The 4 Phases of Finance and Flow

Do you feel like some weeks you are super productive and others you're unable to focus?

Do you beat yourself up for not being able to get stuff done?

Do you wish you could have more balance so you’re not constantly on the go?

Have you ever thought that this could be connected to your menstrual cycle?? As a woman who bleeds, I know now that my cycle affects my energy and productivity levels at different times of the month. This was a revelation when I first learnt about it and ever since I’ve been on a journey to sync and plan my business and finances according to my already in-built flow. Understanding how my cycle affects me day in and out, month in and out has started to become a real priority in achieving the best results and living my best life.

We want to feel able to give yourself permission to have a day off and not be so hard on ourselves when we’re not as productive as we may have been last week. Too often, we feel guilt or shame when we can’t produce the same results one week that we produced the week before. We have these linear expectations of ourselves and want to achieve up to a certain level every single day. So let’s redefine what it means to be productive, as it relates to your individual menstrual cycle.

I want to help you attract better and bigger opportunities, express creativity and live an empowered life, by giving you the structure to understand WHY you are feeling a certain way on different weeks and how you can make the most out of your life because of it.

It’s here where you’ll find and feel your power and ultimately reach your potential. It sounds woo-woo but there is science to it and it’s based on the varying levels of hormones in our bodies.

I want to show you how to complete your tasks more effectively, to ultimately prevent burn out, prevent stress and do the most with your energy when you have it and when you don't. If you want to keep your business ship sailing, make sure your own life boat is buoyant and moving with the waves rather than against them!

So what does it mean to ‘Live With Your Flow’?

Living your life according to your flow - to your menstrual cycle - is about making decisions about your life based on when your body is most capable of handling those decisions.

For those of us with periods and/or ovulation, we have a menstrual cycle which on average is about 28 days, hence why you hear the term “that time of the month” when talking about our periods.

And in that month, our bodies go through 4 distinct phases where our hormones are operating at different levels, causing us to be different in each phase when it comes to our physical, emotional, and mental health.

Living with your flow is about knowing what's happening to you during each of those phases and adjusting your life so that you can operate in this world at a pace that won’t burn you out and will make you more productive.

What are these hormonal changes?

We talk a lot about our periods and many of us think that that one week where we bleed, is the only time when our bodies are going through a hormonal change. And then the rest of the month we are “normal”. 

That is not how it actually plays out for us. Here is what happens during our cycle:

Menstruation (Days 1-6) - hormone levels decline quickly to their lowest concentrations, which triggers the shedding of your uterine lining. Aka your bleed! Lowest energy

Follicular (Days 7-14) - Our eggs are stored in follicles in our ovaries. At the start, all of our hormone levels are still quite low, but one particular Follicle stimulating hormone is released, causing your eggs in your ovaries to mature and get ready for ovulation. This rise in the FSH causes an effect on our brain to be more open to new things, creativity, new beginnings. Energy increasing

Ovulation (Days 15-19) - The rise in the hormones last week, causes one of those follicles in our ovaries to burst open and release an egg. And then estrogen rises and rises, testosterone rises and rises, and your body wants this egg to meet its match and conceive so this is where the hormones cause us to be very verbal and very social. We typically want to talk talk talk. Peak energy

Luteal (Days 20-28+) - hormone levels reach their peak and then begin to fall right before our period starts. So this week is always seen as a little hill for me. You are feeling pretty good at the beginning of this phase, but as you get closer to your period, your energy drops. And if you aren’t living life according to your flow, then you might be experiencing some PMS because of the imbalance. Energy gradually declining

Now that you know roughly how our bodies are shifting throughout our cycle, you can probably understand too that our productivity levels will also change through our cycle. For example, there are weeks in the month where we are best at communicating and socialising and others where we prefer to hide under a rock. And both are okay ways to be as long as we do them at the right time. And there are still ways for you to be productive during your low and high energy phases. The goal is to not feel guilt or shame when you can’t produce the same results that you produced the week before. The goal is to know that your 4 phases allow you to have 4 different focuses that you can flow in and out of through the cycle.

What’s the focus of each phase as it relates to my finances and business?

1. Evaluate (Menstruation)

Self-analysis and course correction are dominant now. This is the phase I like to call Evaluate. Discover, check spending from the month before, review your sales numbers and analyse what marketing and sales worked that month. Don’t get distracted trying to do new things.

• This is a perfect time to do some research or learning about investing
• Take some guilt-free time to rest and recover

2. Initiate (Follicular)

Our brain creates space for more openness, for new ideas, for lifestyle changes, creativity and new beginnings. This is the phase I refer to as Initiate. Dream, create your vision - set financial goals and targets, plan, budget with intentions for how to get there, create outlines for new content, initiate new projects or client relationships.

Outlining your next month is the most effective during this phase. You have the willingness to commit and start some of the things you've been eyeing. So if you have a task or a project that could take awhile, this is the perfect phase to start it or start outlining it.

• Best week to try something new you don't typically do
• This is a great time to do your budgeting!

3. Collaborate (Ovulation)

Our brain is now most ready to use our verbal and social centers. I like to call this phase Collaborate. You’ll feel confident, be communicative, enjoy networking and collaborating. This is a good time to have initial consults with new clients, but also play and have fun - it’s not just about focusing on business.

• Your negotiation skills will be strongest so it’s a good time to look at trying a new pricing strategy or asking for a payrise.
• This is a great time to attract more customers and push for more sales

4. Coordinate (Luteal)

You will now be optimised for task and detail orientation. If there is anything that you have almost done, any projects close to completion, this is week to wrap it up. Finish anything you know you're going to be wishing you finished when your period starts. It’s all about accomplishing. Fill in, edit and complete the content you visualised during the Follicular phase. Organise your life admin, implement and execute.

• Speak up for yourself by saying no more often and set your boundaries.
• It’s time to tick off and wrap up your tasks

So there you have it - a way to start simplifying and organising your business and finances with more flow and ease.

I suggest you start tuning in and observing how these phases present, then you can start to work out the rhythm that works best for you.

If you want to learn more, make sure you sign up for our free workshop on Thursday 17th Feb at 7pm (UK time), called Finance and Flow. Can’t wait for you to find your flow!