Do you find yourself feeling tired during Ramadan or even falling asleep in the middle of the day, just because you’re fasting, and your sleeping patterns are all messed up? Worse still, have you been seriously considering not fasting because you can’t hack the working day?

If you answered YES, then ProductiveMuslim.com is here to help you! Launching a brand new site THIS Ramadan called ProductiveRamadan.com. Our vision is to inspire the Ummah to be productive again during Ramadan and to fight the stereotypes of Muslims being lazy and unproductive during Ramadan. With Ramadan just around the corner, a question always arises as to how we can maintain our productivity during Ramadan. ProductiveMuslim.com is suggesting a 2 fold answer:

1. Time Management
2. Healthy Diet.

It’s funny how our day to day plans go haywire once Ramadan starts; we can’t do much during the day because we’re hungry or have spent the previous night in the shopping malls or with friends for one of those “Ramadan nights”. So we promise ourselves that we’ll work in the evening.

Evening comes, and we overkill it at iftar, that we can’t move for at least 2 hours, and thanks to our “well-targeted” media, our 2 hour lay in is encouraged with the 20 must-see Ramadan series on TV. Before we know it, we got to rush to the mosque, and after an hour or so of some spiritual food (or so we hope), some of us want to go shopping for next day’s iftar (or for Eid even). Then comes suhoor time, wait for Fajr; then get ready for work in the morning. And no work is done.

Sound familiar?

I know people who have a phobia against Ramadan, saying that during Ramadan they can’t do anything! And I’m amazed at how far from the Sunnah we’ve drifted and ended up in such a mess.

Brothers and sisters, it’s time for change. We’ve wasted enough opportunities in past Ramadans, continually repeating the above scenario on a daily basis, and it must stop this Ramadan! With only a few days to Ramadan, let us draw a schedule that will maintain our productivity and keep us up to speed with our day to day work, so we can ultimately combat unproductivity in this blessed month.

Steps to Prepare for Ramadan Physically & Spiritually

1. Time Management

§ -For most people, shopping is a great priority during Ramadan and can be a time killer. First step to take, do all your Ramadan & Eid shopping BEFORE Ramadan starts. That’s right, don’t do it during Ramadan when opportunities for Laylatul Qadr and extra ibaadah can be missed out. Ramadan Sales are tempting, but for the sake of sanity and maintaining the Ramadan spirit, finish up all your shopping for Ramadan and Eid before Ramadan starts. You’ll find that one day’s worth of trawling the shopping mall is better spent in fulfilling time with Allah swt.

§ -Plan your iftars well in advance, know what you’ll cook on each day and follow the health diet suggested below for a healthy and delicious Ramadan iftar experience. That doesn’t mean you spend hours each day thinking and planning what to eat! Rather taking into consideration what types of food will be better suited to help you maintain energy and spirit to perform your acts of worship with focus. Biryanis really ought to be banned at iftaar(!)

§ -Have suhoor before Fajr, NOT at mid-night. This will help you maintain your productivity levels throughout your working day, instead of your body craving for food by mid-afternoon. Choose a light but wholesome meal for suhoor for the Prophet (pbuh) advised us that there is blessing in the suhoor and having a light but carbohydrate filled foods will start your day off on the right foot!

§ -Start working after Fajr. Remember the post about waking up for Fajr and boosting productivity? Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) made dua that Allah blesses this Ummah in the early hours. So seize these early hours to get the most work done, especially as you’ll be energized with suhoor. (Your boss would be particularly impressed to see you achieve so much before the day even started! and perhaps he might offer you the opportunity to go home early when you’re hungry and feel less productive in the later part of the day).

§ -Don’t waste those 2 hours between iftar and taraweeh in front of the TV. Use them for reading, spending time with family, visiting anyone who is sick, following up important e-mails, listening to recitation, or any productive activity.

§ -Plan your day the night before, to ensure that you do at least 3 important tasks the next day. When you set yourself such goals, you’ll be geared towards maintaining them regardless of how hungry you are and it will become your habit to eat those 3 frogs each morning! [Not literally of course!]  

§ -At times when you feel particularly hungry or worn out, do mundane tasks that don’t require much thinking, e.g. administrative tasks, cleaning, typing up information.etc. Or focus on taking time to reflect, especially if you are at work in a busy office environment.  

-Finally, the MOST important Time Management advice for Ramadan is to make sure you schedule in time for Allah (SWT). Remember, Ramadan is a once a year bargain for attaining good deeds, a chance to have all our sins expiated and guaranteed Jannah with sincere faith. We sometimes forget in our day to day running of the virtues and benefits of this month. Don’t waste it for worldly deeds unless it’s crucial, I know of a brother who saves his holidays so that he gets all of Ramadan off and spend it in the mosque praying, reading Quran, and remembering Allah. Don’t be caught out at the end of Ramadan with regret that you haven’t done much during Ramadan, being able to accomplish your goals over 30 days will inshaAllah set you in for a productive year.

2. Healthy Diet

Where should I start with the diet of Muslims today during Ramadan? My local Imam used to be bemused at watching families stock up for Ramadan, you would think a war or famine is coming and there’ll be no food for at least 6 months!

At home, a state of emergency is declared in the kitchen, and a long list of “Ramadan dishes” are drawn up for poor Mom to cook. It is sad for the burden mothers carry each Ramadan in hours of preparation for such dishes in Ramadan; instead of her spending time reading Quran, praying, she’s enslaved to cook for her ever-demanding husband and children. Be considerate of this throughout Ramadan.

What about those of us who have Iftar in the mosque? That’s another issue. For some reason, some brothers/sisters who organize collective Iftar (especially in Mosques) have this bad habit of laying out ALL the food before iftar time, hence in the 10 minutes between Adhan and Iqama of Maghreb, an unwritten food competition begins on who can swallow the most kebabs and samosas! That’s all well and good, until prayer time starts, and you hear a symphony of burping brothers during salah! On the other hand, for those organisors who are reasonable enough to delay the main meal till after Maghreb salah, I urge you to look into the Iftar you bring in daily to the brothers/sisters. Rice + Meat + Curry on a daily basis can get tiresome after a while, and you need to convince your donors not just to bring in variety, but to think of healthy alternatives as well.

Visit www.ProductiveRamadan.com for More Productivity Tips to ensure you get the best out of your Ramadan. Sign up to our mailing list for reminder articles, daily tips, and much more! At www.productiveramadan.com