How Can You Make This Year’s Ramadan Better Than Ever?
Marhaban yes Ramadan! Alhamdulillah, I am very happy to be able to greet all of my friends again in this glorious month. Without realizing it, a year has passed until finally we can all be reunited with the month of Ramadan. The month that we are certainly waiting for because it contains many meanings, rewards, and momentum for the improvement of ourselves and Muslims as a whole.
I just saw and checked the archive on this blog where a year ago I also wrote about Tips to Make Ramadan More Productive . The reason I wrote this article, is because Ramadan fasting is often used as an excuse to reduce our productivity. Reduced working hours, reduced real work, reduced study time all because the body is weak due to fasting. In fact, if you saw at the time of the Prophet, you often fought in the month of Ramadan. Not only physically, but also mentally draining. Therefore, for those of you who want to make Ramadan more productive, please read Tips for Making Ramadan More Productive .
Then, what is this article about?
On the first day of Ramadan, I was asked by my mentor. “Who here is satisfied with the achievements of Ramadan last year?”
Asked like that, of course I didn’t raise it. The point is clear: I am not satisfied with what I achieved in the last month of Ramadan. Many practices that are missed (even though I have written the Tips for Productive Ramadhan , huh, hehe ..)
I am sure many of my friends are also not satisfied with the achievements of last Ramadan, and want to make this year’s Ramadan practice even more awesome than before. Likewise with me, I want this year’s Ramadan to be even better.
I quote from Albert Einstein, who said
Only a madman takes the same action but expects different results.
So it would be funny if we wanted our Ramadan to be better this year, but what we are doing is exactly the same or even worse than the previous year.
Therefore, please write down 5 different things or actions to make your Ramadan even better this year. Make sure these 5 things are things you haven’t done in previous Ramadan. These 5 actions, will be 5 things driving change to make your Ramadan this year even better,
5 Different Actions I Will Do This Year
# 1 Reprogram the Daily Planner
The first thing I did was reprogram my mind that every day I “have” to do activities according to the daily agenda that I have set. The following is my daily agenda during the month of Ramadan:
04.00 – 04.20: Sahur with family (read: wife)
04.20 – 04.30: Qiyamul Lail
04.30 – 05.00: Fajr Prayer
05.00 – 06.00: Reading and Tadabbur Quran
06.00 – 06.15: Al Ma’tsurat
06.15 – 06.30: Workout
06.30 – 07.00: Bathing
07.00 – 08.00: Blog Posts
08.00 – 17.00: Work and Work
18.00 – 20.30: Break the Fast and Tarawih
20.30 – 22.30: Read a book or study
22.30 – 04.00: Sleep
By setting up an agenda like this and programming my mind to follow it, my days are proving to be more effective. This is because there is clarity about what to do on that day. You can apply this to yourself as well. Please program your mind to consciously follow the daily agenda that you have made, God willing, your Ramadan days will be much more valuable. Insha Allah.
Rasulullah SAW said: “Take advantage of the five before coming five other things: Your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your rich before your poor, your free time before your busyness and your life before your death.” (Reported by Baihaki from Ibn Abbas)
# 2 Mandatory Prayers 5 Time in Congregation at the Mosque
This is a remedial plan that I want to do, because in the past Ramadan I did not pay attention to prayer times on time (especially dzuhur and Asr). In this Ramadan, I am trying to improve myself by obliging my 5 daily prayers at the mosque, or at least praying on time.
Allah says: “Surely prayer is an obligation which is determined by the time of those who believe.” [Annisa ‘(4): 103]
# 3 Write or Post Blogs Every Day
As subscribers and readers of this blog grow, I want to make this Ramadan a moment to discipline myself in updating my beloved blog. I once initiated the 30 days writing challenge program for myself some time ago, now in this month of Ramadan I want to reactivate it. In the month of Ramadan, just sleeping is considered worship, let alone writing a useful blog? Hehe … God willing, hopefully it will be good practice in this month of Ramadan.
Rasulullah SAW said, “when a person dies, his practice will be cut off except for three things, namely: almsgiving, knowledge used,
or prayer of a pious child.” (HR. Muslim no. 1631)
# 4 Reducing the portion of Iftar Together
One of the results of evaluating my dissatisfaction with last year’s Ramadan was that many people received invitations to break their fast together. Starting from the invitation of friends from junior high school, high school, college, followed by iftar with organizations, community administrators, and so on. So what? Isn’t it even good? Isn’t iftar together also worship?
For myself, not always. Because often when I join the break fast, I lose my energy for tarawih and even when I get home I feel tired.
The solution, this year I began to sort out my choices to fulfill the invitation to break the fast together. Reducing does not mean refusing altogether, but seeing the priorities. For example, the main priority is from the closest kinship. For example iftar with family, open together with the office, and open with close friends. In addition, I will choose to break fast together close to my house or close to the mosque. So that breaking the fast together does not interfere with tarawih prayer activities in the month of Ramadan.
# 5 Study or Read a Book 2 Hours per Day
In this month of Ramadan, I am adding improvements to make myself more committed to increasing knowledge. I plan to study and read books two hours per day. On the agenda that I wrote down earlier, I scheduled to read the book after tarawih prayer until before bed.
Alhamdulillah, those are the 5 improvement programs that I tried to do this year and did not do the previous year. You can do the same program as me, to improve your Ramadan. Or, you can also share via the comment box below, what are the 5 improvements you want to make so that this year’s Ramadan is better than last year.
So, what are your 5 Ramadan remedial programs for this year?
Hopefully it will be useful to make your life happier, more accomplished, and have a real impact.
