The Clock is ticking! The importance of time...

To show the importance of time, Allah swears by time in the Qur’an for example in Surah ‘Asr [wal ‘asr...] and many others. Time is like a vehicle without reverse – you can never turn back time. Time is limited by hours, days, weeks, months and years. Ibn ‘Abbas narrates that the Prophet [pbuh] said: “There are two blessings which many people do not make the most of: good health and free time.” [al-Bukhari]

The main essentials of Time Management: 

1.  Beating procrastination

2. Activity log

3. Action plans

4. Prioritized to do lists

5. Scheduling skills

6. Personal goal setting

The KEY to time management is filtering your priorities! Ask yourself what are you priorities?

Take the following example, in a pot you have a few large pebbles, these are the “core values” – your KEY priorities, then pour sand into the pot, until it is filled to the top. The sand represents the other activities in your life that you fit around your core values ya’ni your important activities for the day. Had you filled the pot with sand BEFORE putting the pebbles in, you would not have managed to have put enough pebbles into the pot. Therefore, the importance of the core values or priorities is highlighted by this, they are non-negotiable and everything else comes in later! In other words, sometimes we worry about the sand more than the pebbles, when really it’s the pebbles that are our priorities.

The productivity pyramid

The above Productivity Pyramid begins at the base. First things first, you need to identify your values, clear and convicted values. For example, your deen, family, parents, work, friends, education etc. These are non-negotiable! Once these are in place, then you can set your goals.

The Four Quadrants of Goal Setting:

1. Personal
2. Professional
3. Financial
4. Health

Three Main types of Goals:

1. Short-term goals (0 -1year goal)
2. Mid-term goals (1 – 5 years goal)
3. Long-term goals (1 – 20 years goal)

How to set your goals?

1. You have to know what you want!
2. You need SMART Goals [Specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time-bound goals]
3. You have to have a strong desire
4. Visualise your goal, repeat your goal inshallah
5. Write your goals down
6. Action
7. Need to be flexible if circumstances change
8. Be persistent with your goal

Use the Time-Matrix below to help Plan Weekly and Act Daily on your goals in order to manage your time well inshallah.

Use the above time-matrix to plan out and filter your priorities inshallah in order to manage your time and be on top of your goals and ensuring all time spent is spent well rather than wasted in the unimportant, non-urgent box!

Shaykh Riad’s ‘How to live a whole 13 months in the year!’ By waking up 1 hour earlier than usual time each day can earn you an extra month in the year!

It was narrated from Ibn Mas’ood that the Prophet [pbuh] said, “The son of Adam will not be dismissed from before his Lord on the Day of Resurrection until he has been questioned about five things: his life and how he spent it, his youth and how he used it, his wealth and how he earned it and how he disposed of it, and how he acted upon what he acquired of knowledge.” [at-Tirmidhi]

[This post was a write up of my notes from Shaykh Riad Ourzazi's 'A Heart Serene' course with the al-Maghrib institute in London.]