This piece is the fourth of a multi-part Future of Cyclical Work essay series written by a number of different authors exploring the intersection of cycle literacy and organizational design.
To all my high achievers, performers, or working moms struggling to keep your head above water, battling irregular periods, extreme PMS symptoms or just tired of not feeling at home in your body... you're not broken. You're just trying to force a 28-day cycle into a 24-hour productivity system that wasn’t designed for you.
As a certified hormone health specialist, I've helped women across the country discover something revolutionary: when you learn how to use your cycle to your advantage, you can finally feel empowered, capable, and at home in your body.
My 4-Phase Productivity Framework shows you exactly how, and I am honored to share it with you.
Cycle Syncing and Productivity
We live in an age of social media, health tracking apps, Slack, email and text notifications. The average person spends nearly 3 hours a day on social media alone. Focus is fractured. Despite all the tools out there, productivity feels harder than ever.
For women, the pressure is even heavier: meetings, kids’ lunches, laundry, relationships, workouts. Life only works if we hold everything together at once so we push and work through stress. When our energy inevitably dips, we blame ourselves.
But the problem isn’t discipline. It’s design. We are forcing our female biology into a society created for the male body and then wonder why we burn out and feel like we’re constantly falling behind.
Terry, co-founder of Two Moon Health explains, humans also live by multiple internal clocks: the circadian rhythm - a 24-hour loop of wake, sleep, and alertness–and infradian rhythms like the 28-day hormonal cycle underpinning the menstrual cycle.
Men's hormones track on that circadian cycle, where ours vary over around 28 days. Within each phase of our cycle our hormones affect our energy to a point where women report 23.3 days of productivity loss per year due to PMS symptoms.
Understanding how hormones affect productivity is the first step to working with your body instead of against it. Cycle syncing for busy women has been popularized for combatting PMS symptoms and overall hormone health within your endocrine system.
What hasn't become mainstream yet is using cyclical productivity methods to boost efficiencies within your career and home life. This is something I work with all my private clients on within my fitness and hormone health coaching business, The Body Sync App. Our strategy, called The 4-Phase Productivity Framework, helps when:
- You are barely staying above water each day with all of your responsibilities
- You feel uninspired within your career and at home but want to look forward to your days.
- You cannot stick to a consistent workout routine for more than two weeks but instead want to feel strong, energized (like you used to) and at peace with your body.
The 4-Phase Productivity Framework
We talk about productivity constantly, but few of us agree on what it actually means. Real productivity is about doing the RIGHT things at the RIGHT time. You can be 'busy' all month and accomplish less than someone who strategically schedules their highest-leverage work during their highest-energy phases.
The idea with this framework is to throw out everything you know about traditional productivity and look at it through the lens of your biology.
Learning how to be more productive with your cycle means reimagining what productivity actually looks like.
Grounding Phase: Menstruation (Days 1-5)
Your Month Doesn't Start With the First Day of the Calendar, It's the First Day of Your Period
Biological Context
Your estrogen and progesterone are at their lowest levels, leaving your energy depleted. Allocate this time to reflect on the previous month and plan ahead for the next four weeks. This is where phase-based planning begins.
Step 1: "Cycle Start Sunday"
Treat Day 1 of Your Period as Your Planning Day Block 90 minutes for a Reflection Ritual:
- What worked/didn't work last month
- Energy Audit - track which meetings/tasks drained you vs. energized you to create boundaries
- Celebrate the wins and new priorities
- Map out deadlines for the month per phase
Step 2: Dig Deep
If you are in The Body Sync community you receive personalized journaling prompts on what you accomplished that month and how to continue strengthening this strategy. Fill out a similar chart to Steven Covey's Time Management Matrix where we outline distractions and challenges.
Step 3: Gentle Batching
Admin tasks like organizing your space, responding to non-urgent emails/calls, and prioritizing self-care (not all admin has to be boring!).
Client Example
One of my clients came to me completely overwhelmed: new mom, back at work, struggling to find any routine. The second she started scheduling proper alone time during her baby’s naps, everything shifted. We kept it simple: 30 minutes for the Reflection Ritual, 30 minutes of movement. That one hour became her anchor. She went from feeling out of control to actually feeling connected to her body again after such a massive change.
During this phase we avoid: starting new projects, making big decisions or pushing through intense workouts.
Learning Phase: Follicular (Days 6-14)
Our Energy is Coming Back and Feeling More Positive. We are not overcommitting, we are still recovering so self-care and stress management remain important.
Biological Context
Your follicular phase (days 1-14) overlaps with your period, but within this framework you start phase 2 when your period ends.
