Life Hacks

It is okay not to be productive all the time

It is okay not to be productive all the time

It is okay. You don’t need to be productive and working all day long.

It’s fine.

Really, It is fine to take a break to watch a funny video.

It is fine to relax in the evenings in your family.

And it is absolutely fine to take a few days off for a vacation.

Growing up in a Capitalistic culture, many of us assume that life is all about work, money and productivity. But this is just one portion of life.

Life is really not all about work. There are many other aspects of being human. From worshiping the Creator, to spending time with family, to taking care of yourself. All of this is important.

So when it is time for work, do your absolute best, and produce the best possible results.

But when it is time for worship, family, fun or taking care of yourself, focus on that instead.

So if you feel guilty about enjoying some alone time, having fun or taking a break from work, don’t.

Just remind yourself that it is perfectly okay not to be productive all the time.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Productivity
How to identify your Peak Performance Time

How to identify your Peak Performance Time

Have you ever noticed how your energy levels fluctuate throughout the day?

This is because we are all designed differently, and have different productive hours. Some people are able to get more done in the morning. Others are able to get more done in the afternoon. And some people are only productive late at night. This is known as one’s Peak Performance time.

In my book Getting The Barakah: An Islamic Guide To Time Management, I discuss the importance of utilizing your peak performance time for High Concentration tasks. This means scheduling the tasks that require the most brainpower for the times of the day when your performance is at its best.

In this article, I will explain the different types of performance times and how to identify yours.

Night Owls

The Four Types of People

When it comes to Peak Performance types, many people assume that there are only two types of people; night owls and early birds. In reality, there are four types of people: morning people, afternoon people, night people, and all-rounders.

Morning people are at their best between 5 am and 11 am. this is when they naturally get most of their work done. Afternoon people are sleepy in the mornings but are at their peak between 11 am and 5 pm. Night people get more done after 5 pm than during the day. And finally, the all-rounders can go at any time of the day.

It is very important to identify your peak performance time so that you can schedule more most important work for that time. For example, I am an afternoon person. So I schedule my lighter tasks for the morning. And I leave my afternoons for writing, lecturing, recording or working on my next big project. This way I ensure I am bringing the best version of myself to these important tasks.

Identify your peak performance time

How to identify yours

There are many ways to identify your peak performance time, but I’m just going to show you the easiest way. Simply keep track of your energy levels for a week and you will figure it out.

For one week, be alert regarding which times of the day you get an energy boost. If you find a consistent pattern, like every day around 3 pm, then that is your peak performance time.

If you find yourself getting waves of energy boosts throughout the day and night, then you are likely an all-rounder and one of the lucky few who has multiple peak performance times per day.

A night owl in the morning

What to do with this time

Simply put, once you identify your peak performance time, make adjustments to your schedule accordingly. If you discover that you are an afternoon person, and have been struggling to write every morning, move your writing time to the afternoon. (That’s what I did)

If you find yourself wide awake late at night but unable to get much done during the day, then schedule your most important work for an hour or two before sleeping. Not only will you utilize your peak performance time better, but you will use up that energy and help yourself fall asleep faster.

Peak performance time should be used for the most difficult work in your schedule. Anything that requires your full attention and maximum effort should be scheduled for this time. Doing so not only ensures the best quality work but also gets it done faster.

For example, if I write early in the morning, it may take me two hours to write 500 words. In an afternoon, however, I can write 1000 words in 30 minutes! So utilizing your peak performance time wisely benefits you in more ways than one.

To continue learning about peak performance, high concentration tasks and time management, grab your copy of Getting The Barakah: An Islamic Guide to Time Management today.

Getting The Barakah by Ismail Kamdar
Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Life Hacks, Productivity

4 Productivity Hacks to make you feel awesome

Productivity Hacks4 Productivity Hacks to make you feel awesome

Hacks are awesome. They take things you never thought about and give them exciting new usages. Productivity Hacks do the same thing to our daily practices, habits and goals.

I get it.

Setting long term complicated goals can be very difficult. Accomplishing them can be even more difficult. But you don’t need long complicated goals to feel awesome. You just need to accomplish consistent daily goals, even if they are small.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Allah loves deeds that are consistent, even if they are small,” (Sahih Bukhari)

This Hadith applies to good deeds. Small regular good deeds (like reciting Quran for 10 minutes a day) build up to being more rewarding on the Last Day. Compared to once off big good deeds (like reciting entire Quran in one day then not reciting again for a year).

But we can take this same concept and apply it to productivity. Small consistent goals build up over time to help us accomplish more than once off grand gestures.

What do I mean by small goals?

Try these 4 productivity hacks for example!

1. Exercise for 5-10 minutes twice a day

Do you find it hard to exercise?

