Time Management

1. First things first: Figure out the real priorities in your life. What’s worth spending an hour on? What comes first? What is a must-do and what is good-to-do?

He did not have access to an iPad or a Google calendar, nor did he have the luxury of a secretary who managed his appointments and itineraries.

Yet, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was the most disciplined and productive human being and leader known.

Insha Allah is a firm commitment to walk the walk and talk the talk, while simultaneously being an expression of humility and acceptance of God’s control over all things. Insha Allah should not be used as a time-stalling tactic either. I have seen us use the expression when we’re not sure we can commit to something.

"We still have half an hour to the next prayer"

"I can start the assignment next week"

"The early bird deadline is tomorrow. Insha Allah, I will try to purchase them soon"

"Last minute Eid shopping is so exciting!"

We all feel bad "wasting" time. We realize time spent on trivial things makes us lazy and unproductive. However, many of us fail to visualize the long-term consequences of killing time on futile matters, both in this world and the world that awaits us.

As Muslims, every time we arrive late we lose respect in the sight of others. Imam al-Ghazali, in his commentary to a Hadith describing the characteristics of hypocrites, states that the trait "when he makes a promise, he never fufills it" includes specially those who consistently say 'In-sha-Allah' and arrive late.

The beauty of one’s faith is shunning away from all non-productive work. You can do a whole lot of things, but the important thing to remember is: do what makes the best use of your time. This is the key to avoiding the void in life.