Islamic Self Help – Page 60 – Islam + Self Help = Success in Both Worlds

Aug

2015

My favorite 8 Productivity Apps & Tools – Part 1

Productivity Apps:

Productivity Apps were invented to make life easier for us. Yet, many people don’t know which Apps to use or how to use them productively. Personally, I am always on the look out for any App that can make me more productive in any aspect of my life, and so my list of productivity Apps is constantly changing and evolving.

At the time of writing this however, these are my 7 most important Apps and tools for staying productive:

1. Everything Google (gmail, calendar, drive, books)

To pick one Google App that keeps me productive is really difficult, so I decided to start the list with everything Google, while some of these may appear again later in the list. I use Gmail over other mail servers as the spam-filter, division into Primary, Social, and Promotions sections, and ease of synchronization with my phone and PC make it one of the best and most productive email applications out there. Any other email application that I tried feels like a dinosaur comparatively.

Add to that, Gmail is sync to the other Apps that assist in my productivity like my Calendar, Google Drive, Hangout and Maps, making it an all in one system that every productive person should use.

2. To-Dos/S-Note

In 2010, I started using the Samsung Galaxy Note brand of phablets and have stuck with it ever since. The Note series is aimed at productivity junkies and contains many features that are great. The S-Note however stands out as something I use every day. It contains templates for daily and weekly To-Do lists which I use daily to make my To-Do lists and have them available wherever I go. Crossing off each completed task with my S-pen is also more fun that clicking a button.

Recently, after upgrading to Windows 10 on my PC, I was looking for a good App to use for To-Do lists on my PC so that I do not have to check my phone every hour to see what needs to be done next.

I ended up downloading the To-Dos App and it has saved me a lot of time as it is very easy and quick to use, both in adding tasks and crossing them off. Its a simple App, nothing fancy but serves as a nice yellow reminder on my screen of what still needs to be done.

The S-Note serves as a portable To-Do List, while the To-Dos App serves as its equivalent on my PC, making both Apps very important for my daily productivity.

3. iTunes

As someone who is generally known to be anti-Apple, it probably comes as surprise to see iTunes on this list. The truth is that I only started using iTunes a month ago and I must admit it is the best audio player I was used.

I was searching for audio player in which I can access all my favorite Podcast series and iTunes gave me that and more. It downloads the latest episodes, keeps track of which episodes I have downloaded and not listened to yet, and will pick up from the exact spot I stopped, even after days. All of this saves me a lot of time that usually goes in browsing each podcast’s webpage, searching for the latest episodes and trying to remember where I stopped.

Perhaps its time I tried out an actual Apple product, perhaps an iPod?

4. Windows 10 Start Menu

I know this isn’t an App but the way it is designed for Windows 10, it is an awesome productivity tool. For many people, the menu was something they missed in Windows 8, but something they just use as is. However, the Windows 10 menu can be customized in so many ways, it serves me as a very efficient productivity tools.

You can choose which tiles to display in the menu, choose their order and arrange by groups. I have taken advantage of that to set up a menu that as all my most important Apps together at the top, all social media tiles together underneath, and likewise arranged all tiles in order of priority. This has saved me a lot of time in searching for programs or scrolling through long menus to get to them.

That’s the end of Part 1, folks. Click here to read part two and learn about more productivity apps. Although the start menu screen-grab I shared does give some clues about what might be on it. 🙂

Aug

2015

5 more daily habits that keep me productive

More daily habits:

Continuing on from my previous post, here are five more daily habits that help me stay productive.

1. I work daily towards my long term goals

Long-term goals take months, if not years, to achieve, but they are achieved by doing a little bit every day that inches you one step closer to completing those goals.

This is why every day I schedule in time to work towards my long term goals. This includes writing time, research time, planning, and even homeschooling, as homeschooling my kids is working towards a greater purpose, and towards a goal that is over a decade away.

The key is that each day we should be one step closer towards achieving our goals, otherwise our days are wasted and not really productive. It is easy to be busy, but are we busy doing tasks that nobody will benefit from or are we busy doing things that will have long term positive results?

2. I schedule writing time every day

Between my two blogs and my book writing career, writing is an important part of who I am. This is why every day I schedule in an hour for working on my books and an hour for working on my blogs.

This hour is either spent writing, researching, brainstorming, or editing. However I use it, it is time well spent as it leads to me being able to produce 3-4 books a year, and 3-8 articles a week. All it takes is an hour or two of allocated time daily.

3. I take a walk to reflect on my day and how I can improve

There is always room for improvement. There are always ways to do things better, faster and more effectively. This is why we must never become complacent and we should always work towards higher standards.

I like to take a walk at the end of each work day and reflect on whatever happened throughout the day. I reflect on how I can deal with situations that popped up in a better manner, how I can get more done in less time, and whatever mistakes I made through out the day. A walk gives me the space and peace to really reflect on these topics and improve my overall productivity.

4. I learn something new every day

There are two primary ways in which I learn something new each day, I listen to a podcast/lecture a day and I schedule in reading time every day. The world is constantly changing and there is no much we don’t know. It is foolish to rely on things we learned over a decade ago and think it is enough. In order to continuously grow, we must continuously learn and that is why every day I listen to something new and read something new, across a variety of different fields.

