How to Have a Productive Time for Muslim?

!"#$%&'(&)'*+%*+,
Introduction Analyze Your Time: The Key to Productivity 7 Spiritually Productive Habits to Develop Commuting ProductiveMuslim style! What's Your Morning Routine? 18 Sources of Barakah! De-Clutter your Mind Techniques to Develop a Habit of Reading "Abi, When Will We Ever Relax?" The ProductiveMuslim Sleep Routine Description of Truly ProductiveMuslims in the Quran ! # $ % &' &( '" '! '$ '% !"

Assalamu’alaikum, ProductiveMuslim.com started as a personal online journal for me where I could record my thoughts on topics that connect Islam to productivity. The more I wrote, the more I realised the gap in knowledge today of what truly makes a person productive and how Islam - when practiced properly - enhances ones productivity. With the support of a wonderful team, and an engaging audience, the website grew from strength to strength and our content improved and evolved over time. Moreover, people started contributing to our content and writing articles for ProductiveMuslim.com adding variety to the content we provide. As part of the launch of our new website, I wanted to handpick for you the best articles and best advice from the past 2 years and compress them in this small eBook. What you’ll read is - in e ect - a summary of the best tips and advice to live a ProductiveMuslim lifestyle. This eBook could not have been put together without the e ort of a few key people whom I wish to thank here: Sr. Lotifa Begum & Sr. Amal Sa our for their amazing editing job in less than a week! Sr. Hafsa Taher for managing the publication of this eBook so professionally and Br.Omar Hamid for designing this eBook in such a beautiful style! Truly their e orts have been amazing. May Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala) reward them. I hope this eBook serves as a starting point to those who are new to our website and a good reminder to some of our old fans of some of our classic articles. Enjoy reading the eBook and have a very productive life! Yours sincerely, ProductiveMuslim

!

)*+,-+./,!"#$!01,%&'()*$+,"-)#.+-/*'-

-*"$./%&0'12&!34%5
!"#$%&'()*+),-"(./'(.001

“By Al-'Asr (the time). Verily! Man is in loss. Except those who believe and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth, and recommend one another to patience”.
(Surah Al-Asr) An old friend of mine once said to me: "There's a myth that's going around these days. The myth says: If you can manage your time, you can do anything!" Four years a er hearing this advice, I don't believe it's a myth anymore. We all hear about time management and it's importance, and people o en rebuke us for the way we manage our time, but rarely have we come across a concise methodology on how to time manage! In order to understand how to time manage, we need to grasp what time management is about. Contrary to popular thought, time management is not about managing your time, because technically, you cannot manage something you have no control over! (Can you stop or start time?!) Put simply, time management is about managing yourself in a way that makes use of the time sphere we're in. So how exactly do we that? Peter Drucker, author of the famous book "The E ective Executive", recommends three steps to managing your time, and he actually calls the chapter that deals with this: "Know thy time": 1) Analyze your time. 2) Cut back unproductive demands. 3) Aim to complete tasks in large chunks of time.

#

)*+,-+./,!"#$!01,%&'()*$+,"-)#.+-/*'-

So let's get into more detail on how to follow the above three steps (adding the usual ProductiveMuslim twist to it ;) 1) Analyze your time: Record the way you spend your time for at least a week. I'll be honest here, it'll take a strong stomach to realise how much time we waste! But being truthful to oneself is the rst step to remedy. There are 2 ways to record your time: 1) Keep a diary in which you record what you do each hour. 2) Ask your friend/ at-mate/spouse to analyze your time, (as we tend to be nice to ourselves when we record our time, and end up 'cheating').

We're already guilty of not giving enough time to them and we shouldn’t use excuses to make it worse) 3) Aim to complete tasks in large chunks of time: Isn't it annoying when you are working really hard on something, and you really get into it (sometimes called being in 'The Zone'), only to be interrupted by a phone call or an e-mail or text alert?! This third tip basically says that you should try to block o time in large chunks (some people suggest that 90 minutes is the maximum they can concentrate at one time, but that's 90 minutes of uninterrupted time). This technique will help you achieve much more by doing less, simply because you're more focused on one task at a time. Doing one task in an hour, will end up taking you 4 hours if you are interrupted every 10-15 minutes. To help you block your time, please refer to the Taskinator on our website. Hope this gives you a better understanding of how to turn the myth of time management into reality.

