🕌 Amping up work productivity during Ramadan.
What to avoid and how to adjust, for better teamwork and personal output.
This year’s first day of ‘Ramadan at work’ is here! By this time of the day, our focus has probably started to transition from the work sheets and emails to imagining what to have for iftar..
Well, for most of us, this might not be our first time experiencing fasting while working. But to serve as a reminder, here are some things to keep in mind for the next month, to keep our productivity in check despite the challenging environment.
Persevering the longer hours
Time sure does move slower when we want it to fly faster. Though our working hours probably stay the same during Ramadan, it might feel harder to drag ourselves through the fasting days.
In order to freshen up and ensure we stay afloat through our full-days of work, try out some of the tips below:
Eat a balanced, moderate sahur meal
Do not overeat nor undereat. Find the balance by resisting the temptation to overeat, but make sure you still have a full meal down!
Choose balanced menus. Incorporate carbohydrate, protein, and fiber in your intake to help you feel full longer.
Adjust your sleeping hours
Night schedule: If you can, try to sleep early as you will also need to wake up earlier for sahur.
After sahur schedule: Try not to sleep after sahur / morning prayer, as you might end up feeling sluggish afterwards.
Avoid caffeine during sahur and iftar
Diuretic effect. Caffeine increases urine production, thus flushing out salt and water from our body which will result in increased thirst.
Replacement. Have a glass of purified water along with sweet fruit such as dates, to help you break your fast.
Plan your work days ahead
Cheat your focus. Prep your to-do list the night before when you’re less hungry, thirsty, and fatigue.
During the day, put your time and energy to finish the work and maintain a healthy work-life balance during Ramadan (bukbers here I come!)
Take hourly five-minute breaks
Why: As the day progresses, hunger and tiredness may sabotage your productivity.
How: Take a short walk to the bathroom and wash your face a few times. This will help you freshen up and feel relaxed for a while.
Find the full list with more in-depth explanations and examples in the article here.
What can I do to support?
As working muslims fast from dawn to dusk the next 28 days, those who are not partaking can contribute to keeping the team’s productivity up by implementing the following best practices for Ramadan at work:
Avoid booking in meetings for the afternoon. If high concentration levels are needed for the meetings, use the morning when people are still relatively fresh.
Establish expectations. This goes both ways for those fasting and not fasting. Communicate changes that might occur in workflows and outcome if any.
Greater understanding. Ramadan is a great time to practice team understanding, patience, and calmness when facing team adversity.
Virtual iftars. Throw in a virtual iftar and use this time to improve team dynamics by sharing each other’s lessons learned from the past month.
Read more best practices to create a supportive Ramadan environment at work here.
Focusing on the good
The month of Ramadan is often used as a platform to reflect and improve our ways of life, including at work. The BBC UK has compiled stories from working muslims on how they cope with work during the month.
Here are some things Khalil, Zainab, Sarah, and Imran have learned through fasting at work:
When I fast, I become calm as a person, and I let go of the trivial things.
The flexitime makes me want to do my best and show my appreciation.
It helps me become smarter about planning work.
Solidarity rises as people become more considerate.
Fasting while working increased my adaptability with changing environments.
I get to practice my growth mindset: Rather than a month of starvation, I see Ramadan as a month of abundance spiritual benefits.
Do you relate to the work benefits of Ramadan mentioned above? See the full stories in the BBC article here.
As we welcome Ramadan, may we get to utilize the uplifting atmosphere of the Islamic holy month to better ourselves and enhance our interpersonal skills—at work, at home, and anywhere else.
With this week’s Monday Mavens edition, we hope to equip you with a mini guide on how to navigate the next month.
Like always, we’ll see you again next Monday.
Cheers!