Ramadan Prep for the Practical Mamas

Dua

Start your day off with dua, asking Allah to bless you in your time, with your children. Make dua for everything. • Plan ahead – “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining, don’t wait until it rains.” JFK quote that sums up what planning ahead can do. Look at your day, find the little moments within it when you know you will have pockets of time and set practical, realistic and sustainable goals for yourself.

• 1. Making Quran the first thing in your day. Listen to it when your hands are busy. If feeding baby, then recite Quran then – put the phone away. Use the little time you have wisely.

• 2. Have your dua list ready before Ramadan – think hard about all the things you want and put it on your list – during Ramadan, keep dua list handy and use it whenever you get a chance.

• 3. Pray at night – Pray when you can. Don’t get put off if you can’t pray in the last third of the night, pray when you can!
  4. Choose carefully what you watch online and on tv – you don’t have to watch everything. (this relates to Islamic videos)

Take control

1. Take control of your mental conversation – know how you should react to situations you might not like (e.g. children misbehaving and making you angry – be conscious of how you will react)

2. Take control of your time – think about how you will start and end your day. These are the two times that can make the whole day run smoothly. Don’t play catch up with time – control how you use it even in the chaos of being around and for your children. Remember “mornings are magic.”

Execute the Plan

By being consistent with it. Being consistent means doing things whether you like it or not, force yourself to do it. Be serious about your plan but not uptight, allow some flexibility. Don’t compare your progress with other peoples, its not a race. You are trying to get better, concentrate on that.

• Listened to the sister last night whilst cooking dinner. I loved it. It made me think, it made me want to do things. And to do them differently. I listened to the recording again this morning and made notes – and have finally started my Ramadan preps. Up until now, I was thinking about it a lot, but not putting pen to paper.

• I urge all the sisters to listen to the short 20 minute recording – absolutely brilliant – will make you realise that its possible as a mother to get things done – we just have to have a realistic, mindful plan iA.