Here’s a step-by-step action plan for you to carry your efforts from Ramadhan forward.

Post Ramadan Goals: # 1

RECOMMIT.

Recommit yourself to the Prayer. The Quran. And Dhikr.

Just like you spent some time in Shabaan/beginning of Ramadhan to commit to making the most of Ramadhan, it’s time to repeat the commitment process. But a little differently this time.

Commit to making these 3 a part of your daily lifestyle, and to hang on to them no matter how “sinful” you think you are.

At this point, we’re not setting “in-the-air” goals for Ibadah that have 0% probability of becoming a reality.

We’re only COMMITTING to staying in touch with Prayer, Quran and Dhikr on a regular basis that we most likely already starting working on in Ramadhan.

Post Ramadan Goals: # 2

DON’T START EVERYTHING NEW… CONTINUE.

Recall your goals for this Ramadhan. What did you achieve from them?

Start by working on the SAME goals because it’s easier to work on something that you’ve already laid the foundation for. It requires less work as there’s less resistance and you’ve already generated some momentum in Ramadhan.

Ask yourself: What is it that you want to continue working on from your Ramadhan goals?

For example; say you got into the habit of reciting Quran daily and you want to stay consistent in that habit.

You can also reduce some of the bigger, more difficult Ramadhan goals into smaller goals – something so small that it becomes ridiculously easy for you to follow, and very hard to say no to. So if your goal in Ramadhan was to read 1 Juz of Quran every day, a smaller goal could be reciting 1 page every day or reciting Quran for 5mins daily.

First, get regular with the easiest, smallest step before you go bigger.

And yes, EVEN IF you had been reading a complete Juz every day in Ramadhan. I know cutting down on the goal might be hard for those who were doing a LOT during Ramadhan. But trust me, if you haven’t been reciting a Juz daily after Ramadhan, chances are – the difficulty of doing so much is what’s keeping you from getting started.

The way you grow in the remaining 11 months of the year is different than the way you grow in Ramadhan. Ramadhan is intense, fast, strict and very rewarding in a short period of time. We can’t stay in an INTENSE Ibadah mode all throughout the year, especially if we were doing almost nothing intense BEFORE Ramadhan.

Ideally, if you want to continue the habits you had developed in Ramadhan, the best way to do so is to practice them in the same time-pockets that you used to do in Ramadhan.

For example, when would you read Quran in Ramadhan? Was it after Maghrib? After Fajr? Before Maghrib? If multiple times, pick one time that’s easiest for you to maintain regularly and continue reading Quran in that time.

Post Ramadan Goals: # 3

FIX YOUR SLEEP-WAKE SCHEDULE.

If your sleep schedule is all messed up since Ramadhan, make it a priority to fix it before it becomes long-term.

If you’re staying up all night and sleeping in the day even after Ramadhan is over, it will mess up everything else for you.

Your productivity will suffer in the work-hours, you won’t be able to avail your early mornings, not to mention your eating habits will be all “confused”.

Remember, sleep is very important in getting things done. Fix that first and then watch how easy it is to take action when you’re waking up early. All the other pieces of the puzzle fall into place more smoothly once you wake up early, fresh and excited about your day.