Reality, working in Ramadan
“Sometimes you will have to function with no sleep”
If you’re not Muslim, an Arab or someone who lives in a country where religious laws are applied, you might read this and think to yourself, “what the **** is Moey talking about here? I don’t get it.”
Well, Ramadan is a holy month, you are not allowed to eat/drink anything from 4 am till 6 pm. First meal is usually at 6 pm and the last meal at 2 am, so you usually stay up even if you don’t fast because everyone is, it is kind of a schedule killjoy. However, you need to wake up next morning and be at work by 9 am and function well until 3 or 4 pm.
Now, this is totally fine (not in Ramadan, where your schedule is normal and you get to sleep earlier) but in Ramadan it is a mess.
Now you might say “I hardly sleep right now and I’m in University! All I do is stay out all the time, sometimes party, go online and sleep for 3 hours/day yet ace my exams!”. Well, working is different (I mean DUDE, it is Art school!).
Well, that is true, I do the same thing. But, the one thing you have and I don’t is… Naps!
Naps, which you recharge your batteries in let’s say, do not exist in the real world scenario, not if you work in advertising. If you don’t sleep well at night (because you were working on a deadline, updating your files or trying to communicate with those you can’t reach at work) you still have to work for 9 hours (and sometimes more) and you do not get to nap. Try imagining that day for an extended period of time and then you will know what I am talking about.
Being tired is fine but the fact that you still have to be FULLY FUNCTIONING no matter how tired you are is what matters. To wake up, you will end up drinking 2 liters of coffee, and once that doesn’t you will have to switch to Red Bull… then you will start sweating as if you’re in a sauna room.
Eventually, you survive without screwing anything up and get a “good job” from your boss…
Advice: If you can’t stand this, do not think of advertising.
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haha know what u mean…I’m dying now of sleepiness and THANK GOD its a slow day today and am leaving at the end of the official ramadan timing (3:30 pm, in 45 minutes from now). I would hate to be stuck chasing creative or suppliers until iftar (i work in advertising too)
Advertising or design are the same.. and i didn’t face any problem with the last 9 working ramadans that i experienced!
› drive to office at 10:00 AM
› go back home at 4:00~5:00PM
› have iftar with family or friends at 7:00PM*
› come back from Tarawee7 at 9:30PM
› sleep at 11:00PM
› wake up again at 4:00AM to have so7our
› stay awake or sleep till 9:30AM
this is my daily program in Ramadan.. i can do many stuff without being tired or annoyed.
finally it’s a matter of choice. if you are willing to fast this Ramadan or the upcoming ones; you could chose your Ramadan: miserable or not.
*Amman’s Time
Well, the problem is… your schedule is more flexible.
> mine is waking up by 7.30, reaching office by 9.
> go back home at 4.
> have eftar with family at 6.
> become exhausted because of the lack of sleep and sleep till 8.
> go out with friends or have visitors at home for at least 3 hours.
> do some work because I don’t have enough time next morning.
> have suhoor and sleep by like 4 am.
It is hectic specially when you do stay at the office all the time, you have to go out check on stuff in this very LOVELY humid hot weather.
It is miserable not by choice.
yeah its always messed up in the month of Ramadan, but its even harder if its too hot, especially when you’re on the road, damn! its hot here these days I don’t know about your place..I hope we get the reward for all these sacrifices later…