
Working through Ramadan - taylorbuley
https://slackhq.com/working-through-ramadan-9784b352282e
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8611m
I have fasted for the past 20 years during the month of Ramadan. It is the
most revered month for all Muslim friends and family that I know. If you think
Ramadan is restricted to just not eating, you need to learn more about why
Muslims are advised to fast. Not eating during fast is the least of my concern
as most days I am on an intermittent fast which lasts for 16 hours as well.
Personally, I have rarely experienced any decline in performance, or asked for
any exceptions or exemptions from work duties. It becomes challenging waking
up in the middle of the night, 3 AM, to eat and drink and go back to sleep.
This year’s timings are roughly from 330 AM to 830 PM in New England area.
These timings change depending on your location. I make up for this lost sleep
at lunch break around noon by taking a 30 minute nap. I come back to work
after a nap with increased freshness of mind.

It has been a great month to inculcate new habits. I also seem to have have
more time than my colleagues and get done with more work than usual days. I
wouldn’t do it for the whole year as I love food too much.

My charity spending also spikes in this month and this is usual for most
practicing Muslims. I calculate how much money I would have spent on food on
my lunch in a normal month and give that money away to someone in need. This
is besides the increased almsgiving that most observant Muslims would
experience.

If you are sick, young, elderly, pregnant or have any health concerns you are
exempt from fasting. You fast only if you are capable.

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iofj
Sounds like it's pretty much the same as the 4 weeks of fasting into Easter,
Lent, which is also based on the lunar calendar. I guess that's where ramadom
comes from too, and I hear that one comes from the jewish religion, to
remember the flight out of Egypt, away from their religion and slavery. So
maybe your prophet got it from the jews. Basically when I was a kid the family
would spend pretty much the entire afternoon being together, working on the
food for the evening, which was usually delicious because of that. Many days
there was church, and church activities. The school would help out with the
fast.

I don't agree with you at all that it increases your energy. And yeah it came
with lots of completely ridiculous rules, like anything religious. If I was a
muslim, with that many rules that onerous, I'd refuse to do it just for that
reason alone. Such rules only serve to prove someone else's power over you and
nothing more. There is no use or purpose other than that. At one point I
actually thought different, and so I simply tested it. Nothing, of course, as
there is no God that is so extremely petty and meddling as that.

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gameofcode
Fasted last 15 years. In my experience, the first couple of days are tough
(mainly due to the body adjusting to different sleeping patterns and the lack
of coffee), but after getting over that my energy levels come back. My output
as a developer increases because my concentration levels are higher. This
continues to increase right through the month. While I'm fasting, I feel like
"I" have complete power/purity over my body. Fasting is not only to remember
the people in poverty, it is to learn self restraint. The week after Ramadhan
I begin to regret going back to old habits (5 cups of coffee a day, thinking
about food/snacking during the day etc).

The problem I've found people who test it have, is they try the first day and
say it's too hard (it is). You only really experience the benefits after a
couple of days.

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suprgeek
While it may be manageable for most, I wonder at what point it becomes
downright dangerous for people in critical jobs.

It would be interesting to do an analysis of say Muslim Surgeons observing
Ramadan fasts and the numbers and types medical errors during the fasting vs
non-fasting periods.

Or the Pilots on Fast and Long Haul flights who have been fasting daily for a
month....

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616c
It is hard to say in the Arab World, but judging from accent and religious
greetings, I have flown during Ramadan without incident.

However, there are known exceptions to fasting when traveling during Ramadan.
It is one of the few times when you are exempted, save illness, from fasting.

Despite what people say, Islam has a very practical mindset about these things
and many people push themselves, name the elderly and sick, and that upsets me
because I see many whose medical conditions exempt them.

How do doctors get around it? They don't show up!

Jokes aside, where I live, office hours are reduced to six hours a day. This
is partly fasting, but because many stay up late to recite the Quran (Taraweeh
and later Tajahhud) into the late hours of the evening and wake up for pre-
dawn prayers.

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vdfs
What is interesting in Ramadan is being dependent on the moon for the
calculation of this month starts and end, so in 33 years you will experience
fasting in different seasons

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amasad
It changes seasons every 10 years. In my mind Ramadan is forever tied to
fasting in the winter because that's my earliest memory of it.

