During Ramadan, many Muslims all over the world are fasting throughout the day for thirty days long. By fasting, it means they are restricted from eating and drinking until it’s time to break the fast or iftar. In Indonesia, people generally have a fasting period of 13 hours. For some people, it might be difficult to maintain their productivity while fasting since their body reacts differently. The lack of sleep, energy, or caffeine intake may result in the lack of productivity as well. If you are wondering how to be productive while fasting, we’ve got these tips for you, so keep on reading!
- Eat nutritious meals during suhoor
First thing first: never ever skip suhoor. Although simple, eating suhoor is crucial because our body needs to get a supply of energy before proceeding to go without any food or drink throughout the day. It is also important to eat healthy and nutritious meals that contain carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals, fats and rich in fiber for suhoor and iftar to maintain a balanced diet.
It is better to avoid fried, oily, sugary, and processed food since they tend to make us feel tired during the day. Also, make sure you hydrate your body well before fasting by drinking enough water and avoid caffeinated drinks at all costs.
2. Do light exercise
You must be questioning whether or not it is okay to work out while fasting. The answer is yes, it is absolutely fine. Just because this is Ramadan, it doesn’t mean you can’t proceed with your healthy routine. However, it is important to note that every person’s body reacts differently. In order to keep you fit during the day, you can do light workouts, such as taking a walk instead of driving, taking the stairs instead of the lift, and simply doing a light jog or light aerobic.
These kinds of activities will help increase your productivity and will reduce drowsiness while fasting. In fact, it is recommended to work out while fasting because it turns out that working out in a fasted state creates a bigger impact on your body as it burns more fat.
Although so, remember that you shouldn’t do high-intensity workouts, such as intensive training, heavy lifting, and cardio while fasting. Your body needs time to adjust, and you must not push yourself too hard when it comes to exercise.
According to Fitness Fit, the best time to exercise is an hour after iftar or after you’ve broken your fast, and a few hours before suhoor so that you can replenish your energy afterward.
3. Get enough sleep
Our body tends to feel weaker due to lack of sleep during fasting. Therefore, getting good sleep is indeed necessary because you wake up early at dusk for suhoor, so you must be losing some of your sleeping time. Never underestimate your sleep deprivation because it is just as important as your diet during Ramadan.
That being said, you should adjust your sleeping schedule to make sure your body gets enough sleep. Be kind to your body by allowing yourself to rest regularly, especially at this time of the year.
However, excessive sleep during fasting isn’t good either because you will end up wasting your time only for sleeping instead of being productive, so do whatever it takes to manage your sleeping schedule.
4. Take care of personal hygiene
Personal hygiene matters when it comes to increasing productivity. Taking a shower before starting your day helps you feel more refreshed throughout the day. Have a relaxing morning shower after suhoor, and you’ll feel more energized afterward. Besides, it also gives you the chance to enjoy your me-time before finally getting occupied with work. You can also try washing your face with cold water once in a while when you start feeling drowsy.
5. Plan your day
Do plan your day ahead by creating a schedule or to-do list of the day so that you can manage your time well. If you tend to overwork in your job, make a goal to finish at least half of the things on the list by noon. This way, you’ll be more organized in doing your job. Although it is recommended to make constructive use of time while fasting, you might want to include ‘break time’ into the list because your body also needs to take small breaks to function properly. Taking a quick nap feels so nice during Ramadan since it replaces our lunch of the day.
6. Get rid of distractions
One main reason for procrastination is distractions. In order to stay focus on your work, make sure you avoid distraction at any cost. Be it logging out of your social media, setting your phone to silent mode, or anything that can cause you to delay your job. Sometimes you won’t even realize you’ve spent hours scrolling down your phone and abandon your priorities. So, once you’ve gotten rid of the distraction, you’ll be able to concentrate more on your work.
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