When I was in my 20’s, drastic haircuts, breakups, and spontaneous arguments often occurred during those few days before my period. Since giving birth, my periods and my PMS symptoms have seemed to have gotten worse. The week before my period I can be a bit of a beast. The thing is, with my mostly ‘people-pleasing’ personality and my tendencies to bottle up frustrations and grievances, I’ve noticed lately that having one week per month where I make drastic decisions, uncork those bottled-up emotions and am, well, beastly is actually good for my business.
While PMS’ing I pounced on a lease opportunity and within 24 hours had the keys our new work space. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been so quick to do so had I not been PMSing, but I would have lost the space. The same emotions that used to cause drastic haircuts in my 20’s now cause drastic lease decisions. When I’m PMSing, and everything and everyone is annoying, I find I charge more for my work, demand what I actually want and need and worry less about the reaction from whoever is on the receiving-end of those asks. If I was like that all of time, I may not be all that pleasant to work with–but being like that one week per month? It’s kinda perfect.
I’ve noticed these patterns in myself so much so that I’ve even started scheduling around my PMS. I try to schedule tough negotiations and big decision-making meetings around that time of month. Could PMS be one of the many super powers of female entrepreneurs? Am I crazy? What are your thoughts?
Dress by Ace & Jig, Earrings by We Dream in Colour
Lydia says
i agree whole heartedly! it’s when deep cleaning occurs, the hard cinverstaions come out and the push to do something is triggered! it IS difficult when you’re a people pleaser and a stuffer of irritations, it seems like that week all of my filters disappear and what I want and need comes to the surface. thank you for this!
also i wanted to ask you justina, donuou think it’s important to trademark your ideas and if so how does one go about doing that before you start a business so that you’re idea doesn’t get swallowed up on the super large world of the internet?!
Diana Zelman says
Hi, Lydia,
This will be quick ‘cuz my own people-pleasing tendencies have conspired recently to make me exhausted almost all the time and so I need to try to catch a bit of sleep. I just want to let you know that no one is able to copyright an “idea”; you ARE able to trademark a physical item that came from that idea, e.g. Your idea was about how parents of young children don’t always have enough time in their day to do the food shopping so you work hard and begin a grocery concierge service, and even have created (or you do it yourself) your logo, picked the colors of every related item so it’s all coordinated, file for the appropriate trademark for said logo, begin planning all of your coordinated marketing campaign, work with a graphic artist for all of your printed (online or paper!) materials such as ordering sheets, etc. But your actual IDEA of this more convenient way of getting your food shopping done using modern communication skills and devices is just that; an idea. And that is something that legally, at least, is ‘allowed’ to be spread among many people at once! And just one quick point more- unfortunately successfully filing for and receiving a copyright, trademark, service mark or patent is almost always a good idea BUT it won’t, in and of itself, stop some other party to copy your new items that go with your new business ! As crazy as that probably sounds, and it sure took ME by surprise, pretty much any and every person can always copy you and all that your registration gives you, whether copyright, trademark, etc., is the proof you’ll need when you finally get in front of a judge and/or jury, or even ‘just’ in a face-to-face meeting with your respective counsel. Having registered all of your items in the way appropriate to what you’re protecting, that’s a great first response, letting him/they know that IF you do wind up fighting it out in court you’ll have ‘super hero magical cape’ to protect you and maybe even fight back! Because without all of those filings it could boil down to your word v. his. Hope that clarifies ..
Sophie Inez says
Thank you Thank Thank you for this post that is beyond perfectly timed (typing this response while having a heating pad wrapped around my waist.)
While hellacious in my teens and early 20’s, PMS subsided for a bit in my late 20’s (ahem when I became active ahem – a bit of a late bloomer), but in the last six months as my body is approaching mid -30’s it has come back with a mighty vengeance that wreaks havoc and kicks me down several notches pre- post- and during my ladytime (more like all of the notches, since it is often accompanied with fainting spells and blackouts).
