How to Discover Your Rhythm by Observing the Moon

A few years back, as I was looking into the best way to organize the FLOW Planner, I researched many systems, including the idea of planning time as it relates to the moon cycles.

My mission is to help women move away from all the outside noise and tune in to their own bodies, minds, and souls so that they can guide themselves towards their best lives.

I had discovered years ago that conditioning around the calendar and what others thought was not serving me to hit my own wellness goals. In fact, it was not until I let go of all the noise — magazines, commercials, comments from family members –  that I could find the solution that led me to shed 85 pounds.

I researched a lot of systems that would serve women better than the 12-month planners that many of us abandon by February, feeling more guilty about empty pages than abandoned goals. That’s why The FLOW planner takes on one 90-day season at a time and is updated. I ask meaningful questions to help you set balanced goals, decide what part to tackle each week, and recommit each day.

And the moon cycle fits right into that. Starting to understand the moon cycles helps me track my natural tendencies and rhythms. That means I can make plans that reflect my natural flow. This has helped immensely with both my productivity and happiness. 

I start my 90-day seasons on a New Moon. 

(HINT: There’s one TODAY—but if you miss it, don’t worry, you can start anytime because if you haven’t been tracking the moon, you’ll want to start with just noticing some things.) 

Your job is to play detective.

We are different each day of the month. 

The good news is that our cycles repeat and are not as random as we may have once imagined.

The coolest part about the moon as it relates to women and planning is that you will find it creates a consistent pattern — the tired days, the energetic days, the focused days, the loving days each repeats themselves in a very logical way. 

There is so much to learn about the moon, but the most important part is that you find your own relationship with the moon.

I made you The Moon Journal as your companion to start.

Download your Moon Journal »

The MOON JOURNAL is an 84-day experience to discover YOUR rhythm.

I was surprised to see how real moon tracking data is — and how helpful it is when I sit down to map out a 90-day goal. I now plan in a way that truly honors my energy. 

I noticed that each month, there is a day that I need to stop and take a nap. I never plan tons of writing on those days. My energy is much better for thinking than doing. This is usually right before the new moon.

Sometimes I am on fire creatively and can focus for hours. This is usually during the waxing gibbous, before a full moon. This is a great time for me to create and design anything.

After the full moon is a great time for me to offer something to my audience. I do not naturally like selling, but on these days my enthusiasm is so high, it feels much easier to make an offer.

Seeing the patterns repeat on paper gave me power over my days. 

This does not mean that I take days off whenever I have a tiring day — I am a mom and run a business — but I do know on those days that good food is super important, that I might say no to a kid who wants a friend over, and that staying up to watch Netflix is not a good idea. I work these boundaries into my plan.

Even though we go through the same moon stages, my rhythm will be different than yours. The magic really starts by playing detective. You need to really understand your relationship with the moon. 

“When we come in tune with the moon cycle, it’s a way to come in tune with ourselves, and then when we come in tune with ourselves and our environment, there’s an invitation to become more present.”  –Ezzie Spencer

Keep a Moon Journal.

Start by spending 3 moon cycles getting to know your true self. Take notes about what you feel, notice, and crave. Are there any similarities from month to month?

While I like to do my 90-day planning at the new moon, you can start this “getting to know how you work with the moon” at any time. When you start, fill in the dates, by googling the lunar calendar for the month you are in. (90 days feels like even too long to plan for right at this moment, but this research will serve you long after the Coronavirus has ended.)

What else should you pay attention to? 

Include your energy, your sleep patterns, if you are feeling motivated or lazy, your eating habits. Each day leaves so many clues. What did you wish happened? How were you with people? How did you feel when you first woke up?

As you start to learn, you can map your life to the predictable patterns that may have felt very irregular when thinking each day is the same On days when you are low energy, plan for yoga. On days of high energy, try the CrossFit gym you have been wondering about. You can map business launches, meetings, creativity, and cleaning to very predictable urges that surface month after month.

Download the Moon Journal now to get started.