Why is charting during holidays a challenge?

One of the biggest challenges I see in the fertility awareness community is charting during holidays. Whether that is down to travelling to see family, eating and drinking more than usual or generally struggling with a change in habit, it can be difficult to know how to navigate. In this post, I want to give some tips that I have personally used to help maintain my charting habit, no matter what is going on in my life.

As the title suggests, many of these tips can also work for other times of the year, such as while travelling or generally while really busy where the risk of falling out of a regular charting habit is higher.

Don’t forget your tools

Many fertility awareness-based methods involve tools. That might be a thermometer, LH testing strips, paper charts or other chart-related stationary (such as Billings stickers). Make sure your tools are the first thing on your packing list to give you the best possible chance of charting if you’re travelling to see friends or family over the holiday season.

When arriving at the location I’ll be staying at, I also like to set out my bedside table in a similar way to when I’m at home – phone, thermometer and glasses all in a similar position. This allows me to just follow my normal habits when I wake up in the morning.

Mark EVERYTHING on your chart

For many, the holidays are times of different ways of living. This may be drinking more alcohol than usual, eating heavier meals or eating later at night. Your sleeping conditions may be cooler or warmer compared with at home if you’re travelling. These factors can naturally cause changes in fertility awareness charts. Whenever something out of the ordinary happens in my day, I like to make a note in the notes section of my chart to make sure I have a record in case it plays a part in the interpretation of my fertile window. I often stress the value of writing everything down to new charters because it’s unlikely you’ll remember which day something occurred on a few weeks down the line. 

Ensure you stick to your method’s rules

Method rules vary depending on which fertility awareness method you’re following but, if you’re serious about avoiding pregnancy (or, depending on where you fall on the intention scale), it’s important to stick to your method’s rules, even during busy periods. If, for whatever reason, I haven’t been able to gather enough reliable data on my chart, I usually remain protected (e.g by using condoms) throughout the cycle as it would be unlikely I could safely mark ovulation according to my chosen method.

If you’re struggling to interpret your chart, it may also be advisable to get in touch with an instructor for a second opinion or a refresher on the rules.

Forgive yourself

Despite best efforts, it’s not always possible to maintain immaculate charts. Sometimes, life gets in the way or external factors outside of your control have an impact. During times like these, I ensure I remain protected for as long as I need to (according to my method’s rules) and allow the space to forgive myself rather than getting annoyed about it. One of my mottos in these situations is ‘there’s always next cycle’. 

I hope this post helped to provide some information on how to navigate the holiday season while charting. Do you have any particular tips you could share? Let me know in the comments.