Have a big, important decision to make? Here are the best five days in your cycle to make it

I’ve written before about the best days of your monthly cycle to make a big decision. But, it’s been awhile–and in that time, Hormonology readers have written to me to let me know just how much this tip helped them make important choices in their lives, including whether it was time to take their relationship to the next level and invite a partner to move in, if taking out student loans to go back to school was the right move and when to quit their job to devote more time to their fledgling business.

So, in case you missed this Hormonology Tip the first time around or you need a refresher, here goes:

If you need to make a big or important decision, aim to do it during the second half of your Week 3, which spans the fourth to eighth day after you ovulate.

On these days, your estrogen and progesterone are rising together. This is the only time in your cycle when this happens–and when it does, I call this your “reality check” phase because this hormonal duo helps you see issues in a more realistic light.

That’s because, when combined, these hormones make you neither overly optimistic–like you are in the first half of your cycle when estrogen is climbing high by itself, giving you the kind of rosy hopefulness that makes you prone to overlooking warning signs and obvious problems.

Nor are you overly pessimistic–like you are in the last week of your cycle (your premenstrual week) when estrogen is dropping like a stone, giving the kind of cynicism and pessimism that convinces you nothing good could come from making a move in a new direction.

Instead, on these five days in Week 3 of your cycle when rising estrogen is tempered by cautious progesterone–making you hopeful, but wary–you can see issues more clearly, you’re apt to take more time to weigh the pros and cons and you’re more likely to make the choice that has the best long-term benefits.

Try this out for yourself–then let me know how it works for you!