All praises be to God for a very beneficial day yesterday with lovely buddies.
We went to the seminar by Productive Muslim ; The Three Spheres of Productivity, yesterday presented by the founder cum CEO of the Productive Muslim Ltd himself, brother Mohammed Faris (aka Abu Productive).
It was a seminar on ways of how to be productive muslims as we ourselves can feel it in us that we don't get much things done even though there are 24 hours in a day; everyone sharing the same amount of time but yet some get to do more things than others. So, whats the problem now that we can't be as productive as past time scholars who spent so much on seeking 'ilm and yet, having the time to write so many books that are used as reference in present days? /ponder
Notes reaped from the seminar ;
#1 PRODUCTIVITY = FOCUS x ENERGY x TIME (towards maximising your reward in Akhirah)
Here we can see and understand that being productive, we need to invest on our energy and time and being focus at the same time. Being focus here means that one need to do one thing at a time ; no multi-tasking because during multi-tasking, the brain is switching from doing one activity to another in a rapid motion but if you were then to focus back again to one thing, it will take 25 mins for the brain to be totally in focus of that particular activity - which simply means, its a waste of time. So might as well, do one thing at a time, have focus, do it good and do it well.
"A distraction has to exist and it has to affect you. If it doesn't affect you, it is not a distraction"
#2 DEVELOP AN ATTITUDE OF PRODUCTIVITY
To build discipline in oneself is by doing things when one LEAST feel like doing it. So how to start?!
- Have a purpose, a higher deal of purpose that is
- Practice, practice, PRACTICE!
- Make it a habit, make a routine
- Be self-accountable ; taking responsibilities for your own faults
1. Sense of purpose - (refer to al Quran)
إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ خَلِيفَةً۬ۖ
"I will create a vicegerent on earth."
(2:30)
وَمَا خَلَقۡتُ ٱلۡجِنَّ وَٱلۡإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعۡبُدُونِ
I have only created jinns and men, that they may serve Me.
(51:56)
2. Sense of urgency
- people spent 1/3 of their whole life sleeping hence only left with 20-30 years to be productive
- when one has sense of urgency, one see the need to settle things quickly - no procrastination, hence this will lead to a more productive behaviour and get many things done
3. Sense of gratitude
- use His blessings that He has bestowed upon you for His sake
- in return to show gratitude to Him, its not just about saying Alhamdulillah and not doing anything but one needs to be productive in order to do so
4. Sense of service
- have a desire to contribute back to the society/community
#3 We need to understand that :
- PRODUCTIVITY is not an event but its a PROCESS
- PRODUCTIVITY is not boring, its FUN!
- PRODUCTIVITY is not being busy, its being ORGANISED
- PRODUCTIVITY is not another mere activity, but its a LIFESTYLE
What productivity is all about is being organised, get things done but at the same time one knows to spare some time for fun!
#4 ELIMINATE EXCUSES
Excuses are just a way for us not wanting to be responsible. So identify the problem and think of solutions to overcome it!
#5 3 TYPES OF PRODUCTIVITY ;
1 . SPIRITUAL PRODUCTIVITY
- Have sincere intentions & work hard
- Fill your life with barakah.
What's barakah?
'Barakah is the attachment of Divine goodness to a thing, so if it occurs in something little, it increases it. And if it occurs in something much, it benefits. And the greatest fruits of Barakah in all things is to use that barakah in the obedience of Allah subahanahu wa ta'alaa)'
How to attain barakah?
- Good intentions
- Belief and piety in Allah
- Solah (prayers)
- Putting your trust in Allah
- Reciting Quran
- Saying Bismillah
- Istighfar
- Eating with people
- Honesty in trade
- Following the sunnah - start doing simple sunnah
- Du'a (supplications)
- Halal income/money
- Praying istikharah
- Giving thanks to Allah
- Charity
- Tying ties of kinship
- Waking up early
- Marriage
So what removes barakah?
