Just 23 days away. Yes, you read that right: Ramadan is just 23 or 24 days away (or lesser depending on when you’re reading this). Ready?

If your sleep routine, salah, food intake, time management and socializing habits are still all in the dumps, it’s time to get off your chair/bed/phone and be a real Muslim!

Yes, you’ve heard it and read it all: Ramadan is a month of boundless mercy, blessings and reward, there’s so much to be gained and so little time and so many distractions and so much to do but this year Ramadan is going to be in the scorching summer and you have chores and school and work and kids and you just don’t know where to start and so you rather just go back to your chair/bed/phone.

From the last week, my Facebook feed has uncannily started showing me news of sudden deaths of young, energetic friends of friends. Young men and women who really, actually did not get to witness another Ramadan in their lives. Whose last and final Ramadan was the previous Ramadan – and now they are in a place of no return and no second chances. May Allah have mercy on them and all our deceased.

Is it just me or do you hear of more deaths too as Ramadan approaches and even more during Ramadan itself? Is this a kind of sign from Allah that we too are getting closer to meeting Him with each passing day?

Our chances to prepare for our meeting with Allah keep falling like sand in an hour-glass. The only thing that really matters at this very moment in your life, no matter who you are and what you do, is what and how well you’ve prepared for it.

What if this is your last and final Ramadan? And what if this was your last chance to prepare for your last Ramadan?

With that in mind, dear readers: let’s approach this year’s Ramadan with renewed intentions, clear goals and solid plans. It is never too late to get started!

Here’s some of the great content coming up on ProductiveMuslim to help you prepare for and make the very best of this Ramadan inshaAllah:

• tips to improve and keep your marital love alive in Ramadan
• a comprehensive daily Ramadan dua plan
• how to get your kids excited about and love Ramadan (with great DIY crafts and activities!)
• changing the ‘iftar party’ trend to spend your precious Ramadan time gaining reward
• how to eliminate distractions before Ramadan
• how to approach and benefit from the Qur’an this Ramadan
• interviews with Nouman Ali Khan and Maryam Amirebrahimi on how they plan to spend their Ramadan inshaAllah
• 30-day Ramadan fitness plan with meals, workouts and recipes

How is your Ramadan prep looking today? Do comment below and share ideas with others about:

• the tools (planners/worksheets/apps/lists) you’re using to get ready for Ramadan
• the changes you’ve started to make to your sleep routine, diet, work routine and socialization
• how you’re working to minimize your distractions like social media, TV, pending tasks, etc.
• the deeds and acts of worship you can do now and are doing to recharge your iman for Ramadan