very year we celebrate the month of Ramazan with the excitement of getting closer to Allah, doing charity, adopting piety and developing compassion for others. For some, it’s like the New Year resolutions. Perhaps, the only difference is that rather than just one day of promises and a year of loathing for not fulfilling those promises, Ramazan acts as a month-long effort to make those resolutions into our habits that should last long.

There’s a domain in which I have suffered. I’ve long wrestled with it, looking for a solution that always seems to elude me. It is my lack of productivity during the month of Ramazan, with its 14-hour-or-so fasting days and disrupted sleep schedules. It’s a struggle many professionals may be able to relate to. Well, it’s only natural for one to feel drained when you’re working without any food and water intake.

They say that identifying the problem is the first step towards unlocking the puzzle, but I must admit that I am totally perplexed. For me, the entire month of Ramazan is a struggle to follow a routine that will keep me energised and focused all through the day. Do I hit the sack after iftar or stay up till sehri? Do I take a nap before iftar to catch up on my previous night’s sleep? How to meet my work related deadlines amidst all this?

If I begin to mull possibilities, those are endless. What I tend to do most frequently is doze off — at workplace. Not willingly, but involuntarily. Even if I am awake, I am so unproductive that I might as well return to bed.

For me, the entire month of Ramazan is a struggle to follow a routine that will keep me energised and focused all through the day. Do I hit the sack after iftar or stay up till sehri? Do I take a nap before iftar to catch up on my previous night’s sleep?

Like I said, it’s been many years since I started wrestling with this dilemma I find myself in. I was in university, and we happened to have a Ramazan at the time of our finals. How on earth was I supposed to study when my sleeping patterns had gone awry and my energy levels would dip mid-study?

It’s not like I can’t find a solution. I can, and I have. But a solution works only for a day or two, and then I am back to square one.

I love how in this holy month I am able to seek greater affinity with Allah. But at the same time, I am frustrated at being so unproductive; so much so that I have now given up. When Ramazan is round the corner, I let myself go with the grain, as they say; I stop worrying about becoming the workplace superstar.

Meanwhile, if you step out on the road around iftar time, you are most likely to witness demonstrations of ‘fast and furious’ driving — the kind best seen in films. I don’t buy that these people are in a rush because they fear not getting to their destinations soon enough; it’s their reduced patience threshold that is at play.

But then aren’t we supposed to rein in our emotions in this holy month? After all, it is our belief that Allah is watching our every move. It’s okay if someone is less productive — office work-wise or something — during this month.

The writer is an ex-serviceman and a freelancer. He can be reached at shaafayzia@gmail.com