Using Google Calendar to align your life with your menstrual cycle
A few months ago, a dear friend of mine (hi Gise!) recommended a life-changing book that has since become a staple on my bookshelf. That book is “The Woman Code” by Alisa Vitti. This book is all about how to sync your life with your menstrual cycle to optimize your health, wellness, and even your career.
The Woman Code emphasizes the importance of paying attention to the different phases of your menstrual cycle to better align your diet, workout, self-care, and career performances with your hormonal fluctuations.
For instance, during the follicular phase, which occurs during the first two weeks of your menstrual cycle, estrogen levels rise, and you might feel more energized and focused. During the luteal phase, which occurs in the last two weeks of your cycle, progesterone levels are higher, and you might feel more introspective. This makes it an excellent time to engage in self-care practices like yoga, meditation, and journaling.
While I loved the concept of syncing my life with my menstrual cycle, I struggled to find a way to incorporate it into my routine. I use Google Calendar to manage my life, and none of the period tracker apps I tried would sync with it. I even paid for premium subscriptions to the FLO App and CLUE, but they were useless for this task.
So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and create a calendar based on the tips and recommendations in “The Woman Code” and share it with you all. It’s customizable, so anyone can use it to sync their life with their menstrual cycle.
And, while it’s not meant to replace your period tracker app, it just adds another layer of awareness to your cycle and helps you create a more balanced and harmonious relationship with your body.
If this is also for you, I hope I’m saving you some time.
- Create a new calendar by clicking the “+” sign and the “Create calendar” option. Name it something like “My Cycle.”
- Download the calendar I created from this link. It is formatted .ics, so it will be easy to add to any calendar; the instructions here are for Google Calendar.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/189iEp1-heR8Di8n_mksV_GRerEMLKidW/view?usp=sharing
- Open your calendar application. This could be Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or any other calendar app that supports ICS imports.
- In Google Calendar, click “Settings” at the bottom of the side menu and then click on the “Import & export” tab.
- Under “Import,” click “Select the file from your computer” and choose the ICS file you downloaded from this article. Select your new Google Calendar that you named “My cycle” or something similar.
- Click “Import” to import the events from the ICS file into your selected calendar.
- Once the import is complete, the imported events will appear in your Google Calendar. It should look something like this!
- You can also adjust the notification settings, sharing options, and calendar visibility (Check the general advice and tips!)
- FINALLY! Modify the first four event details to customize to YOUR OWN CYCLE menstrual information:
- - Calculate the total of your cycle length and the total of each phase.
2. I recommend that you start changing the calendar in sync with your next menstruation date.
3. Modify your cycle length in each event (the standard I added was 28 days).
4. Edit each phase duration, and adapt it to your reality (make sure it doesn’t exceed the total length of your cycle)
In the image above, for example, the menstruation date starts on the 15th and lasts 4 days (from the 15th to the 18th). The length of this example is 28 days (meaning it repeats every 28 days).
- That’s it!
In conclusion, “The Woman Code” is a must-read book for anyone looking to improve their menstrual health and overall well-being. Syncing your life with your menstrual cycle can be life-changing, and incorporating it into your Google Calendar is an excellent way to make it a part of your daily routine.