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amasad
I was just saying the other day that fasting in Ramadan could work as
alternative to Soylent[1]. Eating one meal a day frees up a lot of mental
cycles that goes into thinking about food (what will I eat for lunch, where
from, etc). It also allows for longer stretches of uninterrupted coding time.
And probably most importantly the post-lunch slump is gone.

One phenomenon that I hadn't found an explanation for is that I get an
explosive amount of energy around 6 or 7pm (just before breakfast at 8.30pm).
And this hour is my most productive hour of the day.

[1]:
[https://twitter.com/amasad/status/746870830370533376?s=09](https://twitter.com/amasad/status/746870830370533376?s=09)

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back_beyond
Have you found that the freed mental cycles came later in the month, after
adjusting to the fast? In my experience, fasting requires even more mental
effort than I'd normally spend just to ignore hunger pangs.

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amasad
yes the first 3-5 days are always tough. Especially if you're addicted to
caffeine or nicotine. I would say it takes almost a week to start feeling more
productive than in non-fasting state.

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inssein
Ramadan was my most productive month last year (hard to measure this year as I
started at a new job just before Ramadan). There are no food related
distractions (no thinking about lunch, getting up for water, going to the
washroom, etc). The key was adjusting my schedule a little bit (start work
later) to ensure you get enough proper sleep.

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semi-extrinsic
I guess it depends a lot on your job. As a counterpoint, one of my neighbours,
who is Muslim, works as a chef. He says fasting is hard in that line of work:
not only do you have to stay in a hot kitchen smelling of good food all day,
but you can't even taste the food you're making to see if it's well seasoned
etc., so you're constantly bothering other people to taste for you, thus
lowering the productivity of the entire kitchen.

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chollida1
I didn't know that you weren't supposed to have water during the day. That's
pretty cut throat!!!

I typically fast for 24 hours 2-3 times a week. My Energy levels have been
higher since I've started this habit.

I've also done 7 day fasts and I find my brain gets sharper as it goes.

I think fasting along with meditation are two activities that I see as my
"Secret weapon".

While a lot of people view them that as new age nonsense, I find they are
worth 10 additional IQ points and believe they are activities that will be
start to be pushed by doctors as part of what's considered preventative health
care.

If you've never tried them, I'd highly recommend you consider it!!

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Mikeb85
Anyone who hasn't tried a spiritual discipline (such as fasting) really
should.

Belief isn't a prerequisite, and most faiths have some sort of variation on
it. Whether it's a Buddhist retreat, fasting through Ramadan, fasting through
Lent (my tradition, Orthodox Christianity has fairly strict fasting rules as
an example), or a retreat at a monastery, spiritual discipline is a great way
to withdraw from the world, focus on your inner self and learn to concentrate
and deal with life's stresses.

Even if you don't believe in deities, there is practical knowledge to be
gained. Also keep in mind, spiritual discipline during fasting seasons should
also be done in conjunction with prayer/meditation (depending on
religion/tradition), so it offers more benefits than simply dieting.

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cjensen
One thing I'd suggest for employers: if your employee observes Ramadan and
will be cooking for their family in the evening, make it easy for them to
leave plenty early so they can get food ready by sundown so their kids don't
have to fast longer than desired.

The kids at our elementary school who fast have a definitely lack of energy in
the afternoons. It's nice to do what we can to support their home lives.

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pritambaral
Islam exempts the young (and the elderly and the pregnant and the ill) from
fasting during Ramadan. Do the kids at your elementary school fast due during
Ramadan?

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cjensen
Yes. It depends on how old the kid is, and whether they can handle it.

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kilroy123
I once had a muslim roommate, who was going to a very prestigious law school
at the time. He would wake up early, and study well into the night.

During ramadan he very busy studying all day. As soon as it was close to
evening time, he would start cooking an insanely huge meal. I don't know how
the hell he did it.

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EugeneOZ
It's funny to observe how people think that fasting or any other ancient rite
will make their faith more valid. "If I'll eat this sandwich it will be huge
sin and God will judge me".

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machinelearning
Not a muslim myself, but its pretty apparent you haven't the faintest clue
about the reasons behind the fasting.

If you actually read even a little of the article, you will notice that there
is no reference to "making one's faith more valid", but rather more practical
values like self-discipline, self-control, patience etc.

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wingless
But of course the real reason is "everyone I know is doing it so I must fit
in".

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machinelearning
Of course, imitation plays a part whenever you have some kind of group
identity. However, there's a distinction between why the practice actually
exists and why people partake in it. The question being answered is the
former.