2) Cut back unproductive demands: Hopefully, a er recording our time, a sad realisation will dawn upon us, and that is, there's a lot that we can cut down on. For example: Do we really need to spend that hour in the cafe in the morning, or is it just better to make some co ee at home and read e-mails at the same time? Do we really need to spend 2 hours everyday just icking through TV channels or internet sites or can we cut down from that time? (Note: Please don't cut back time for Allah! For example, in order to 'save' time, some people will not go to the mosque to pray. That's not an unproductive demand to cut down on, that's an essential demand which we better keep, so please don't touch the religious stu !

(

)*+,-+./,!"#$!01,%&'()*$+,"-)#.+-/*'-

You should aim to develop the following 7 Spiritually Productive activities into habits so that you can hopefully continue bene tting from them throughout your life. I consider these activities as the spiritual ‘bread and butter’ of any ProductiveMuslim. To develop them as habits is the essence of embarking on your journey towards the love of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) and constantly increasing in your eman, inshaAllah: 1) Pray the Sunnah Prayers before and/or a er Prayer: I know it’s easier to just pray the obligatory prayers and rush out of the mosque! However, when we realise the rewards we’re missing from not praying these Sunnah prayers we won’t leave them. Over the years I have learnt there’s only ONE way of getting yourself to pray these Sunnah prayers constantly: Get into the habit of praying them! They’ll soon become part and parcel of your Salah and your Salah will feel incomplete without performing these acts. 2) Remembrance of Allah a er Salah: Again, it’s easy to rush out a er Salah due to our busy lives, though if we are honest, how long does it take to recite the supplications a er Salah? (The Answer: 5-7

minutes!). If you’re not sure what I’m referring to, you may nd the supplications here. Nowadays you’ll nd pocket notebooks/or phone applications with these supplications. Get into the habit of reciting them daily a er each Salah to enrich your Salah experience. 3) Morning/Evening Remembrance of Allah: Step 2 is also included in this habit. There exists a beautiful set of duas/remembrances from the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which he used to say before sunrise and a er sunset. They are true stress relievers and energy boosters which never fail to make my days and evenings feel blessed. You can nd the duas here 4) Night Prayer: Hamdulillah, during Ramadan we have the wonderful Taraweeh prayers to attend. However, outside of Ramadan there are many opportunities to still obtain the reward of the night prayer. If you’re new to night prayer or you don’t pray it constantly during the year, make sure you try to attend prayers each and every night in congregation at the mosque (particularly brothers), and give yourself a ‘no-excuse’ policy. Develop a habit of

$

)*+,-+./,!"#$!01,%&'()*$+,"-)#.+-/*'-

praying Tahajjud and continuing to pray them for an entire 30 days; this will set you on better footing to continue with the Night Prayer for the rest of the year inshaAllah. 5) Duha Prayer: Here’s a Productive Muslim’s top secret to a productive day: 2 rak’ahs known as the Duha prayer which you may pray at anytime a er sunrise till before the sun reaches it’s zenith (around 30 minutes before Dhuhr). The reward of this prayer is similar to giving charity on behalf of every bone in your body, and the energy and buzz you feel during the day is amazing. 6) Supplications before you Sleep: You’ve just had a long day and you’re super tired. You climb into bed and you want to hit the sack… but wait! Before you do, can you give yourself just 10 more minutes to recite the supplications before sleeping? That’s all. Try them and nd yourself experiencing the most beautiful sleep ever and waking up for Fajr easily, inshaAllah. 7) Reciting one hour of Quran each day: Notice: I said here recite one hour of Quran each day and not one juz’ or one Surah. The amount of Quran you read is not as important as the quality of your understanding. If you spend one hour reciting one verse but understand it fully, that’s more important and bene cial then reciting lots of Quran at break-neck speed yet not understanding a word. So there you go, 7 spiritually productive habits you can develop throughout the year starting from TODAY!

