Your Voice: Making Ramadan more effective in the workplace

Does fasting during the month of Ramadan impact our stamina and productivity in the workplace? How can we practice fasting, enjoy social activities associated with Ramadan, and achieve our business goals at the same time? These questions are repeated every year at the beginning of Ramadan.

I believe that Ramadan is a month of remarkable challenges when it comes to work and business productivity, but these can be transformed into great opportunities of self-improvement and more work productivity with rational thinking, genuine determination, and doable preparations.

The Saudi Gazette in 2017 reported that 80% of workers believe Ramadan leads to a boost in their morale in the workplace, 44.5% said that their productivity was unaffected in the holy month, while 55% thought that Ramadan did not lead to any important decisions or meetings being canceled or postponed. History is full of stories about major events and great achievements accomplished by Muslims during Ramadan.

The work challenges we face during Ramadan come under three main interlinked categories: energy preservation, time management, and habit modification. Transforming these challenges into opportunities to get the best out of Ramadan is not as hard as most of us think. It all depends on having a true desire, clear objectives, and feasible planning. 

The tips below can have positive impacts on your performance and productivity during Ramadan, making it a turning point in the year, and your life.

• Plan your daily activities with a clear goal in mind to give your work priority. Plan your other social and spiritual activities in a way that helps you be fully energetic in the workplace. 

• Start your day with the most important task — first things first. This should be common sense, however, common sense is not always common practice. It is crucial to do this during Ramadan as you may lose your energy during working hours.

• Make use of the time saved in your daily schedule due to stopping some daily practices such as having coffee breaks, leaving the office to smoke, having snacks, etc. This time can add value to your work schedule and increase your productivity. 

• Eliminate time wasters such as using social media applications and having nonbusiness chats. A study from the University of California at Irvine revealed that, on average, office workers are interrupted every 11 minutes. It takes time to get back on track.

• Minimize meetings as much as possible. Remember that meetings should not be held in the first place unless there is a real need. 

• Limit your personal social gatherings to the weekends and make sure you follow a healthy diet that provides your body with its daily nutritional needs between Iftar (the sunset meal) and Suhoor (the pre-sunrise meal).

Ramadan teaches us great lessons in endurance, empathy, tolerance, and charity; and can transform our personal, professional, and business habits, helping us lead more successful and productive lives.

Your Voice reflects the thoughts and opinions of the writer, and not necessarily those of the publication.