(Perhaps I should write an article on the podcast series I currently follow, and the books I read this year)

5. I make time for my family and myself

It is not possible to maintain a productive lifestyle if you are only focused on work. You will eventually burn out and fall apart. Every day I try to make time for my wife, kids and myself, and once a week for other relatives. This time is downtime, fun time, relaxing time, and I try my best not to think about work at all during this time and just unwind. As a result, I am recharged and ready to work the next morning.

Don’t overburden yourself, you are human so make sure you enjoy what is Halal and don’t try to turn into a working robot. 🙂

That concludes part two of my daily productivity habits. I hope you found it beneficial, stay tuned for more articles coming soon expanding on many of these points in more details.

Aug

2015

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!

Jul

2015

5 Ways To Overcome Failure

Ways to overcome failure:

There are many ways to overcome failure. Failing to meet a goal is a natural part of progress. As the old proverb states: “If you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying anything new”. When it comes to our goals, we often are held back by one of two extremes:

1. We are afraid to fail, so we don’t even try
2. We are so sure we won’t fail, that we get disillusioned and give up as soon as we face our first taste of failure

Being afraid to fail is something I tackled in details in my book Best Of Creation: An Islamic Guide To Self-Confidence. In this post, I want to tackle the second issue, dealing with failure itself when it hits us. So here are my five steps for overcoming failure:

1. Expect it to happen

It is naive to think that we can accomplish all of our goals in life without facing any tests and setbacks along the way. Tests and setbacks are a natural part of life, so we should expect them, plan for them, and deal with them wisely. Whether it comes to our spiritual goals or worldly goals, we will be tested, and it is these moments of test that show who we really are inside.

One of the ways to overcome failure is to expect things to go wrong. If they do, deal with them as planned. If they don’t, be grateful to Allah and take it as gift from Allah. This makes it a Win/Win situation for you.

2. Accept Your Qadar

Qadar (Destiny) is a very misunderstood concept, regarding which people swing between a fatalistic viewpoint and its opposite. Islam teaches us the middle way, but this is not the place for a detailed discussion on Qadar.

Related to our topic, if you made your plans, made your best effort and stilled failed to attain your goal, then do not despair or feel angry. There are things which are beyond our control and we must accept that what Allah decrees for us is best for us.

If your goal is noble, keep pursuing it knowing that when the time is right, Allah will open the door to help you achieve it. Accepting Qadar and knowing that Allah knows what is best for us gives us a sense of peace and contentment when we do not get what we want in this world.

3. Have a Plan B, C, D, E….

One of the ways to overcome failure is to have backup plans. The chances of accomplishing your goal at the very first instance is highly unlikely. So as brilliant as your current plan may be, you need to plan for when things don’t go your way. Think about anything that could possibly go wrong and how you can deal with it. Make a backup plan, and a backup plan for that backup plan, so that no matter what goes wrong, you continue towards your goal through alternative routes.

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions set off from Madinah to perform Umrah in Makkah, they were prevented from entering Makkah. This led to Plan B, signing a peace treaty with the leaders of Makkah, allowing them to perform the Umrah the next year. It meant fulfilling their goal of making Umrah one year later, but they accomplished their goal nonetheless, and so much more too. They did not turn back and give up, they found another way to accomplish the goal later.

4. The Sabr Factor – Keep moving forward

Reflect on the Battle of Uhud. The Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions faced a huge setback at Uhud and lost many good men. They did not despair or give up, the next day they were back on the march despite being injured. They pushed on towards their goal even when things weren’t going their way, and that is one of the factors that opened the doors of victory for them.

This is the Sabr factor. Sabr is not a passive act of sitting back and doing nothing, expecting help to arrive in a miraculous fashion. Sabr is the active attribute of persevering, patiently planning, resisting the temptation to give up and moving forward in spite of the odds. If we want to accomplish anything, we need Sabr as there is no shortcut to true success in this world or the next. Every goal worth accomplishing requires bucketloads of Sabr, so make sure you stock up!

5. Be Flexible

While pursuing your goals, keep an eye out for better goals, nobler pursuits, greater callings or alternative routes to attain your goals. It may be that the goal you set for yourself at age 20 is not something you want to stick to for life. If while chasing that goal, you are introduced to something even better for you, then consider shifting focus. It may be that the earlier goal was temporary to lead you towards this better goal.

In the early years of Islam, many companions moved to Abyssinia, and settled there. Many years later, many of them migrated to Madinah as it had become a better environment to practice and serve Islam in. Likewise, it may be your goal to move to a certain land or practice a certain profession now, yet later in life better opportunities may open up for you. Consider shifting focus as life is constantly changing, so do not stay too focused on the past, look for what is best for your family and yourself in the Afterlife primarily, and in this world as well.

These are five ways to overcome failure that keep me moving forward whenever I fail to meet a goal. I hope in inspires you to do the same. 🙂

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.

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My favorite 8 Productivity Apps & Tools – Part 1

Productivity Apps:

1. Everything Google (gmail, calendar, drive, books)

5 more daily habits that keep me productive

More daily habits:

6 Daily Habits That Keep Me Productive

Daily Habits that keep me productive

5 Ways To Overcome Failure

Ways to overcome failure:

Time Management: The Sunnah Way

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.

BESTSELLER: History of Islam

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