2

)*+,-+./,!"#$!01,%&'()*$+,"-)#.+-/*'-

)'441+3*6&
2)3$%&'()*+),-"(4'(.005
Today’s post is about commuting ProductiveMuslim style! ;) How you can make the most of those long hours on the road so that they truly add value to your life (and a erlife) instead of subtracting from it. Now this all depends on which commuting vehicle you’re using (and trust me, I’ve used them all). Below is a breakdown of what you can do in each type of commuting vehicle. But before we get into that, a few prerequisites: 1. When you leave your house, remember the dua for leaving the house Allahumma innee a'uoozubika an adhilla auw adhalla auw azilla auw uzalla auw auw uzhlama auw ajhala auw yujhala 'alaiyya ‘O Allaah, I take refuge with You lest I should stray or be led astray, or slip or be tripped, or oppress or be oppressed, or behave foolishly or be treated foolishly.’ 2. Remember the dua for riding a vehicle:

Bismillahi tawakkaltu allah lah la hawla wala kuwata ila billa ‘In the name of Allaah, I place my trust in Allaah, and there is no might nor power except with Allaah.’

Bismillah. Alhamdulilah. SubhanAll-ladhi, sakhkhara lana, haatha, wa-ma kunna lahu mukrineen. Wa inna ila Rubbina lamunqalibuun. ‘In the name of Allaah and all praise if for Allaah. How perfect He is, the One Who has placed this (Transport) at our service and we ourselves would not have been capable of that, and to our Lord if our nal destiny.'

%

)*+,-+./,!"#$!01,%&'()*$+,"-)#.+-/*'-

3. Invest in a good MP3 player, either an MP3 player with A-B functionality or an iPod Touch/iPhone with a Quran Application installed (here’s a guide on how to “Islamize your iPod Touch/iPhone") With the above sorted, here are some ProductiveMuslim to-do’s whilst commuting in each vehicle: Bike: Things you can do while riding your bike: Memorize the Quran: Using your MP3 player with A-B Functionality you can specify where your MP3 player should start on a track, and where it should end, then loop it. This means you can choose a Quran track and specify from which verse the recitation should begin and which verse it should stop at, then repeat these verses as many times as you want. The result: memorizing a whole set of new verses! Next day move on to the next set of verses and repeat the process as you cycle along. (For this to truly work, I suggest you memorize the verses at home rst before you leave your house, ideally a er Fajr Salah, and then listen to them on your way to work and back). The iPod Touch/iPhone can be used in a similar way using the excellent iQuran Pro so ware. Here’s a detailed step by step guide to using the iQuran :) Contemplate on Allah’s creation: The most enjoyable part for me when riding a bike is contemplating on Allah’s creation: the heavens, the earth, the mountains, and the scenery that surrounds us truly reminds me of the verse: “Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding”. (3:190) To contemplate most e ectively, I suggest you use a map and leave early for work so that you can try a di erent route each day or get a chance to cycle around your favorite park at least once before you go to work. Breathing in the fresh air and entertaining your eyes with Nature is an absolute joy that will set your mood straight for the rest of the day. Remember Allah: Connected to the above. Simply saying “SubhanaAllah, Al-Hamdulillah, La ilaha illa Allah, Allahu Akbar” or any other supplication or remembrance is a truly productive and rewarding way of spending your commute. It connects you to the Herea er, makes you focus on the “bigger” picture beyond this life and reminds you of who you’re worshipping. A great way to start or end your day! Exercise: Riding a bike is a natural exercise, so not only are you commuting but you’re also exercising! My only advice here is to make sure your work place has a shower room (and of course don’t forget to pack a change of clothes!)