Do you get tired when thinking about hitting the gym for 30 minutes?

Try this hack instead: exercise at home in 5 minute bursts. And do it every few hours.

5 minutes may seem like too little, but it is better than nothing. And when done consistently, it builds up to a solid hour or so of exercise per week.

Which, lets face it, is far more exercise than you will get sitting at your desk all day. Not only will you feel healthier, but you feel more confidence and productive every time you do this.

2. Listen to a podcast on the way to work

Multi-tasking is not a good idea…most of the time. But there are times when it is an awesome idea.

If you spend a considerable amount of time daily stuck in traffic, why not use that time to educate yourself?

Download a playlist of beneficial audio podcasts and absorb them while driving to work and back. Suddenly, your mundane daily commute is transformed into an awesome educational experience.

Think about it, with just 30 minutes of podcast listening a day, you will gain around 100 hours of education a year! All without allocating any extra time to do it.

3. Batch all 2 Minute Tasks

In a previous article, I mentioned that 2 minutes tasks can be executed immediately to save time. Now here is a way to use this same tip to make yourself feel awesome: batch it!

Say you have 10 two-minute tasks in your to-do list. You actually just need 20-30 minutes to get all these tasks done. So batch them together and set aside 30 minutes to fly through the list.

Congratulations! You just ticked 10 tasks off your To-Do list in 30 minutes! How awesome does that feel?

4. Start your day with a list of mini-tasks

For this one, take the previous hack and start your day with it. For example, I like to start my day with a set of five simple goals. Each goal takes between 2 to 10 minutes to complete. Yet each is crucial for my daily motivation, mood, and productivity.

I like to start my day by flying through these five tasks. That way I start my day on a high note.

Within one hour of starting my day, I have knocked five tasks off my to-do list. And that way I start each day feeling awesome and motivated to take on the bigger tasks on my list.

Try it. Make a list of short, yet important, to-dos. And start your day by getting them all done. That way you begin each day feeling awesome!

To summarize

Our minds want to feel good. Yet often work makes it feel the opposite. You can trick your mind into feeling awesome while working by simply changing the way you work.

These four tips, all small yet powerful, can transform your daily routine. Try adding these to your routine today and experience an increase in awesomeness today!

Read this if you want more tips…

In 2014, I wrote a book dedicated to helping Muslims become more productive.
That book is entitled Getting The Barakah. It has sold 1000s of copies worldwide since.
But it is possible that you haven’t purchased and read it yet.

If so, you need to ask yourself why.
Why would you deny yourself access to all these awesome tools for improving your own self?

Don’t procrastinate any further!

Purchase your copy of Getting The Barakah today by clicking the link below.
Doing so will transform your life in more ways than you can imagine.

Purchase it now, and thank me later. 🙂

Buy Now

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Life Hacks, Productivity

Guest on Muslim Life Hackers Podcast

Muslim Life Hackers Podcast

I recently featured as a guest on an episode of Muslim Life Hackers to discuss the topics of Confidence, dealing with setbacks and recognizing low self-esteem. These are very important topics and issues which aren’t often covered from an Islamic perspective. Click on the link below to listen to this interesting and fun podcast episode.

You can access the podcast here: http://muslimlifehackers.com/3-1

Or you can access it via iTunes here.

Enjoy, and don’t forget to subscribe to this awesome podcast series!

Muslim Life Hackers

This podcast is based on my e-book Best Of Creation

Do you suffer from low self-confidence and have been struggling to find an Islamic solution to this problem?

Then this e-book is for you!

Through this e-book, you will:

  1. Gain practical steps and tips for boosting your confidence
  2. Gain the necessary confidence to pursue your life goals
  3. Understand the role of Tawheed, Tawakul, and Sabr in boosting confidence
  4. Learn the difference between confidence and arrogance
  5. Overcome myths and misconceptions about confidence
  6. Understand the causes of low self-confidence
  7. Over 190 pages of confidence building content

What our readers are saying:

“Ismail Kamdar’s new book provides exactly the right balance between Islam and the psychological aspects behind confidence, Masha’Allah. The author of this book does a brilliant job in offering action points that are easy to implement, regardless of your knowledge of Islam and level of practicing.” (Aisha – IOU Blog)

““Best of Creation” by Abu Muawiyah Ismail Kamdar is such a refreshing read. It goes to the core of things by firstly establishing the importance of realising our reason for existence.” (Zarina – Muslim Women Exposed)

Don’t delay! Begin your journey towards Islamic confidence right now!

BOC twitter cover 2

Click here to learn more about other exciting e-books by Shaykh Ismail Kamdar that are exclusive to Islamic Self Help.

Posted by Ismail Kamdar in Self Confidence