SINS & BAD DEEDS.
Antidote : Tawbah & Istighfar
7 Daily Spiritual Habits :
- Sunnah prayers before/after solah
- Remembrance of Allah after every solah
- Morning/evening adzkar
- Night prayer
- Duha prayer
- Always being in a state of wudhuk
- Recite 30 mins of al-Quran every day
2. PHYSICAL PRODUCTIVITY
"Managing your body is key to managing your productivity"
Manage sleep
"if you can manage sleep, you can manage your life"
How to sleep spiritually?
Its significance :
- Signs of Allah's power (in Ayatul Kursi)
- Realization of our weakness
- Reminder of death/resurrection
ٱللَّهُ يَتَوَفَّى ٱلۡأَنفُسَ حِينَ مَوۡتِهَا وَٱلَّتِى لَمۡ تَمُتۡ فِى مَنَامِهَاۖ فَيُمۡسِكُ ٱلَّتِى قَضَىٰ عَلَيۡہَا ٱلۡمَوۡتَ وَيُرۡسِلُ ٱلۡأُخۡرَىٰٓ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ۬ مُّسَمًّىۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٲلِكَ لَأَيَـٰتٍ۬ لِّقَوۡمٍ۬ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death: and those that die not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back (from returning to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed. Verily in this are Signs for those who reflect. (39:42)
- Rewards to those who overcome sleep for worship - Qiyamul Leyl
Now think each time before we sleep,
sleeping for dunya VS sleeping for Akhirah
Here are some practical spiritual solutions ;
BEFORE SLEEP : wudhu, witr prayer, night prayer, du'a before sleep
DURING SLEEP : constant remembrance of Allah, du'a if you wake up in the midle of the night, du'a if you can't sleep
AFTER SLEEP : du'a upon waking up, first actions
How to sleep physically?
- exercise to burn off stress
- do not eat after 8 pm
- no caffeine in the evenings
- stretch before going to bed
- make the room as cool/comfortable as possible
- do light reading before bed
- avoid glaring screens e.g TV, handphones, computers
How to sleep socially?
- Go to bed, forgiving everyone who has upset/angered you. Resolve conflicts/emotional issues. Imagine that that night is your last night. In what state do you wanna die in? Talk to a friend or write in down in a diary if its affecting your emotions.
- Early rising is encouraged because early mornings is when you have most WILL POWER and the CONTROL OVER YOUR LIFE/TIME - can plan things to do for that whole day etc.
- Use your mornings to nurture your careers, relationships and yourself.
"When you make over your mornings, you can make over your life. This is what the most successful people know" - Laura Vanderkan, Author
- Manage nutrition ; understanding the source of food, using bismillah before eating, using right hand when eating, eating what you need, stop eating before feeling full & lastly, incorporate the habit of fasting.
- You are what you eat. Know the difference between appetite and hunger.
-Avoid skipping meals so as to keep consistent energy level
Rasulullah salallahu 'aleyhi wa salam said
"The food of 2 people enough for 3, and the food for 3 is enough for 4" (Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)
- Manage fitness
"Don't exercise for your body, exercise for your BRAIN!"
- Start exercising ; do simple workouts, taking the stairs instead of lifts, do 3 10 minute walk daily, morning, noon, evening etc
3. SOCIAL PRODUCTIVITY
Islam is a community-based religion not an individual-based religion
حيثما زرعك الله أثمر
Wherever Allah plants you, be fruitful
“The best of people are those that bring most benefit to the rest of mankind.”
Islam puts heavy influence on being socially productive be it from family to relatives to neighbours/colleagues to community to ummah and to humanity as a whole.
One needs to understand and clearly differentiate his/her mandated and elective roles.
So how can we start being socially productive? Find an area of interest (which you want to help in), then learn/develop/seek knowledge regarding it and finally, share/teach/volunteer!
p/s May we be given the patience and strength to practice what we have learned for if not, all these will be in vain.
