Keeping Focus at Work During Ramadan

Manon Lamiche recently sat down with Farah Addada to discuss the working experience during Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims all over the world fast from sunrise to sunset. When the sun sets, the fast is broken with iftar. Ramadan ends with the celebratory feast of Eid al-Fitr.

Listen to the podcast HERE.

 

Hi, I'm Farah Addada. I'm an associate workplace designer at JLL.

 

So first question. How does fasting affect your energy level and your work day? 

So I've been fasting for 12 years now. Over the years I've learned different ways of managing my own expectations and knowing what my limitations are when it comes to fasting. The most important part of the day during fasting is in the morning; that's when you have the most energy levels. When you're fasting, your mind is extremely focused on the task at hand with no distractions such as lunch or coffee breaks.

 

How does your organisation support you during this month? 

My organisation supports me with a reduced number of working hours during the day, which we are very blessed with because we do live in the UAE and in a Muslim country. And something that I really appreciate from my colleagues and from my peers is there's an understanding of how your energy levels are affected towards the end of a working day and therefore will typically schedule workshops or client meetings towards the beginning of the day.

• Make colleagues aware that you’re fasting

I think we first need to start by educating our colleagues about what Ramadan is and what the fasting hours are and how we break our fast. That's important to let people know.

• Use the mornings for meetings and focus work

A second tip is, your energy levels are usually the highest in the morning, so I would say try to schedule any meetings or any site visits in the morning. And then try to get all of your focus work done in the morning.

• Try not to overdo it right? Try not to overdo it

You are fasting and your colleagues do understand that. So don't shy away from saying, you know what, at this hour, I’m tired, let’s reschedule this meeting first thing tomorrow.

And would you like to share any good experiences that you've had during Ramadan –  in the workplace or not in the workplace? 

I think with such a busy life, the best blessing out of Ramadan is that it forces you daily to reconnect with your family and have dinner. Or have breakfast, actually. Or have iftar. 

 

Any bad ones? Because we also learn from them, bad experiences. 

None.  

 

So during Ramadan, are you more energised or exhausted? 

So I'm actually more energised. 

 

Blessed or stressed?  

Blessed. 

 

Cooking or staying far away from the oven?  

Staying far, far away from the oven. 

 

Breaking the fast with soup or with dates? 

With soup. Actually – with dates! 

 

Working out or laying down? 

Laying down. 

 

One word to describe your Eid celebration.  

Family.

We hope you were as inspired by Farah as we were! If you know of any other women with interesting journeys in the fields of workplace, real estate or architecture at any stage of their career, please feel free to connect with Adithi Khandadai and Nishtha Bali on LinkedIn.