It's 7 pm and I am already home after a very productive day with IslamicFinder’s Engineering team. Time to pray Isha in about 20 minutes and dinner is almost ready. My kid who has been waiting for me since morning, after eagerly greeting, is playing with me and inquiring about the sirens of a police car and an ambulance. And I am trying to explain the difference to him. His questions are becoming more challenging for me with every passing day. I have to be prepared every time because he takes my word for everything I tell him.
I had been waiting for this beautiful evening since the day I started my first job. An evening that is refreshing. An evening that is spent with my family. But I could never find one. I usually reach home when everyone is sleeping or about to sleep. I missed so many family events. I skipped so many talks. However, today was a totally different day.
This evening was never possible without a productive morning routine. I didn't reach the office by the usual time, that is, 9 am. I actually reached around 8 am and had a productive hour at work because I was working alone.
Here's how I managed to reach office early and formulated a productive morning routine that you should follow too:
Waking up
Waking up at the time of Fajr athan gives you ample time to get ready for Fajr and offer the prayer with devotion. I used Athan app that helped me get up on time. Its beautiful prayer alert in the form of an azaan was a great start of a productive day.
Getting ready
To be fully prepared for Fajr salah, it is important to wake up properly. Most of the time, we get up, perform wuzu, offer the prayer in a rush and without khushu and khuzu.
Only a handful of people can be active enough to offer salah with devotion a few minutes after waking up.
Hence, this morning, I decided to come out of bed as soon as the Fajr Athan alert went off. I got up, turned on the lights and went to the bathroom to sprinkle water on my face. Trust me, it helped in alerting my brain and bringing me to full consciousness.
Waking up your family
After this, I proceeded to wake up my family since waking up your family, especially your spouse and children, is a great deed. Prophet (PBUH) said:
“May Allah have mercy on a man who gets up at night and prays, and he wakes up his wife, and if she refuses (to get up) he sprinkles water in her face. And may Allah have mercy on a woman who gets up at night and prays, and she wakes up her husband, and if he refuses (to get up) she sprinkles water in his face.” [Abu Dawood: 1308]
Perform Wudu
The next thing I did was wudu (ablution) for Fajr. If you have any confusion about the method of wuzu, use this illustration to understand the step by step procedure.
Fajr prayer
I then left for Mosque to offer Fajr in a congregation. The Prophet (PBUH) said:
“I do not allow anyone who is able to attend the congregational prayer to miss it unless they have an excuse.” [Shafii, al-Umm, 1.154]
So, try to offer all prayers in Masjid. You can use the Athan app or IslamicFinder website to find mosques around you.
Quran
Finding time for reading Quran during the day or after the office hours is next to impossible. Hence, instead of leaving Masjid after offering Fajr, I stayed back to read a few passages from Quran.
Reading Quran daily makes your Imaan stronger. Even if you read a few ayah a day, you will be able to complete the Quran some day.
I prefer reading Quran with translation on IslamicFinder. If you are not able to understand Arabic, try reading it with translation.
Exercise
The next task on my day’s agenda was to burn some calories. If you start your day with some physical activity, you can stay active all day. It’s best if you don’t go home directly after Fajr and go towards the jogging track instead. You can also catch a long route to your home and walk some extra miles.
Brainstorm
Early hours of the day are said to be the most productive ones. After exercise, I devoted some time to reflect upon yesterday’s tasks and make plans for the day. This helped in clearing my schedule for the weekend which I will now use to think about my long-term goals.
Breakfast
Most of the time people get up late, get dressed within a few minutes and have no option but to skip the breakfast in order to reach office on time. Having a healthy breakfast does not only make your stomach strong but also helps in maintaining body weight.
Your body needs the energy to get ready for a tough day and an empty stomach leads to an unproductive day. Therefore, I had a healthy breakfast, rich in protein, fiber, and vitamins, to keep me active during the office hours.
Conclusively
I was able to reach office before time, had a productive day, left for home on time and was able to give time to my family after a long time.
Everyone has their own morning ritual but I am sure waking up early in the morning contributes towards a good day.
Some of you may already have a better morning routine than me so please share your experiences in comments below. I would love to read about your routine.
