‘Verily, all things have We created in (planned) proportion and measure.‘

Assalamu Alaikum fellow Muslim or hello to my non-Muslim friend!

Ramadan 2021 is approaching very fast, and many Muslims around the world are preparing for this auspicious and blessed month. Planning is so important, as said in the Quranic verse above. However, how can you really prepare for this month? In this article, I will be sharing a step by step guide on how to prepare for Ramadan in 2-3 days. I have followed this guide for the past 3-4 years and Alhamdulillah, it has been working quite well for me.

Remind yourself what Ramadan really is for

Ramadan was not created for sharing Iftar photos on social media, nor was it created for you to compete on who can finish the Quran the fastest. Ramadan was created as a blessed month to remember our Lord, attain Taqwa (self-consciousness), build healthy habits and also how it feels like to be deprived of food like the poor. Set your intentions clear and sincerely feel excited for Ramadan.

Buy a Ramadan journal

I would advise to then get a separate A5 notebook with lined pages.I use the Oxford A5 Purple Notebook. Your notebook does not need to be pricey at all. This will be your Ramadan journal which you can use every Ramadan.

Reflect on last year’s Ramadan

Think about last year’s Ramadan and write down three things that went well and three things that you can improve on. This will help you to understand what you need to do to make this Ramadan better.

Write your goals for this year

Now that you know what you can improve on, you now want to go ahead and write about 3-5 goals for this Ramadan. My biggest tip is to keep these realistic, as I know that many people can get too ambitious with these goals but end up not fulfilling them.

Write a daily routine for the month of Ramadan

You now want to write how a typical day in Ramadan will look like for you. 

First write down the times by hour on the side.

Next incorporate the times you will be doing compulsory work such as going to school.

Then, add in the prayer times. 

After that, you can add your acts of worship into the routine, as well as what times you will be sleeping.

You can then count up how many hours you will be sleeping, studying and doing acts of worship.

One piece of advice is that if you are a student, study at the times you work best at. The best times to study would be:

→ Right after eating Suhoor until you have to go to school

OR

→ Right after Iftar until Suhoor

Make a table to track your habits

Now, you want to create a table where you will be shading in the habits. Here is an example: 

Shade this every day in Ramadan.

Make a to do list for any remaining tasks you need to do before Ramadan.

The last step is to write a to do list for any tasks you need to do before Ramadan. Perhaps, you need to do Eid shopping before Ramadan. Maybe you need to reschedule your trip with your friends after Ramadan? Try to avoid doing heavy tasks during Ramadan so you can spend more time worshipping. Complete this to do list.

Mashallah! You have completed your ultimate prep for Ramadan. Remember to look at your Ramadan journal every day and you are good to go!

In Sha Allah you have benefitted from this article. Please comment down below your goals for Ramadan and share this article with your family and friends to earn some more rewards. I will be In Sha Allah be posting more articles based on Islam here on this website on Ramadan so please stay tuned.

May Allah bless us all and Allah knows best.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!