Time Management

17
Aug
2015
6 Daily Habits That Keep Me Productive

6 Daily Habits That Keep Me Productive

Daily Habits that keep me productive

People often ask me how I am able to get so much done every single day. While I have documented my detailed system in my book “Getting The Barakah: An Islamic Guide To Time Management“, I thought it would be nice to summarize for you some of the daily habits that help me stay productive.

Habits are the key to success. Every decent Self Help book emphasizes that good habits lead to good long term results, while bad habits lead to bad long term results. I spent the past half a decade building good habits that take me closer to my goals daily, here are six of the most important ones:

1. I make a To-Do list the night before

Writing out a daily To-Do list is essential for having a productive day. It gives you an idea of exactly what you need to get done during the day and you feel a sense of accomplishment as you scratch each item off your To-Do list.

To take it one step further, I prepare my To-Do list the night before. As I round off my work for the day and scratch off the last item on my To-Do list, I take another five minutes to make my To-Do list for the next day. The benefit of this is that your subconscious mind works on the To-Do list all night, and you wake up knowing exactly what needs to get done that day. From all of my daily habits, this one is most crucial.

2. I stick to a routine

Daily Habits are all about creating routines, and no doubt about it, if I want to work full-time, home-school my kids, blog, write books, do Dawah locally, present Radio Programs, work on my own personal development, and spend time with family then a routine is necessary.

I set certain times of the day for working on specific tasks and get into the habit of working on those tasks during that time, eg: 9am-12pm for homeschooling, 3pm-5pm for writing. Doing so helps me develop a routine which helps get me into a flow that will help me accomplish both my long-term and short-term goals.

3. I schedule my day around Salah and Quran

Reciting a portion of the Qur’an daily with reflection, and praying the five daily prayers on time take precedence over anything else. It doesn’t matter how busy you are, there is always time to pray Salah and recite Qur’an if you make them a priority. The problem is that many of us try to fit Salah into our day, instead plan your day around the Salah times and you will find yourself never missing a Salah and gaining Allah’s assistance throughout the day.

This is why besides praying the five daily Salah, I schedule time every day after Dhuhr to recite Qur’an for fifteen minutes with contemplation, as the needs of the soul are greater than the needs of the body.

4. I start the day with dua

Of course, every Muslim must start their day with Fajr, unless you wake up earlier and start your day with Qiyam Al-Layl. Either way, you are starting your day at a time when dua is accepted, so take advantage of it.

This is why I begin each day with a dua to Allah asking Him to help me accomplish every task on my To-Do list and more. Because with the help of Allah, anything is possible!

5. I focus on one thing at a time

This is critical for getting things done. If we try too hard to multi-task, we end up not doing justice to whatever tasks we are working on. Focus on one thing at a time, and give it your full attention. Doing so will ensure better quality work, completed in a shorter amount of time, and you will still find time to complete the other tasks.

Right now, I am strongly resisting the urge to listen to a podcast while typing this article, because I know I will not give either proper attention if I multi-task right now.

6. I pace myself

Contrary to popular opinion, I do not sit all day and night working. I take regular breaks throughout the day to relax and recharge. I also spend the evenings having fun, and once a week I take an entire day off and don’t do any work at all. The reason is that I believe we function better and get work done faster in this way.

If someone works non-stop for four hours in a row, that person will experience fatigue and the quality of his work will lessen with each passing hour. However, if he works in bursts of 50 minutes, taking a 10 minute break every hour, he will get better quality work done in faster time.

So there you have it, these are six things I do every day to stay productive. If you enjoyed this, read the followup regarding 5 other things I do daily to stay productive!

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Goal Setting, Time Management
20
Jun
2015

Time Management: The Sunnah Way

This is a Time Management Video presented by Shaykh Ismail Kamdar. It is based on his best-selling e-book Getting The Barakah 2nd Edition.

This time management video and its contents are based on our exclusive e-book Getting The Barakah. The ebook is available at this link below.

Time Management Video

Are you ready to overcome procrastination and get things done?

Introducing Abu Muawiyah’s #1 Best-Selling E-Book, Getting The Barakah!

With this e-book, you will:

  • Learn a 6 step process for effective time management
  • Learn how to gain Barakah in your time
  • Discover dozens of effective and tested Time Management Tips
  • Understand the importence of time management in Islam
  • Discover practical examples of time management in action
  • Over 150 pages of time management tips

Don’t procrastinate! Begin your journey towards effective time management Now!

