Menstruation, Productivity, and Remote Work

Hello, from my follicular phase! As my estrogen levels noticeably rise, I'm unimpressed by the extra energy to write something aside from my work duties... And, if you have no clue what the follicular phase is or how rising estrogen feels like, or if this intro makes you uncomfortable, then you out of everyone else should continue reading

This article is about the ???????????????? ?????????? ???? ???????????? ?????? ????????????????????, compared to that of people who don't, and the effects it has on basically every aspect of our lives, including one of the corporate's favourite words: PRODUCTIVITY. Ah, and how this whole thing explains a tiny bit of why remote work is by far THE MOST FEMINIST move ever seen in the business world.

Let's start with the simple part: the hormonal cycle of men. Every single day, a healthy man wakes up with high testosterone levels - the dominating hormone in the male body -, that wear off during the next 24 hours. And then again, and then again, and then again, all year round. This explains the "morning wood", and more importantly, why men are more likely to keep a streak of tough body training or keep productivity levels stable day by day. Emphasis on the "healthy man" part - obviously, at the rate most of you guys drink alcohol, eat processed foods, and are sleep-deprived, this might not be the case for many.

Now, the complex part: the hormonal cycle of women - or people who menstruate. Because menopausal ladies, women who are breastfeeding or pregnant, or live with other reproductive-related conditions, DO NOT menstruate. Meanwhile, also people undergoing hormonal treatments can menstruate - some trans, intersex, genderqueer or nonbinary.

Also known as the "lunar cycle" (its duration is the same as the moon cycle, which also has four phases), this cycle consists of these phases:

?? Menstrual: so we bleed, yes, every 21 to 28 days, through our vagina, yes. It's our endometrium or uterine lining ripping itself off. Quite literally, it's a tissue detaching from the walls of our uterus. Sounds painful? Well, it is, for most. A "normal" menstruation can last between 3 to 5 days, and it's just about obvious that we feel like doing NADA, my people. NADA, is NADA. This includes being around others. Though, we can be extra reflective and introspective, which makes us see things differently ??

?? Follicular: as estrogen and progesterone levels start rising, and we come out of the menstrual phase with new insights and a fresh perspective, remembering once more how it feels like to live without breast pain or belly cramps, we are more inclined towards creative tasks, educating ourselves, learning something new, researching, or basically anything that implies focused work. This is the week right after our period.

?? Ovulatory: "LET'S GET PREGGYYYY!", is what the body is yelling. To get preggy, there's one thing that needs to happen that involves another person. Yes, sex! Estrogen, progesterone AND TESTOSTERONE levels are peaking, so we are looking fine, our skin is glowing, our body is as symmetrical as it can get and we are OUT TO EAT THE WORLD, so it's a great week to meet people, go to conferences, engage in group work, exercise like Hulk and shine bright like a diamond ?? Confidence is the keyword here, and we can be 10x more productive than any man on any day!

P.S.: I have attended large conferences during my menstrual and luteal phases and... damn, it's tough!

?? Luteal: PMS, premenstrual syndrome. Everything that rises must fall, they say, and so do hormones. "So, you're not preggy? Let's start this over, then", says our body. "Have this migraine, or this breast pain, or just get fucking moody because if we didn't get what we wanted, why should you?", says our female body. We can get quite frustrated because we had all these amazing ideas a couple of weeks ago, and this otherworldly energy for the last few days, and it was insufficient to accomplish it all ?? Plus, we might feel like crying over it or anything else. During this last phase, it's best to avoid starting new projects and instead, tighten up loose ends or focus on repetitive tasks.

?? For a few decades, we have been forced to work like men in the corporate work and be equally productive every day, face people even when we are in the doing NADA mood, or in the fuck-off mood, go to a cold office and pretend like a piece of our body is not ripping itself off and we are bleeding through our vagina, fill ourselves with paracetamol to get by the day with a migraine or a cramp, and be unfairly and ignorantly judged for all of it.

Remote work has given us back the power of leveraging on all phases of our natural cycle:

?? Being inward and reflective when we need to allows us to receive the insights and ideas that come when we can see the world differently and rest. That's what makes us great strategists!

?? Being creative and focused when we need to allows us to learn new things easily, write articles like this one in no time out of the blue just like I'm doing now, and bring to life those new ideas we get during menstrual. That's what makes us great artists!

?? Being overly confident, super strong, shockingly beautiful, and extra sociable when we need to allows us to materialize large business deals, motivate an entire team, and strengthen relationships. That's what makes us great leaders!

?? Being sensitive, volatile and frustrated when we need to allows us to face our own fears and mistakes head-on, regroup and realign, prioritise and bring to fruition whatever we left undone. That's what makes us great workers!

We got the whole package! We just needed to be able to choose where to work from and when ??

Feel free to reach out to me during the next 10 days, no further. Later on, I'll be luteal-ing and menstruating, probably under the blankets regretting this post.

Sidenote:

By the way, while men are fertile every single day, women are only 100% fertile during ONE day, when ovulating, and a little bit less during the fertility window of seven days. This is why contraception should be more of a men's thing... for another discussion.