Continued from Part 1 and Part 2

Major Time Management Considerations

1. Sleep

As alluded to already, one may have to adjust one’s sleep pattern. The sunna sleep after Zuhr, known as qaylula, is practised by many to help them re-energise. For workers fasting, the time immediately upon arriving home is ideal. Sleep can also stave off hunger. Just remember to make an intention before flopping off in exhaustion!
An oft-neglected sunna is to talk less after Isha and to sleep early. After a whole day of fasting and the long rakahs of Tarawih, most of us are pretty tired and so should be able to take advantage of this practice. Consequently, one should have more energy in the day.

2. Nutrition and Energy

Like me, I’m sure you’ve felt the surprising increase in energy when fasting. Modern eating habits include excessive eating of sugary snacks, junk food and meat. As we lighten our stomachs, it’s as if our bodies become more lithe and freed to work for us.

Much of this can be undone by the famous cultural problem of overeating during Iftar, dinner and Suhur. Scholars, magazines and radio programmes discuss this issue so much, that I’ll say quite simply that if we want to be more energised in the day, what we eat is far more important than how much we try to stuff in. A nutritious breakfast of organic muesli, hard-boiled egg, wholemeal toast and fresh fruit is superior to stuffing oneself with the previous night’s oily samosas, pakoras, fried paratha and Coke!
Also, on a time management note, the time we save in missing breakfast, lunch and snacks is incredible. When I completed a personal time-log I found that it was not uncommon for an average meal to take 15 minute preparation and 30 minutes eating time. If tea breaks take half this time, then during our fasting hours we save at least 2 hours quality time to devote to other projects.

Naturally, there are times of the day when you want to divert yourself from the rigours of fasting. Reading, sport, relaxation or socialising for a short period can be recommended here. Having worked at several Muslim schools, I can attest to the fact that our children can be just as vigorous in their playtimes during Ramadan!
For ideas on how to create energy for yourself, consult http://zenhabits.net/55-ways-to-get-more-energy.

3. Time Blocking

Blocking out set chunks of time to devote to specific activities is particularly imperative in this month. Most obviously, I’d recommend making the generic block of working for ‘worldly’ concerns, such as your job, community projects or studies, in the day and devoting oneself for ibaada in the night. This follows the Quranic indication, ‘And we made the night a covering, and the day for seeking livelihood’ (Surah Naba) and is the practise of our pious predecessors.
Similarly, time in the weekend can be blocked out for chores or projects you don’t have time for during the week.

4. Quran

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