INPUT ARTICLE: Article: To get a sense of your menstrual cycle, you should be prepared to track your cycle for at least eight to 12 months. Use a calendar you can write on and mark down each day of your cycle or keep track of your cycle on your cellphone's calendar app. The calendar method will help you keep track of the length of each of your menstrual cycles, which can then help you determine when you are most fertile, or your fertility window. Circle the first day of your cycle, which is the first day you have a menstrual flow, on the calendar. This will be Day 1. Continue to circle each day of your cycle for the entire month. Stop circling days of the month when your period is over. The average menstrual cycle can range between 28 to 32 days. Repeat this day-to-day tracking of your period for at least eight to 12 months. This will give you a clear sense of your menstrual cycle and hopefully account for any irregularities in your cycle. Make sure you include the first day of your cycle when you count. Do this for all cycles you have tracked. An example cycle record may look like this: January 20: 29 days February 18: 29 days March 18: 28 days April 16: 29 days May 12: 26 days June 9: 28 days July 9: 30 days August 5: 27 days You should not use the calendar method if your cycle is less than 27 days during an eight to 12 month period. This cycle will be used to determine your first fertile day or the start of your fertility window. Subtract 18 from the total number of days of your shortest cycle. Count the resulting number of days from day one of your current cycle and circle or mark that day with an X. Make sure you include day one when you count the days. The day you circled or marked is your first fertile day. For example, if your shortest cycle is 27 days, subtract 18 from 27 to get 9. Then, count 9 days from day one of your current cycle to get your first fertile day. If day one of your current cycle is the fourth day of the month, you will count 9 days from the fourth day. You will then mark the 12th day as your first fertile day or the start of your fertility window. This cycle will be used to determine your last fertile day or the end of your fertility window. Subtract 11 from the total number of days of your longest cycle. For example, if your longest menstrual cycle was 30 days, take 30 and subtract 11 to get 19. This means the last day of your fertility window is on the 19th day of your cycle. Use the days you calculated based on your shortest cycle and your longest cycle to determine your fertility window. In the above example, your most fertile days will be from the 12th day to the 19th day of your cycle. This means ovulation is expected to occur on one day during this time frame. If you are trying to conceive, you should have sexual intercourse with your partner during your fertility window to increase your chances of getting pregnant. Though you cannot get pregnant every day during your fertility window, there is one 12 24 hour time frame during this period where pregnancy has a very high chance of occurring. If you are trying to avoid getting pregnant, you should abstain from sexual intercourse during your fertility window or use birth control during this time. You can have unprotected sexual intercourse the day after the last day of your fertility window, but not before, as this could lead to pregnancy. Keep in mind that fertility charting is considered the least effective form of birth control and may result in unexpected pregnancy, even if you don't have sex during your charted fertility window.

SUMMARY: Chart your menstrual cycle on a calendar for eight to 12 cycles. Count the total number of days in each cycle. Identify the shortest cycle in your cycle record. Note the longest cycle in your cycle record. Determine your fertility window.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: The best thing about "me time" is that you're not going to have any interruptions. Catch up on school work, study for an upcoming test, clean your room, get your finances squared away, etc. Use this time to your advantage. Reorganizing a room can be a lot of fun. Once everything is clean, rearrange the furniture to give the room a new look. Put up new decorations to freshen things up. Create a new color-coded filing system to organize your papers, or make a calendar and fill it in with all your plans for the next few months. If you make time to practice a skill every time you're alone, you may end up getting quite good at it. Is there a guitar lying around the house or a piano that rarely gets played? Put it to use! Try your hand at logic games and puzzles. There are plenty to choose from online and a number of logic puzzle apps available for smartphones. Or you could get a little retro with a Rubik's Cube and work your way towards genius. Learn a skill you've always wanted to develop or find a topic you're curious about and take a class on it. Many free and low-cost classes are available online as well as at many community centers. Free courses often don't require any homework or tests, so if the grading part of taking a class puts you off, take one where you don't have to worry about it. Catch up on phone calls to your relatives and friends who live in other places. Email or text them if you don't want to make a phone call. Having time alone is a great opportunity to reconnect with people you've fallen out of touch with. Having time to yourself away from other distractions allows you to slow down and turn inward--giving you a perfect chance to let yourself do some quiet reflecting. Think through decisions that have been weighing on you lately. What are the pros and cons of the options before you? Write them down if that helps you sort through your thoughts. Use your imagination. Go to a different place in your head and imagine a different world. Allow yourself to daydream. You may even come up with a great new idea for a story or a blog post. Meditate. Sit quietly, close your eyes, and pay attention to the sounds, smells, and sensations around you. Let your mind go blank and concentrate on your breathing.

SUMMARY:
Catch up on responsibilities. Learn a new skill. Take a class. Call someone you haven't talked to in a while. Meditate or simply take some time to think.