This one is for my Muslamic friends. It's about determining a consistent waking time throughout the year to perform fajr, the dawn devotions, and maintain a productive day. This perhaps works best for freelancers and students. I need your help and I hope I can help you too.

We all know the sense of well-being accompanying the performance of our five obligated prayers. We know the sense of wretchedness that fills a day when we miss fajr. We also know the complex feelings of performing fajr and then napping afterwards, and losing valuable work hours.

I wanted to determine a consistent waking time, whereby we could perform fajr and start our work.

I divide my day into three: 8 hours for sleep; 8 hours for 'work'; and, 8 hours for 'play'.

I define 'work' as any activity that results in payment (e.g. tutoring, translating etc), or any activity that contributes towards gaining payment (e.g. preparing study materials, doing professional courses etc).

I define 'play' as any activity that is not 'work' and 'sleep'.

I believe 8 hours sleep is necessary for good health. I recognise there are records of the pious who compromised their sleep for lengthy night worship. At this stage of life, I do not believe I possess the capacity to achieve that rank.

I take comfort in the knowledge that Abu Hurayra, the exemplary companion of the Prophet, performed his final voluntary genuflections before sleeping so that he could devote his waking hours to transmission of the Prophet's knowledge, thus becoming his most prolific narrator.

To this end of determining a consistent waking time for productivity and well-being, I downloaded the East London Mosque timetable and a Hijri/ Gregorian calendar for 2018/9 (1439/40).

I wanted to plan my year ahead. It dawned upon me after half a life time that planning from birthday to birthday is a clearer measurement of self-improvement than January to January. My birthday also coincides with the general start of the academic calendar too.

My waking time, my days, my weeks, my months and my years feed into a bigger programme determined by knowing, according to official government statistics, my year of death.

You can buy a watch that counts the years, months, days, and even seconds until your estimated year of death according to statistics. See http://mytikker.com .

The summer solstice (the longest day of the year) for us in the UK is 20/21 June after which the days get progressively shorter.

The winter solstice (the shortest day of the year) is c. 21 December after which the days start to get longer.

The clocks go forward here in the UK by an hour on the last Sunday of March. They go back on the last Sunday of October.

With all the above considerations, I determined the following three times for waking up during the year to perform fajr and then begin my work day.

1. 6am, from 14 September - 07 March
2. 5.30am from 08 March - 30 April
3. 4am from 01 May - 14 September

The idea is to leave a minimum of 30 minutes until sunrise. The ideal is to pray at the mosque ten minutes walk away. However, consistency on the basic obligation is better.

To achieve at least 8 hours sleep during the summer, I combine Maghrib, twilight devotions, with Isha`, nighttime devotions, at the earlier time between 01 May and 14 September, plus a hour nap in the afternoon.
We all know that feeling of exhaustion during the summer.

Like I said, this timetabling works best for the freelancers; so long as one does 8 hours of 'work' immediately after fajr then one can nap or 'play' after lunch without a sense of guilt, especially if one has earned sufficiently in that time.

When I lived in Damascus 2001-3, I saw too that official hours started and finished earlier, about 7am-2pm (if I remember correctly). Hamza Yusuf, in his 'Purification of the Soul', mentions how merchants in traditional Islamic societies went home early if they earned enough.

Some other observations: having a sense of sunset times during the years also helps determine planning evening activities in advance.

c.1600-1800 01 Dec. - 28 Feb.
c.1800-2100 01 Mar. - 31 May
c.2100-2000 01 Jun. - 31 Aug.
c.2000-1600 01 Sep. - 30 Nov

I would appreciate advice (الدين النصيحة) if I have misconstrued matters as instructed by waḥy, or if I have been deficient in understanding productivity.

I will await feedback before inviting thoughts on weekly timetabling, reading lists, and related matters.

I have taken the liberty of tagging individuals who I see possessing the wisdom and experiences to contribute most valuably to my present concerns: @joewbradford, @AnonyMousey, @winnie4prez. They live on the other side of the Atlantic, but I'm thinking the issues remain the same.

#ProductiveMuslim @AbuProductive @MohammedAFaris provides a tripartite solutions to sleep management:

(1) Spiritual
(2) Physical
(3) Social

Sleep is a matter of quality not quantity. Sleeping well solves half the problem of being productive. The other half is waking!

