Happy Ramadhan!

   I'm late! Again. Haha. Let me say it anyway- Have a blessed Ramadhan everyone! This month is the time to train ourselves to be better Muslims and individuals. If you are a Muslim, fasting, performing your prayers (both fareedah and sunnah), giving sadaqah... all those things have to be given extra work and effort! Ramadhan is our training ground. It will help prepare us for what we need to face after Ramadhan in syaa Allah.

   This year marks my second year as a working lady (ewahh kelas gitu bunyi). I am getting more and more work and tasks at school, and it doesn't help that I feel so exhausted and tired all the time. Sometimes I get frustrated because I get caught up with so much clerical work that my pupils are left to fend for themselves. It truly irritates and frustrates me.

   To be honest, I was afraid that when Ramadhan came, I would feel even more burdened. Normally, I always get hungry all the time as I spend most of it running here and there, from my classes to the office to the staff room, upstairs and downstairs, from one building to another. I would feel drained so if I have time I will run to the canteen or at least suck on a lollipop (of which I have an endless stock- my pupils make sure of that!). I wondered how I would get through Ramadhan without eating or drinking anything throughout the day.

   Allah truly knows best. I have never felt as strong and energetic as I have during these past seven days. Now that the Mid-Year Exam is over and done with, we have started using a new timetable (Jadual Anjal). We have also split the Year 6 classes from two into three groups. This means more teaching periods, which sums up to around 34 periods for me per week. I know that for some people this is normal but at my school the normal teaching periods per week is 25. Added to that are tuition classes, endless filing and clerical work, helping a teacher with his or her course assignments (doing it for them actually -_-) and so on. You name it. Sometimes I have so much work to do that I feel my head would explode. Sometimes I get so bewildered that I would just sit down and stare at all the mess on my table. Sometimes I just don't know what I should start working on.

   What worried me the most is that all this additional work would take away my focus away from my real job- to teach my pupils. Alhamdulillah. Allah has granted me the strength and energy, so far, to still be able to plan my lessons and teach in class. I used to get a bit tardy sometimes. I'd go into my classes without a single plan in my head and just teach spontaneously. I notice that the past seven days of fasting has helped me to be more serious in planning my work. It helps that we get up so early for sahur. I now set off for school at 6.00 a.m. so that I'll arrive at school at around 6.45 a.m. I have early morning classes with my Year 6 pupils. After school I'll continue with tuition classes, twice a week during school days and probably once during the weekend.

   Today, for instance, I had to teach for eight periods. Just imagine. We only have ten periods per day. I only had two periods to sit and do other work. When I entered my last English class, I thought I would collapse. But I didn't. To my surprise my voice has grown stronger (if you read my posts on my first year of posting you would understand how much this means to me) and I can still jump around and have fun with my children. Ma syaa Allah. The power of fasting. The beauty of Ramadhan. Allah truly knows what he has in store for us in this blessed Ramadhan.

   So dear friends. Take the opportunity to be even more productive this month. If you ever need any ideas or tips to plan better and become more productive especially during Ramadhan, do visit productivemuslim.com. It's a wonderful, wonderful website. On that note, I must end here. Sorry if it all sounds rather abrupt. I wish you a happy and blessed Ramadhan. In syaa Allah, let us be become better Muslims, people and teachers throughout this training process. Take care!

Remember...