3

)*+,-+./,!"#$!01,%&'()*$+,"-)#.+-/*'-

Car: If you’re driving a car (you can do all of the above (except the exercise part) + the following: AudioBooks/Lectures/Courses/Podcasts: I’ve recently rediscovered the joy of learning through listening with my iPod Touch connected to my car’s radio device. I can listen to any audiobook, lectures, Islamic MP3 courses, or Podcasts I download to my iPod. I completed a 2 hour life coaching course, a marketing course (36 CDs), an Islamic seerah course (32 CDs), and 100s of hours of other talks through doing so. Now most people do the above one way or another, BUT here are some advanced tips to really make the most of ALL your audio les: 1. Have a structured course planned out - so you know exactly what you’re listening to and when, and can build on your knowledge instead of starting on something then changing it to something else… then coming back to where you started! 2. If you truly want to make the most of what you listened to, try taking notes as you wait in busy tra c OR when you get home. That will help reinforce what you learnt, and you will be more likely to use it inshaAllah. Trains/Bus/Plane/ Personal Chau eur: Again, you can do all of the above + the following: Video Podcasts: Watch Video Podcasts/Courses through your iPod Touch/iPhone or any other MP4

technology that displays video on small screens. Again, you can download these courses (some of which are free) to your laptop then sync with your devices. Read Books/Study: Spend a weekend in a bookstore and purchase a set of bene cial books to read on your daily commute. Nothing like lifelong learning :). Again, make sure the books are part of a “plan”, i.e. let’s say you’re interested in marketing this week, then all your audio les for the car rides and the books you read should relate to that subject. Reply to your e-mails o ine: If you carry your laptop with you, you may nd it very useful (especially on trains/planes) to catch up on e-mails and prepare dra replies to them. For those of you who check your e-mails online, I highly suggest you set up your laptop so that it downloads ALL your e-mails from your di erent accounts to one e-mail client, e.g. Microso Outlook, Apple Mail, Mozilla Thunderbird and so on. That way, you don’t need internet connection to check your e-mail, the e-mails are downloaded when you’re connected to the internet, and you can read them/ and prepare dra replies at your convenience. Set Agendas: I learnt this from David Allen’s Productivity System “Getting Things Done”: Prepare an agenda for every person you’re going to meet. Isn’t it annoying when you meet somebody that you had so much to tell or ask of, but can only remember 2 things from that list?!

&"

)*+,-+./,!"#$!01,%&'()*$+,"-)#.+-/*'-

Writing down ‘an agenda’ for everyone you’re going to meet or need to see is a helpful and productive tip to make the most of that meeting. So if you’re sitting in your train or on the plane… write out those agendas! If you’re traveling for a meeting and no agenda has been set, use the time you have to write an agenda. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, a ‘short list’ will do. Phone Calls/SMS: Yup, I’m that annoying person who never stops talking on the phone from the moment the train/bus starts moving till the end. OK, I’m not. I actually hate those people. But a train ride/bus ride is prime time for a quick catch up call/SMS. Those who know me, know that I cannot sit down and speak over the phone and I just love walking and talking... so I normally use the time going to and fro from train stations, or up and down the terminal to really get most of the phones calls out of the way. (p.s. By the way, that’s a life coaching tip there: NEVER sit down when talking over the phone, especially if you need to convince the person on the other end of the line of something or you’ll be asked di cult questions. I guess that’s where ‘thinking on your feet’ comes from). Think & contemplate: brainstorm ideas/Journal: Whilst contemplating on Allah’s creation (see above) thoughts and ideas enter (& leave) my mind! I need to capture them. Hence, with my trusted Moleskine Folio Journal, I write down ALL the ideas in the form of mindmaps, journal entries, pictures, charts etc... Most of my favourite posts on ProductiveMuslim were born in those precious

me-time moments on the train/bus/plane with dear old Moleskine ;) They provide a very useful platform for developing ideas that just got captured during my journey. You can now see why I love commuting! No matter which vehicle you put me in, with the proper planning and right tools, my daily commute becomes a true asset to my daily life instead of a time-waster in tra c :)

