The noticeable thing about Ramadan this year is its long days. During this year, we are supposed to fast for almost 15 hours. It might look like a daunting task but if you think from another perspective, it means plenty of time to use effectively without distractions.

During Ramadan, the working hours at almost all offices across the Kingdom are reduced from 8 to 6. Contrary to popular belief, this reduction in working hours offer a perfect opportunity to become more proactive and to increase productivity levels.

These are six hours of pure focus on one’s work — no coffee breaks, no stolen minutes to puff on a cigarette, no time wasted looking for a restaurant to have lunch.

Looking from this perspective, Ramadan provides us with the opportunity to streamline our work and to accomplish different tasks effectively without any hindrance.

I wonder why do people call for minimizing workload during Ramadan. Fact of the matter is that they don’t call for such a change but have already implemented this in letter and spirit. Headache and a lack of sleep should not be accepted as reasons to justify such an approach. Producing very little in Ramadan is a choice rather than an unavoidable consequence.

Anyhow, whatever you have done during the working hours, you would still go home with around three more hours till the breaking of fast. Deduct an hour for the trip to home and errands, and you would still end up with two full hours for something important. Given that most of us stayed up late the previous night, the obvious choice would be to go to sleep! However, do not submit to temptation, there are a lot of other useful activities that could be accomplished in these two hours. I would skip the obvious of reading Qur’an or helping your wife in the Iftar preparation; one option is to go and indulge in a light sport. Unless you have a medical condition to prevent it, a lot of experts in the field advise a light training before breaking fast. Walking or light jogging would help the body relax and adjust to the new Ramadan routine, in addition to burning fat and losing weight in a healthy manner. What else you could do; read a book. Dust some of the books you bought from the last book fair and did not get the time to read and start reading them. You are not in the mood for reading a book, fine, search the web for a topic you are interested in and learn about it, or even better, learn a new hobby. What else? Engage in a project with your kids. They already have a plenty of time during their summer vacations so it is a good opportunity to bond with them and teach them something new.

The time between Maghrib and Ishaa prayers is the time to relax and enjoy the company of your family or friends.

Now from around 10:30 onward, again there is plenty of time that needs to be filled. The common choice these days is to spend that time in front of TV! I am not against watching TV; just do not make it the only thing to do. There are still a lot of other choices to pick from. Most of the earlier activities we just mentioned above can be completed in this time. And still, Ramadan is known for its lively nights. Go out and meet some of your family members or friends whom you have not seen since the last Ramadan. Or better yet, choose one of the many Ramadan related events that are taking place around the Kingdom. If you happen to be in Jeddah, then Al-Balad Ramadan festival should be visited. It is a really interesting family activity that is entertaining and informative, fun and educating. The festival had a good start, in the first two days of the month, more than 7,000 people visited the event. What I am particularly excited about this year is the rollout of the cultural salon, which will be part of the festival for first time ever. A number of Saudi writers and poets will be guests in the salon talking about their works and experiences. It was something we had been missing in Jeddah for a long time.

The point I am trying to make here is that do not submit to the stereotype about Ramadan; it is not about food and TV and some more food at night. The nature of the month, its spirit, opens up a lot of opportunities to do different and enjoyable things. Try to get out of your comfort zone and do something different in Ramadan this year.