(1) Spiritual solutions to sleep: @AbuProductive emphasises intention and the Prophet's actions and prayers before and after sleeping.
(2) Physical: 7 tips + managing sleep cycles and afternoon power naps
(3) Social: sleep with a clean heart. Forgive others; resolve conflicts.

7 tips for good sleep hygiene:
(i) At least 45 minutes exercise two hours or more before sleep.
(ii) Eat not within three hours before sleep.
(iii) Avoid evening caffeine
(iv) No screens within 90 minutes before sleep
(v) Light reading
(vi) Journalling
(vii) See daylight waking

Five stages of Sleep Cycle:
i. Falling asleep
ii. Light sleep
iii. Deep sleep (A)
iv. Deep sleep (B)
v. REM

Wake up during stages i., ii., and v. to avoid grogginess. Entire cycle is approx. 90 minutes but listen to body. Calculate wake time accordingly. Add buffer to stage i..

Three types of Power Naps:
i. Cat nap - 20 min.
ii. Action nap - 40-45 min.
iii. Long nap - 90 min. (i.e. a complete sleep cycle)

Use a timer and natural noise app. Have sign: "Napping in progress. End {time}". Follow with caffeine if groggy but don't be discouraged!

I tried the Cat Nap at a desk. There is a lot of fidgeting I found, so headphones would perhaps be impractical. But surprisingly refreshing. I drink caffeine twice a day: breakfast and lunch. Warm milk after dinner to aid sleep.

#ProductiveMuslim author @MohammedAFaris has sleep routine that gives 45 minutes pre-Fajr waking time any season. I personally find waking to voices of BBC World Service radio alarm less jarring on nerves than beeping, plus news not local, so less stressful Radio 4, for example.

Ten spiritual maladies
(from @salyounas course notes)
1. Heedlessness غفلة
2. Love of the world حب الدنيا
3. Ostentation رياء
4. Seeking reputation سمعة
5. Fear of poverty خوف الفقر
6. Blameworthy anger غضب
7. Unjustified hatred بغض
8. Rancor غل
9. Envy حسد
10. Arrogance كبر

Treatment for (1) Heedlessness:
a. Seeking forgiveness
b. Visiting the righteous
c. Benedictions upon the Prophet
d. Recitation of the Qur`ān.

Treatment for (2) love of the world:
a. Remembering its ephemeral nature
b. Remembering death

Treatment for (3) ostentation and (4) seeking reputation:
a. Remembering deficiencies of creation
b. Consciousness of its harm: rejection of worship and divine chastisement
c. Doing good deeds in private like one sins
d. Recitation 'Master of forgiveness' and Surah al-Ikhlās

Treatment for (5) fear of poverty:
a. Recognising predestination and having a good opinion of God
b. Recognising nature of this world and harms of wealth

Treatment for (6) anger:
a. Embody forbearance as praised in the poetry and prose of the wise
b. Practise humility to suppress it's manifestation

Treatment for (7) hatred:
Pray good for the one despised

Treatment for (8) rancor:
a. Show kindness causing enemy to despair
b. Forgive especially when deeds are presented on Mondays and Thursdays

Treatment for (9) envy:
Act contrary to ones caprice i.e. treat kindly when harming appeals

Treatment for (10) arrogance:
a. Know your lord and know yourself
b. Study pious personalities
c. Remember the arrogant in the Qur`ān
d. Force oneself into humility
e. Look at those above you not below

Comprehensive treatment for all blameworthy traits:
a. Deny self of desires
b. Enjoin hunger and private worship
c. Good company
d. Refuge in God

Praiseworthy qualities
1. Repentance توبة
2. Sacred mindfulness تقوى
3. Scrupulousness ورع
4. Renunciation زهد
5. Silence صمت
6. Trust in God توكل
7. Gratitude شكر
8. Divine Oneness توحيد

10 Qualities of a successful person. Collected by @nina_arif (1/3):
1. They have a strong sense of purpose.
2. They seek out role models or mentors, who instil in them a sense of responsibility.
3. They gain strength from visualising the goal.

10 Qualities of a successful person. Collected by @nina_arif (2/3):
4. They have a positive sensory orientation; they dwell on past successes and not past failures.
5. They have assurance; they know that they can succeed.

10 Qualities of a successful person. Collected by @nina_arif (3/3):
6. They plan and organise; they know how to prioritise and break down their goal into workable parts
7. They know their weaknesses
8. They are patient
9. They have perseverance
10. They love what they are doing