What our readers are saying:

“Getting the Barakah is a personal narrative, which puts our deen at its forefront. Abu Muawiyah’s writing style is laconic and crisp, his tone is objective and emotional and his approach is simple and pragmatic enabling him to connect with his readers.” – Umm Bilal, Sisters’ Magazine

“Br. Kamdar’s book is full of specific ideas on how to control your time and accomplish your goals…I also love how his book reminds us to take care of ourselves and to even reward ourselves for our small victories! He also urges you to “invest in yourself” by learning new skill” – Sheima, Islamic Online University

“There aren’t many books in English aimed at helping Muslims with time management. Getting The Barakah changes that… this book is highly recommended for any Muslim who is looking for a way to improve his/her time management skill and to live a more fulfilling life.” – Shamsiyyah, The Ideal Muslimah

Purchase your copy of Getting The Barakah today and also receive 4 Time Management templates.

Don’t procrastinate! Begin your journey towards effective time management Now!

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Books, Time Management, Webinars
06
Jun
2015

Productivity Prohibitors – Infographic

A word about Productivity

Productivity simply refers to getting things done. If you are a regular reader of Islamic Self Help then you know we strive to provide valuable content to assist people in getting things done and meeting their goals. However, in our daily lives, many obstacles arise that get in the way of being productive. This is why I am very happy to share with you this infographic below prepared by SurePayRoll.  It charts all major prohibitors that get in the way of being productive. Check it out!

Productivity

Infographic originally taken from SurePayRoll.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Time Management
21
May
2015

Discovering Personal Development

Personal Development

Discovering Personal Development

This is the story about how I discovered Personal Development. It was around the beginning of 2011 that I found myself in a dilemma. I had a really wonderful new job as a TA at the Islamic Online University but was a bit overwhelmed by the workload and found myself dealing with people from cultures which were foreign to me, and thus making a lot of mistakes in my interaction with them. I was reflecting over the situation and trying to think up solutions.

Keep in mind that back then, I was just teaching four courses for IOU and some local Arabic classes for Deen Class, which is nothing compared to my current workload which includes teaching five courses for IOU (which much larger student numbers), being the Head TA at IOU, blogging, writing books, running this website, formulating strategies to attain my goals, lecturing weekly on Radio Al-Ansaar, writing for Al-Ummah Magazine and IOU Insights, and homeschooling my children, Alhamdulillah.

So what happened that helped me make this transition and fill my day with even more projects than I thought was possible? I discovered the joy and excitement of personal development.

It was in early 2011 that I decided, after ten years of almost only studying Islamic material, that it was time to focus on other fields of study. More specifically, to focus on developing habits and skills to help me become more efficient and a better person. This focus on continuously striving for excellence is actually a forgotten Sunnah called Ihsaan, but that is the subject of another post, inshaa Allah.

The first thing I did was read two self-help books which every young person should read, ‘How to win friends and influence people’ by Dale Carnegie and ‘The 7 habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey. In these two books alone, I had learned such life-changing ideas that I became addicted to personal development. So began what is now a life-long journey of personal growth, as every year I find myself discovering things which help me to accomplish more and more on a daily basis.

In the past five years, I have read books and studied courses in Leadership, Inspirational Leadership, Psychology, Management, Social Psychology, Counseling, Educational Theory, Public Speaking and many more fields and every step helps me in my quest to become a better person.

Let me give you just three examples of things I learned that changed my life forever:

1. Scheduling

This is something heavily emphasized as one of the 7 Habits in Stephen Covey’s book and it has become a crucial part of my lifestyle. I have designed a weekly and daily schedule breaking down the day in hourly chunks and scheduling everything from sleep time, to family time, to personal time.

As a result, I am able to utilize every hour of the day in a productive manner, because even getting adequate sleep is productive. It is truly amazing how much time is wasted on movies, video games, surfing the internet, etc if we don’t hold ourselves to a tight schedule. Scheduling is now a permanent part of my lifestyle and something I encourage everybody to do.

2. Delegating

This process was highly emphasized in many books that I read so I decided to give it a try. My website Abumuawiyah.com is a result of delegation. Every aspect from the recording of the MP3s, the editing of the MP3s, the logo design, the website design and the hosting of the website were all done by other than myself. By delegating these tasks to people who are good at them, I was able to focus on other projects while knowing these things are getting done, and professionally too.

Even now, I have many of my important projects delegated to people I trust, thus allowing me to accomplish even more in a day than I thought was possible. Learning to delegate has bought me a lot of time which to me is the most valuable commodity.

3. Speed-listening

I ha’ve already been speed-reading since I was a child, Alhamdulillah. However, in December 2012 at a leadership retreat, life coach Junaid Bayat taught us that if you listen to a lecture at speed 2X (you can do this using VLC Player), you still hear everything clearly, remember everything, and accomplished the task in half the time. I was really excited to learn this so I went straight back to my room to try it out.

The result: I never went back to listening to lectures at normal speed again, and am now able to listen to four hours of lectures in two hours and still benefit from every minute. This is a huge time saver, and has helped me to study twice as much in a day than I previously thought was possible!

The above three are just three examples of the many things I have learned over the past three years. I hope it is enough to get you interested in personal development too. Focusing on constantly improving yourself is a choice you can never regret.

