Creating Focus in Ramadan

As I mentioned on my Instagram a few days ago, I am making a list of goals that I want to achieve for the coming Ramadan. It is a practice that I have started a few Ramadans ago and it has helped me (and my family) to be focused.

We need to have a more focused Ramadan.

For the year 2018, Ramadan will fall on May 17th (That's tomorrow, wuhoo!) and I figured I should publicize my Ramadan goals in the form of a blog post and a vlog.

Without further ado, here is a simple list of my Ramadan goals:

Goals for Myself

Surah al-Baqarah Podcast

This is an ongoing goal that started way back in 2016 when Ustaz Nouman Ali Khan started his epic translation sessions of Surah al-Baqarah. My wife and I followed the recordings but we couldn't manage to stay through the whole thing unfortunately.

But I don't want to give up on it and I want to continue doing it. My plan is to download the podcast on my phone and listen to it while I'm driving because that is when I like to listen to things.

7-minute Workout

If you don't know what it is, you can Google it. It is a simple 7-minute workout session that is totally doable, if you have the self-discipline. You don't need anything other than a chair. Most of the workout is done with your own bodyweight.

It is no surprise that I have gained weight over the 5 years of my marriage. My main motivation is my family. I need to make sure I am physically healthy to properly take care of my family.

Plus, I need to look good for my wife :)

Goals for My Family

Family Reading Session

Early on in our marriage, my wife and I did a family reading session where I would read out loud from a book. In the beginning, we read Tarbiyatul Aulad fil Islam. It was a good, quality family time. But then, other commitments came in and we unintentional pushed aside the family activity.

I kind of feel bad about that.

So, I wanted to reintroduce the reading session into the family. It doesn't have to be an Islamic book. It can be any book of benefit. I just want to have a short, but sweet, sit down moment with my family while reading a book out loud.

Even if it's just for 5-10 minutes. That's quality time you can't buy.

Put the Phones Away

Okay, this is a bit awkward. I know wholeheartedly that I shouldn't be on my phone while I am with my family. But seeing that the nature of my work is so closely related to the internet and my phone, it is personally challenging for me to put the black mirror away.

But I have to learn how to prioritize my life. When work gets in the way of family, then that is a red flag. So I want to take the opportunity of Ramadan to reconnect with my family by putting the phone away when it is family time.

Goals for My Work

Daily Video Content

Before, I challenge myself to make daily vlogs and I did it. I quite enjoy the daily pressure of creating because it forced me to squeeze my creative juice. I wanted to relive the rush, so I wanted to create video contents on a daily basis.

But this time, I want to do it across my social media platforms: Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram. On Youtube, I will be doing vlogs. On Facebook, I will be answering questions in Malay. On Instagram, I will be doing short 1-minute videos.

Weekly Podcast

This is super exciting! For a long time, I wanted to run an active podcast channel. In the beginning, I recorded my talks and upload them on Soundcloud. But I couldn't be consistent with it, so I abandoned it after a while.

But I still want to do it. I love listening to interesting audio content while I'm driving, because I prefer to have background sounds while driving. Sometimes I enjoy quiet moments, but for the most part, I want to serve my ears with some delicious goodness.

I thought, if I am like that then perhaps there are other people out there who are similar. But I don't want to create too long of podcast episodes. So my podcasts will be about 5-minute long for each episode.

Good news! My weekly podcast will be officially launched tomorrow on the first day of Ramadan. The podcast will be called "Unshakeable" and it will be an outlet for me to share with you my thoughts, ideas, and stories about self-confidence, fighting fear, learning through making mistakes, life challenges, and self-growth.

Subscribe here: Unshakeable.

It's gonna be epic!

Bonus

There's another special goal that I want to achieve this Ramadan, which I hope to continue after Ramadan ends. If you want to know what it is, then please watch the vlog I did about my Ramadan goals: