How to make up your Ramadan fasts

I was chatting with a friend a little while back. She’s a high school teacher and head of year at her school. We were discussing techniques and mindsets we've found helpful in getting stuff done.

She came up with an interesting theory. It went along these lines:

We all have a list of things we need to do i.e. Islamic obligations, work, household stuff. There are two ways we can approach this. (A) We can view our to-do list as items in front of us, items that we tackle one at a time head-on. Or (B) we can view our to-do lists as burdens that we're carrying on our shoulders, weighing us down as we go about our day.

Those who approach them with optimism and purpose. They think “right, I’m going to read Quran today, put on a wash, then I’m going to visit my mum, then get home to cook dinner, bash out some writing, and get to sleep by 11 pm”. They know what they have to do, and are tackling it head-on.

The other types of people have the same stuff to do, but they’re bearing their problems on their shoulders. They think “arghhh I’ve got so much work I need to do, how am I going to find the time? I've got an observation coming up next week and I feel like I know nothing, there’s no way I’ll have time to go visit my mum today…”

We've all probably been both sorts of people at various points in our lives. I certainly have. Some days I wake up feeling energised and optimistic and get so much done. Other days, I wake up and have that sinking feeling that I've got a lot of things to do that day. The difference between these two versions of myself isn't the number of items on the to-do list, it's simply the way I choose to approach them.

Since last week I've started to actively think about my to-do list as items in front of me, rather than items I'm carrying on my shoulders. So, one item on my to-do list is to make up the fasts I missed last Ramadan. I know it’s fard (obligatory) to make them up before Ramadan begins this year, in April. So I have actively planned the days I will fast in December. It’s the best time of the year because in the UK Maghrib salah is at 4 pm. So I have no excuse. 

I also cook a special meal so I’m really looking forward to opening my fast. I seem to be craving chili Indian food for iftar. If you're interested in learning some of my recipes I teach them on Udemy.

So, I’m doing one day then a day off then fast the next day. I’ve got 9 to make up and alhumdulilah I’ve made up 5 fasts! Each time I complete a fast I feel so chuffed because I’m obeying Allah! This simple change has made me more productive, and I feel more in control of my to-do list rather than feeling like I'm drowning in it.

Thought I'd share this in case anyone else finds it useful. As always, you can reach me by simply replying to this email. Have a great week Inshallah!

Love and Duas Farhat

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