To end, here is a list of some resources to help you get started on personal development. Please feel free to add your own as I am always looking for more resources:

1. Dale Carnegie Training

The books and courses offered by Dale Carnegie institutes are amazing resources for personal growth. I was initially introduced to this institute by my late friend Feroz Ganie. (May Allah reward him for all the good I gained through his suggestion) Although I never attended any of their courses yet, I have benefited greatly from the books published by them, especially ‘How to win friends and influence people’.

2. The books of Stephen Covey, especially ‘The 7 Habit of Highly Effective People’ which is guaranteed lifestyle changer.

3. The books of Mirza Yawar Baig, especially ‘An Entrepreneur’s Diary’, ‘The Business of Family Business’ and ’20.10.2010-55′ (strange name but amazing book).

4. Productive Muslim – This website is an amazing resource for Muslims who want to improve productivity.

5. Mind Tools – another amazing website with many great articles on personal development in multiple fields.

6. Coursera – This website contains hundreds of free courses in every field of study. I usually sign up for a course of interest to me, download all the lectures and listen to them at speed 2X. Thus far, from this website I have studied Inspiration Leadership, Psychology, Public Speaking, Educational Theory and many more interesting courses.

7. Islamic Self Help – Home to my  articles and books all dedicated to sharing my tools and techniques for personal development the Islamic way.

I hope this post convinces you to invest in yourself. Remember that money and time spent on improving ourselves is never wasted, and we always end up profiting multiple times over. Feel free to share your personal stories, tools and resources in the comment section so we too can benefit.

Shaykh Ismail Kamdar is the author of Having Fun the Halal Way, Getting The Barakah, and Best of Creation: an Islamic Guide to Self-Confidence.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Goal Setting, Time Management
18
May
2015
Time Management for Bad Days

Time Management for Bad Days

Time Management for bad days

You know those happy days when everything is going your way, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and you are just really energized, excited and able to get things done? Yeah, well this article isn’t about those days. This is as the title says, an article about time management for bad days.

Time Management can be rather easy on a good day once you have learned the basics and established good habits. The real test though is remaining productive on days when things just aren’t going your way, and that’s what this article is about.

Here are five things I recommend doing to remain productive on days when you just want to close the curtains and curl up in bed (or rip up your manuscripts and howl at the moon):

1. Figure out the most important tasks for the day and just get them done

If you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, it is highly unlikely that you are going to conquer the moon today while writing a best-selling novel, restoring peace between two nations and saving some innocent bystanders in the process. (Although it is all still possible even on the gloomiest of days)

Most likely, if you are in a bad mood, you are going to get less done than usual so best make sure that the important stuff gets done first. Look at your daily To-Do List, identify the three most important tasks that will make you feel accomplished by the time the sun sets, and get those three things done. Even if you are unable to accomplish anything else that day, this alone will give you a reason to relax and enjoy your evening coffee with a clear conscious.

2. Schedule some Downtime  

If your body is feeling agitated, irritated and simply off, it could be an internal sign that you need to relax and recharge. Do yourself a favor and schedule in some downtime, make time for yourself. Read a fun book, have coffee with your funniest friend at your favorite hangout, sit back with your legs up on the table and close your eyes. Don’t feel guilty to take time to relax, you are not wasting time or being unproductive, you are just recharging your energy so that you can do much more in less time.

3. Downsize your work load 

Besides your three main tasks, in order to get things done when down with the Monday blues, try halving your workload. For example, if you usually write 8 pages a day, commit to writing just 4 pages on such a day. If you usually make 10 sales a day, commit to just getting 5 sales done. Many of us just feel like doing nothing and end up wasting the entire day. Committing to doing less actually helps you get things done on such days. Don’t feel guilty about setting a smaller goal for such a day, it’s better than getting nothing done because you were in a bad mood.

4. Avoid Negative people like a plague

If you have an appointment with someone who is difficult to deal with, you may want to consider rescheduling. On days when you are ready to snap, you really don’t want to be walking into a hostile situation and end up losing it. On such days, it’s better to just close your office door and work alone…for the safety of others, of course.

5. Overdose on sources of inspiration

If you are like me, you probably have a PC loaded with inspirational quotes, videos, audios and pictures. Well if you are having a bad day, you will need to probably need the entire collection. Read your quotes collection, watch the inspiration videos, look at the pictures of your goals and pump yourself up to get things done, no matter how bad the day gets. Personally, I choose to recite extra Qur’an on days when I am feeling down and reflect on the meanings, as it calms me down and gives me hope. You should try it too.

Do all of this and I’m sure your irritating days can remain productive. Maybe not as productive as usual, but productive enough.

(Written on one of those days)

Learn more about how to manage your time effectively with our exclusive best selling eBook Getting The Barakah: An Islamic Guide to Time Management. Hundreds of readers have radically improved their Time Management with this eBook. Now it is your turn!

Getting The Barakah: An Islamic Guide

 

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Time Management