I don’t know about you, but I’m the type of person that needs caffeine in order to achieve any sort of productivity.

Roll your eyes if you must, but it’s true. Whether it’s a trick of the mind or not is up for debate, but I’ll divulge a secret–I drink decaf too. My body’s dependency on a hot cup of anything, really, is key here.

Now, with the start of Ramadan this past weekend, you see the issue here: no more daytime caffeine breaks for poor Tania. As logic dictates, that must mean the productivity rate sees a sharp decline.

Well…yes, yes it does.

The problem at hand should be apparent–it’s not possible for a working, professional adult to remain in a slump for 30 days without detriment. Actively working in your career, striving towards your goals and staying fit for a month without any sort of sustenance during the day, as well as a now-dysfunctional sleep schedule, is difficult, to say the least.

How to get around it? In the last 30 seconds since starting this post, I’ve devised a solution: FAST.

Find ways to occupy your day.

Always keep the bigger picture in mind.

SLEEP as long as you can.*

TIME is of the essence.

As a 24-year-old early in her career and in the midst of a serious existential crisis, all of the above serves as a testament to the ideas that I try to hold true.

Time is truly of the essence in all respects, Ramadan or not. It is a crucial step towards success to keep that in mind (stop keeping that internal countdown.) There will always be some sort of obstacle on the road, but the key is to stop using it as a reason for procrastination.

Lesson being: there is no true reason to a decline in productivity. These are all excuses in disguise.

*technically this is cheating, proceed with caution.