Why we could use another week of Ramadan

We could use another week

This is now the 6th Ramadan we’re experiencing in this region. Each Ramadan has taught us something new about a different religion and culture. Still, we hold up our “live and let live” view and we won’t get involved in religion. Where many leave the city during this time, we were here and we’ll miss it. In fact, we could another week. Why?

Focus

As per the law, companies have to reduce working hours by 2 during Ramadan in this region. This also impacts us when working on a corporate project. One of our corporate projects is around process and productivity enhancements. Even under normal circumstances, most people fall asleep reading this, let alone discussing and implementing it. Can you imagine how challenging this becomes during a reduced working week? Precisely, super difficult! For us, it was a welcomed challenge. Find new stimuli to become more efficient and keep everyone involved. Could we please work with this focus, concentration and drive year around?

Increased focus and clarity Ramadan another week

Reflection

Ramadan is also about reflection. If you’ve read a few of our posts, we also use reflection to look back, go through a situation, explore different elements and potentially also different options we could have chosen. Reflection in general helps us to move forward.

This year, Organised Life and Mind organised a daily Ramadan Reflection Challenge via our Facebook page. Members of our community shared how some questions touched them. One feedback stuck with us. One reader faced a challenge question they avoided for so long. It brought up their deeply hidden emotions. Despite the initial discomfort, they worked through their fears and, shared also in their feedback, how they’ve enjoyed letting go of these unnecessary demons. We felt so honoured that our Ramadan Reflection Challenge made a positive difference for our participants!

Personally, we’ve looked at our goals and wishes during this month. What are our business and personal priorities? What has changed from the beginning of the year and why? How will we need to change the course for the rest of the year? Many more questions have been asked and we admit, some took a longer time, spread over days, before we could find an answer.

Slow down

These 4 weeks are also meant to slow down. When we first moved here, you could notice how business slowed down during Ramadan. It coincided with the hot temperatures during summer and those who could would take their annual leave. We believe that we all need to have some R&R (rest and recuperation). As much as we’d like to think we all have always 100% energy, we don’t. The rising temperatures, even when we are indoors, can reduce our energy. Working shorter projects, it was a perfect excuse for us have a nap in the afternoon!

Keep calm and eat dates one more week

Friends and family

Living in this beautiful and vibrant city, each Ramadan brings new initiatives. We loved trying out new Iftars. We had more time catching up over a dinner with our loved ones, friends and even business partners. There were probably 2-3 Iftars per week which, unfortunately, also added to our waist line and we’ll be back to our normal eating out habits after the Eid holiday.

As we’re getting ready for Eid, the end of Ramadan and hopefully a long weekend, we could use another week of focus, reflection, slowing down and time with family and friends. We will take some of our newly won insights and make some adjustments to our working style and our work out regime. After all, we can’t afford to buy new clothes while we have perfectly good ones in our closet.

Until next time,
Agni

Leave a Comment