u2019s in your control, during this phase each month, don\u2019t be overly social. Do mindless, slow tasks like paying bills, folding laundry, and filling out spreadsheets. Make comforting dump-and-stir dinners\u2026 Don\u2019t expect a lot of creativity to come out of you. It\u2019s on a break right now, and that\u2019s expected and part of your rhythm. This is your time to notice<\/strong>. You don\u2019t react or fix. Just notice<\/strong>\u201d (80-81). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next up is the follicular phase, with similarities to spring. Adachi notes, \u201cNow things start to grow, namely estrogen and the energy she brings.\u201d Increased \u201celasticity in your creativity\u201d and enhanced \u201cclarity in your ideas\u201d combine to make you \u201cexcited to prepare\u201d (81). <\/p>\n\n\n\n During this phase, Adachi suggests, \u201ctake advantage of your curiosity and clarity of thought. Write or do deep, focused work. Organize your closet, make travel plans, decide dinner for the next month, house-hunt, and create a product launch strategy.\u201d After considering what\u2019s possible to prepare<\/strong> for in your current season of life, utilize your natural abilities to do so \u201ckindly and wisely\u201d (81).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adachi shoots straight when it comes to the ovulatory phase with its similarities to summer. \u201cFrom a physiological standpoint, this is the phase where your body is trying to get pregnant. Therefore, it\u2019s the most open and attractive you\u2019ll ever be to others\u201d (81). Setting aside actual pregnancy, \u201cthis phase is when you\u2019re the most fully alive,\u201d which is why Adachi wants \u201cyou to keep an eye on this phase. It\u2019s the shortest one (some say it lasts only the two to three days when you actually ovulate), but I believe it\u2019s the one that you need to intentionally lean into.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Specifically, Adachi advises, \u201cTake advantage of being comfortable with who you are and find ways to be around people. Speak with the confidence you suddenly feel in the conference room. Invite your coworker or neighbor to lunch. Have friends over for dinner, even though you\u2019re usually terrified to do that. Schedule interviews, presentations, and parties during this phase. Live<\/strong> like it\u2019s the best summer of your life\u201d (82).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all the noticing, preparing, and living of the winter\/spring\/summer seasons or menstrual\/follicular\/ovulatory phases, the luteal phase or fall season is a perfect time to adjust<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Adachi, \u201cThis is a great time of the month to make space for tasks that are detailed and need a keen, grounded eye\u2013 tasks that need adjustment.<\/strong> Evaluate household and workplace systems and identify a small change to make the systems more effective. Clean the bathroom, edit the manuscript, make the more complicated recipe, and schedule performance reviews\u201d (82-83). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Adachi spends a whole chapter on periods and hormones. But the next chapter, aptly titled, \u201cBring Your Whole Self to the Table,\u201d highlights the role of personality, spirituality and our faith life, mental health, upbringing, and \u201cother things beyond your control. The fitful night of sleep because your partner snored, the offhand comment from the stranger at Target that you\u2019re still thinking about, or sudden tragic news\u201d (93). <\/p>\n\n\n\n As an example, Adachi encourages readers to \u201cGet to know your personality and bring the fullness of who you are to the table\u201d (90). Specifically, each one of the supporting sides of Adachi\u2019s PLAN pyramid\u2014Prepare, Adjust, Notice\u2014will come more easily to some personalities than others. And yet, Adachi maintains, every side is important for living a compassionate, integrated life rather than a robotic one, for approaching life as painting a picture rather than maneuvering puzzle pieces into place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Adachi encourages, \u201cEach person is naturally inclined to prepare, adjust, or notice, and I want you to stay connected to what you\u2019re already gifted in. Name it. Embrace it. Be confident in what you\u2019re good at. BUT don\u2019t let that come at the expense of the other two. Your practice is to learn which one of the three is most dominant and then nurture the others. Over time, you\u2019ll find yourself more present to your life\u201d (90).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our hormones play an undeniable role in our experience of what it means to be female\u2014in fact, it\u2019s why women\u2019s health researcher Dr. Sarah E. Hill has been known to say \u201cyou are your hormones.\u201d<\/a> For this reason, our hormones are worthy of respect and, if there are signs that something is \u2018off,\u2019 worthy of medical attention from a healthcare practitioner trained in restorative reproductive medicine<\/a>. But, as exemplified in The PLAN<\/em>, they are far from the only\u2014or even the most<\/em>\u2013important factor in our energy and mood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that we have agency as women to be informed by our hormones, but not at their mercy. They are but one instrument contributing richness (and sometimes surprise and drama) in the symphony of our lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that we have agency as women to be informed by our hormones, but not at their mercy. They are but one instrument contributing richness (and sometimes surprise and drama) in the symphony of our lives. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Certainly, we can take our cycle phases into account when it comes to how we eat, exercise, socialize, and work, to the extent that our phase-specific lifestyle changes serve us<\/em>. And to the degree that any given cycle syncing recommendation doesn\u2019t serve us, or any area of our life doesn\u2019t yield to the fact that we\u2019re on our period, we can instead Notice,<\/em> Prepare<\/em>, Live<\/em>, and Adjust<\/em> based on what matters most in that season. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u041b\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u0433\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0439\" \u043f\u0440\u0435\u0434\u043b\u0430\u0433\u0430\u0435\u0442 \u041f\u041b\u0410\u041d \u0440\u0430\u0431\u043e\u0442\u044b \u0441 \u0433\u043e\u0440\u043c\u043e\u043d\u0430\u043c\u0438, \u0430 \u043d\u0435 \u0434\u043b\u044f \u043d\u0438\u0445","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":24325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5177],"tags":[6495,5591],"class_list":{"0":"post-24322","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-know-your-body","8":"tag-book-review","9":"tag-cycle-syncing","10":"cs-entry","11":"cs-video-wrap"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCycle syncing acknowledges predictable hormonal shifts during each cycle phase<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We are not at the mercy of our hormones<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What \u201cThe Lazy Genius\u201d has to say about working with our hormones<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The PLAN<\/em>: Acknowledging the role our hormones play in our energy levels<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Menstrual phase\/Notice<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Follicular phase\/Prepare<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ovulatory phase\/Live<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Luteal phase\/Adjust<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Giving hormones their due, without making them the star of the show <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The bottom line<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n