While it doesn’t give me the superpower that you have of saying no and making tough calls and demands, I’m learning to see it as my time to nurture my body with healthier meals, self-care rituals and time at home to sit with hot ginger tea and herbs (ahem) and ‘nest’ aka peruse home decor inspo (hence a healthy dose of Jungalow – vitamin J? ).
A thousand thank yous, Justina!
Osa Atoe says
I’ve found that I have more vivid dreams, crave more alone time and sometimes have spikes in creativity before my period. All good for my business! I think that identifying hormonal changes and their effect on our behavior is so crucial to good mental health in general. It’s also great to know that, while PMS can be rough, there’s a positive to it as well.
Jessica says
PMS is definitely a week of creativity for me. That highly energized, nobody can get you down feeling right before the cramps amd sh*ts is what I’m talking about. I find that I am most creative, most ambitious, and confident. I’m pretty good at selling my ideas, albeit some wild ones. The aftermath of course is that the rest of the month I have “What did I get myself into?” mentality. Buy the next round of PMS, I’m collecting a check for the work done, and the cycle begins again.
Jill Pollard says
Definitely. A base most of my business around my cycle! Each part holds space for different aspects of my being!!
Rusty says
Justina,
If I wanted to send you a private email, where would I send it?
I have a really strong intuition about something and I feel like I need to let you know, BUT, it’s not for general consumption.
Rusty x
Hilda says
Love it. In menopause so no PMS but feels like it’s a powerful time of taking no crap and dropping what is superfluous!
Leslie in Oregon says
My experience echoes Hilda’s.
Kikki says
Preach. I once heard a comedian on the radio talking about menopause, she said it was this great chunk of her life where she totally RULED. Took no crap from anyone, stood up to bullies and sorted her life out. She actually made it sound totally cool for a change.
Jenni Booth says
Awesome positive slant on what is generally considered as a fault in our personality!! You OWN that PMT guurrrllll!!! Ha ha .
xx Jen
annton says
This got to be the best approach to PMS ever! xoxo
Jacquie says
Best post ever.I am now rescheduling my bank meetings.
Tiffany says
Love this take. I have always felt like PMS was an edgier, more honest and authentic version of me where I just don’t have the energy to engage in all of my people-pleasing conditioning. Like it’s when I give zero f’s about behaving as a woman should, and instead behave more authentically myself.
Dalia says
I always thought, so that’s what being a man feels like, since PMS is caused by a spike in testosterone, though it would turn me into the kind of man who would get into fisticuffs over trivial things, :-) Pregnancy and breastfeeding had mellowed me out, don’t know if I miss the sudden bursts of unreasonable anger….
Sarah says
finding it hard to find the words to say how much i love this post, except YES!
Haley says
I LOVE this!
Berlin says
Thank you. This is an interesting article. It reminds me of Alisa Vitti.
Nutritionist and hormone expert Vitti’s work is all about synching the menstrual cycle with a woman’s life — including her business, if she has one. Vitti likens a woman’s cycle with the changing of the seasons.
Pre-ovulation is Spring, ovulation is Summer, pre-menstrual is Fall and menstruation is Winter. Fall is a time for harvesting what was begun in Spring and Summer and for making final decisions before the rest and quiet of Winter. Her work agrees with some of your observations about your own cycle.
If you’re not familiar, I highly recommend taking a look at her book WomanCode.
Anna says
good
Myrna says
PMs (Project Managers) can be very beneficial for a business. They can help plan, coordinate, and manage projects and tasks, which can help ensure successful completion of projects and tasks. PMs can also provide guidance and direction to team members, ensuring that everyone is working towards the same outcome. PMs can also help with budgeting and resource allocation, helping to ensure that projects and tasks are completed within budget. Finally, PMs can help with communication between team members, stakeholders, and customers, helping to ensure that all parties are kept up to date on progress. In summary, PMs can be a great asset to any business.