Ramadan Preparation: How to Start Strong with Atomic Habits in Sha’ban

Written By Fatima Khan

As January comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on my 2025 goals—what worked, what didn’t, and what adjustments I need to make. This process has reminded me of how much habits shape our progress. The small, daily choices we make determine whether we stay aligned with our intentions or fall off track. This reflection feels especially timely because, this year, the Islamic months are closely aligning with the Gregorian calendar. As February begins, so does Sha’ban, making it the perfect time to start building habits that will carry into Ramadan.

Preparing for Ramadan in Sha’ban

Sha’ban is the ideal time to start building habits for Ramadan so that, by the time Ramadan begins, we’re not starting from scratch but rather building on already established routines. The Prophet (ﷺ) emphasized the importance of Sha’ban, as it is a month in which our deeds from the past year are presented to Allah (Yaqeen Institute, 2023). It’s also a time when fasting is encouraged as preparation for Ramadan.

This year, I’m planning on implementing habits in Sha’ban to get a head start on my Ramadan goals, inspired by techniques from James Clear’s book Atomic Habits. Here are 3 habit-forming strategies I’ve found helpful:

1. Habit Stacking

A great way to build a new habit into your daily/weekly routine is by attaching it to something you already do. Instead of trying to carve out a completely new time in your schedule, you can pair your desired habit with an existing one.

Clear’s formula: After/Before [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].

Examples:

  • After I brush my teeth, I will read Quran

  • After I get home from work, I will put on my gym clothes

  • Before I make my morning coffee, I will do dhikr

  • Before I pick up my kids from their weekly soccer meet, I will call my parents.

By anchoring or stacking new habits to existing routines, it becomes much easier to stay consistent.

2. The 2-Minute Rule

One of the biggest challenges in forming habits is feeling overwhelmed by big goals. The 2-minute rule helps by making the first step so small that it’s impossible to fail. Clear argues that every habit can be reduced to a 2 minute version. For example:

  • “Doing daily yoga” becomes “doing 1 stretch”

  • “Reading before going to sleep everyday” becomes “read 1 page”

  • “Going on a run” becomes “put on my running shoes”

When initially reading about this rule, I have to say my response was one of skepticism. The idea of just reading one page of a book or exercising for 2 minutes felt like a ridiculous thing to do—how could it possible be helpful? But I tried it, and it worked. I found that starting with something small not only helps with consistency and habit formation, but the smallness of the goal helps tackle perfectionism. There’s no longer a certain amount that needs to be done for it to be “good enough”, it just needs to get done!

The following narration on the virtue of small, consistent deeds also came to mind:

“Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “.. the most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular and constant even if it were little.””
— Sahih al-Bukhari 6464

We can use this when prepping for Ramadan by breaking down goals into smaller, bite-sized Sha’ban habits. Instead of saying, “I’ll read an entire surah/juzz every day,” start with “I’ll read for two minutes daily.”. Once the habit is established, you can increase the time naturally. As Clear says,

“You have to standardize before you can optimize.”

3. Prepping the Environment

We are more likely to do what is easy than what is difficult—especially when we’re mentally or physically tired. For example, if I’m tired and hungry I am much more likely to eat whatever I can access quickly rather than cooking a fresh healthy meal. If working out means finding my workout clothes, changing, getting in the car, and driving to the gym, jumping on the couch and scrolling is a much easier decision to make. Setting up our environment in a way that removes obstacles makes it much easier to follow through with our goals.

Some examples of this in practice:

  • If you want to read more Quran, keep a physical copy by your bedside.

  • If you want to make dhikr part of your daily routine, keep a tasbih in your car or at your desk.

  • If you want to meal prep for the week, make a list of recipes in advance and have ingredients ready.

As Clear puts it,

“Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior.”

Making small adjustments to your surroundings can make a huge difference.

Applying These Strategies to Your Ramadan Goals

Think about what you hope to achieve in Ramadan, break down your goals into a small, bite-sized action, and start forming habits now. For example, in order to read the entire Quran in Ramadan, you will have to read some amount daily. The first step to working towards this goal is to establish a daily reading habit.

Here’s some examples of what this may look like using the strategies we discussed:

Goal: Read the entire Quran in Ramadan

Sha’ban Habit: Reading Quran daily

  • 2-Minute Rule: Start with just two minutes of reading.

  • Habit Stacking: Read Quran after getting into bed.

  • Prep the Environment: Keep your Quran on your bedside table for easy access.

Goal: Increase Dhikr

Sha’ban Habit: Make istighfar 5x a week

  • 2-Minute Rule: Start with something easy that takes two minutes.

  • Habit Stacking: Make dhikr after putting on your seatbelt for your daily drive to work

  • Prep the Environment: Keep a tasbih in your car to remind you.

By implementing these small but impactful habits, we can enter Ramadan feeling prepared and intentional rather than overwhelmed. Let’s use Sha’ban as a time to build consistency so that in Ramadan we can focus on deepening our worship and spiritual growth, inshaAllah!

You can read detailed excerpts from Clear’s book on the strategies mentioned in this post on his blog: Habit Stacking, 2-Minute Rule, Power of Environment.

References:



Fatima Khan
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