Step 1: Front Load
This is when we front load your month with high priority tasks from the planning you did in the previous phase. Many of my favorite women's productivity tools work best during this phase when your focus is sharpest. Tools to use:
- Notion/ Asana platforms: Front-load your calendar with high-priority tasks from your menstrual phase planning
Step 2: 2-Yes Rule
Say yes to TWO things that excite you that week (networking event, new workout class, creative project).
Step 3: Movement
Increase movement here to help with focus, even if it's a 10 min walk!
Client Example
A client in her 30s came to me dealing with extreme people-pleasing tendencies and irritable bowel syndrome symptoms she desperately wanted under control. She couldn't stick to our meal prep and exercise plans because she kept saying yes to everything: unimportant work tasks, last-minute plans, or anything to avoid disappointing someone.
We introduced Asana at the beginning of her cycle so she could see everything in one place: work, social, health. Suddenly, she had the full picture and could actually deprioritize what didn't matter. That visual clarity helped her get ahead of the overwhelm and finally put her health first.
Photo by Kiernan Rome
Optimize Phase: Ovulation (Days 15-17)
We focus on maximizing productivity across the menstrual cycle by scheduling your most demanding tasks during this time.
Biological Context
Estrogen peaks, increasing dopamine, verbal fluency & confidence.
Step 1: Schedule Three High-Stakes Activities
These could be:
- Important presentations at work, family meetings/events
- Difficult conversation you've been avoiding with a family member
- Networking coffee dates or dinner with a new friend
Step 2: Schedule Workouts
Utilize the extra energy with workouts like cardio or heavy weights.
Client Example
Ever have those weeks where everything goes wrong? Most of my clients struggle with this phase because it feels counterintuitive to not address something immediately. But you don't have to tackle everything in the same timeframe.
One of my clients had a difficult conversation brewing with her best friend. Instead of forcing it during her period (when she knew she'd be more emotional), she scheduled it for her ovulation phase. That gave her time to organize her thoughts and be in a better headspace for the conversation. The result was much better than if she'd forced it, sometimes the timing matters just as much as the message.
Apply Phase: Luteal (Days 18-28)
Please note: The typical length of a menstrual cycle can be between 24-38 days so if you have irregular periods, on hormonal birth control or postpartum, phase days don’t have to be followed strictly and can be more of a loose guide.
Biological Context
Progesterone rises then drops, estrogen starts to decline by the end of this phase as well - you have just enough energy to get stuff done, with a little support.
Step 1: Gentle Boundaries Protocol
Focus on boundaries created in the Menstrual phase and apply them during this week (and all month!)
- Add 15-minute buffers between all meetings
- Let kids or partner help with chores (ask for help)
- Schedule detail-oriented work and attend to your home projects, finances, and other admin tasks.
Tools to Introduce:
- Freedom App: Block distracting apps during PMS week when willpower is lower
- Headspace/ The Body Sync App: Build in 10-minute meditation breaks to manage luteal phase stress
Client Example
Every one of my clients struggles with prioritizing self-care, but focusing on boundaries and maintenance during the luteal phase is crucial, not just for alleviating PMS symptoms, but for keeping one’s productivity momentum going.
One of my clients in perimenopause was facing symptoms that come with dropping estrogen: brain fog, memory issues and trouble focusing. But the thing is, you can still cycle sync in perimenopause.
We used her luteal phase as permission to ask her husband for help without guilt, so she could prioritize sleep and nutrition (for her, that meant a high protein, fat, and fiber breakfast to stabilize blood sugar and cortisol). She was able to break through the brain fog and increase her low energy so that she felt less overwhelmed and more productive.
The 4-phase Productivity Framework allows us to see and achieve balanced productivity as a rhythm instead of a daily grind. You can finally be free from the constant pressure of trying to be "on" 24/7.
Learning to work with your cycle will allow you to feel what it’s like to work in harmony with your body - to feel capable and grounded, to feel at home in it, exactly as it is.
Experience Your Own Framework
If you want to explore this framework further, I share ongoing hormonal guidance through The Body Sync community and can receive applications to private consulting here.
While this blog discusses health topics, it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider regarding any question you might have regarding your health.
Works Cited
Schoep, Adang, Maas, De Bie, Aarts, Nieboer, BMJ Open. 2019 Jun 27, Productivity loss due to menstruation-related symptoms: a nationwide cross-sectional survey among 32 748 women
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, November 22, Menstrual cycles today: how menstrual cycles vary by age, weight, race, and ethnicity
About the Author
As a NYC yoga instructor, certified women's hormone health coach and founder of The Body Sync App, Chloe Sachs is dedicated to helping women all over the country feel more at home in their bodies by syncing movement, nutrition and stress management with their hormonal processes.