&&

)*+,-+./,!"#$!01,%&'()*$+,"-)#.+-/*'-

78"+9,&0'12&
+67"8$%&'(3)9-2,-"(:5'(.005
I hate routine. Except when it comes to morning routines :) That’s something I try and stick to! ;) There’s something about starting your day on a number of pre-planned actions that really set your day straight. Below I describe the ‘ideal’ ProductiveMuslim morning routine. (Note: I assume that Fajr Athan is at 5.00am and that work starts at 8am, feel free to ‘adjust’ the routine below to suit your timetable inshaAllah) verses of Surah Al-Imran: Alhamdulillah, we have a beautiful set of “waking up” supplications which Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught us. A collection of Wake Up Supplications can be found on MakeDua.com. My favorite is the recitation of the last 10 verses of Al-Imran (Chapter 3 of the Quran). You can almost feel your heart coming to life and being ‘juiced’ when the rst thing you do as soon as you wake up is remember Allah & recite His Glorious Words from the Quran. 3. Make Wudhu We can all agree, there’s something about wudhu that really focuses your positive energy and cleanses you inwardly as well as outwardly. I had a friend who used to call this feeling "WuBuzz!" short for the "Buzz" you feel a er wudhu ;) Don’t forget to say Bismillah before starting wudhu and the dua a er nishing wudhu! The 8 gates of Heaven will be opened for you, (not a bad way to start your day ;) and you’ll feel refreshed and ready for the day ahead. 4. Tahajjud & Witr Tahajjud or Qiyaam has been described as the “honour of the believer”, because who else would go through what you just did (wake up, wudhu..etc) just to stand up

4.00AM - 5.00AM: 5 Essential Actions:
1. Wake up! Perhaps the rst and most important step to having a great morning routine is waking up early! And it is in that moment of indecisiveness -whether you should wake up immediately or enjoy your nice comfy bed for ‘5 more minutes’- wherein lies the secret to either a great day or a crazy one. Here’s a tip that always works with me for waking up: You know how shaytaan whispers in your ears “just sleep for 5 more minutes”... I simply whisper back to myself “just wake up for 5 minutes" ;) Yup, you can imagine the rest. As soon as you’re awake and begin reciting the Adkhar and making wudhu, you can imagine what happens to sleep - (Gone! Le the building!). 2. Make the Dua(s) for waking up and recite last 10

&'

)*+,-+./,!"#$!01,%&'()*$+,"-)#.+-/*'-

and pray? The beauty of Tahajjud is hard to describe; from the feeling of tranquility in your heart and understanding the Quran better at this time, to feeling closer to Allah at a time of isolation from others and wishing that you would never get up from that prostration, to self-re ection moments that we rarely get a chance to exercise in our busy world… all of them and more come from Tahajjud! Finally, praying Witr a erTahajjud and making sincere dua to Allah is a true booster to your day! 5. Istighfar moments Don’t forget to use the last 5-10 minutes before Fajr to ask Allah for forgiveness and making lots of istighfar so that you are among those Allah mentioned in the Quran: "And in the hour of early dawn, they (were found) praying for Forgiveness" (Quran, Chapter 51, Verse 18).

is a heartwarming video reminder to those who neglect Fajr Salah called: ‘Are you neglecting the Fajr Prayer?') 2. Dua Did you know that the time between the Athan & Iqama is a prime time to make dua? Make the most of it! Narrated Anas ibn Malik: “The supplication made between the athan and the iqamah is not rejected.” (Sunan Abu Dawood, Book #2, Hadith #0521) 3. Lie on your right side Narrated 'Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her): “Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) used to pray two light rakahs before the morning (compulsory) prayer a er the day dawned and the Mu'addhin had nished his adhan. He then would lie on his right side till the Mu'addhin came to pronounce the Iqama.” (Sahih Bukhari, Book #11, Hadith #599) 4. Brainstorm session I sometimes use this time to either plan my day, or brainstorm ideas for ProductiveMuslim/articles or just reading and writing. You’ll be surprised how active your brain is at this time! You're awake, alert and kicking ;) 5. Quran memorization Speaking of your mind being active, memorizing Quran at this time is incredible as well. I have tried memorizing Quran a er Asr/Maghreb when I’m tired and back from work Vs. a er Fajr. The di erence is overwhelming, SubhanaAllah! A er Fajr, your brain is truly like a sponge and it is the best time to memorize verses from the Quran :).

5.00AM - 5.05 AM: Fajr Athan
Say as the muaddhin (The person who calls to Prayer) says and don’t forget the Dua a er athan. Supplications Related to Athaan can also be found at MakeDua.com

5.05AM - 5.30AM: Between Athan & Iqama
1. Pray the 2 rak’ahs Sunnah of Fajr Don’t miss this! Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The two rakahs before the dawn (Fajr) prayer are better than this world and all that it contains. (Riyad-us-Saliheen (Hadith # 1102). Just think about this hadeeth for a moment; 5 minutes of your time to pray 2 short rak'ahs are better than this whole wide world with all its’ lands, people, treasures, nature and beyond! SubhanaAllah! Also, if this is the importance and merit of the Sunnah of Fajr, what about the obligatory Fajr prayer itself? (There

&!

)*+,-+./,!"#$!01,%&'()*$+,"-)#.+-/*'-

5.30AM - 6.00am: Fajr Salat & Dhikr
If you are a brother, and can get to a mosque no matter how far - go for it! The beauty of praying Fajr in the masjid is hard to describe. I prefer walking to the Masjid Vs. driving (cycling is good as well ;) since you get a chance to breath in the fresh morning air; Allah says in the Quran: "And the Dawn as it breathes away the darkness" (Chapter 81, Verse 18) A er Fajr Salah, sit back, relax and enjoy performing the post Salah Dhikr and morning supplications.

around this time as well to help me plan my day or set out tasks for myself and team members.

6.45AM - 7.00: Get Ready For Work
Shower, get dressed, and gather your paper work, (although organizing your items the night before makes this 15 minute process of getting ready a lot smoother!) Put things where you can nd them so that you don’t waste time searching for them.

7.00AM - 7.10: Duha Prayers.
Nothing sets your day straight like Duha prayer, as mentioned in the “Top 7 Spiritual Productivity Habits” to adopt. Nu`aym ibn Hammar (Allah be pleased with him) relates that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: “Allah Most High says: O child of Adam, don’t fail to perform four rakahs in the beginning of your day, and I shall be your su ciency at its end.” (Abu Dawud (1289) and Tirmidhi (475)).

6.00 - 6.30am: Recite, Read or Exercise
1. Quran Memorization/Recitation: Recite and/or Memorize Quran as mentioned previously, or if you have a good tafsir book, then reading the meaning of at least one page of the Quran is a great bonus! 2. Reading: Spend this time reading Islamic material. I stress that the reading must be Islamic, because as I mentioned previously, your mind is like a sponge at this time and is highly active. You want whatever you’re reading to be truly embedded into your mind & soul inshaAllah. Suggested books to read: Hadeeth books, Stories of the Prophets, Seerah, etc... 3. Exercise: Another option is a quick 30 minute exercise. This could be jogging around the block, cycling, using a treadmill, some aerobics/cardiovascular exercises and anything that builds your stamina.

7.15AM - 7.30AM: Breakfast.
Reward yourself for a ProductiveMorning with a big FAT hearty (healthy) breakfast! Try to avoid ca eine and have a bre lled bowl of goodness to set you in good stead.

7.30AM - 8.00AM: Commute to Work.
Don’t forget my tips about commuting ProductiveMuslim style! ;) Imagine if all your mornings were like the above… how much will you gain spiritually? How much knowledge will you acquire? What will your mood be like for the rest of the day? Try the above, just for one day, and let me know how it goes inshaAllah.

6.30AM - 6.45: Plan Your Day
This is where I plan the rest of my day, of course, using the Taskinator ;). Sometimes I check and send e-mails

&#

)*+,-+./,!"#$!01,%&'()*$+,"-)#.+-/*'-

:;&
!"#$%&'(%;"#