by ProductiveMuslim on August 28, 2011
In the month of Ramadan, we have a crucial choice to make, you can have a year like any other or you can achieve ultimate happiness and success. How? Decide to live in the true spirit of Ramadan – all year round.
What is preventing us from living everyday with the same level of spirituality, self-control, and productivity we reach in Ramadan?Productivity, applied in an Islamic context, has a different, complete meaning. It implies living our lives in a manner that not only benefit us while we are in this earth, but that, by the mercy of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala), will allow us to enter Paradise. Usually bad habits hinder us from that and Ramadan is our opportunity to break that downward spiral, to bring change to our lives and alter every dimension of our being.
So, how can we maintain good habits?
Know what are the habits that we should give up by Ramadan. Focus on the phrase “by Ramadan”. Be prepared to undertake this journey to instil your habit into your life. Don’t wait till the last day before Ramadan to eliminate undesired acts. Start thinking what you can do this very day to please Allah, to fight Shaytan. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) warned us: “Allah has no interest in any person’s abstention from eating and drinking, if that person does not give up lying and dishonest actions”.
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by ProductiveMuslim on August 27, 2011
The month of Ramadhan shall be over once again. But is Ramadhan really going to be over so soon or have we finished it already? The purpose of Ramadhan is to help us to get closer to Allah Almighty. The purpose of the long prayer vigils is so that it changes us internally to become tolerant and obedient beings. But have we become God conscious or have we just been more food conscious? Have the long nights of staying up has made us more spiritual or instead have we become more irritable?
There is still time to harvest the blessings of this Glorious Month, so let’s not give up too early!
Here’s a tool that I often use from the famous productivity system Getting Things Done (aka GTD), when perplexed or confused on what’s the best course of action to take. The tool is called the ‘Natural Planning Model.’
The Natural Planning Model is a series of questions that you can ask yourself to get to the best possible concrete actions you can take about any situation that you’re in.
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by ProductiveMuslim on August 15, 2011
…continued from Part 1
In the previous part of this series on how to effectively manage nuggets of time that
become available to you during Ramadan, we discussed the spiritual and physical dimension of how to make use of time. Below are some tips on ensuring you invest in socially productive activities too:
Social
1. Family Time
• Plan with your family some Islamic, educational ways to spend the time together. You may want to plan a quiz/competition with your neighbors and friends on Islamic knowledge for example.
• Teach verses from the Quran to the children, buy them DVDs that narrate the stories of the Prophets, share with them hadith. Be ready to answer their questions!
• Think about your previous Ramadan reunions. Did you indulge in backbiting and harbor hard feelings to your fellow Muslims? Were you able to rejoice together in the spirit of Ramadan? If not how can you improve the situation this year? Which activity could you do together that would foster harmony and good feelings?
• Use the times in which you feel weak to take care of other small household errands.
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by ProductiveMuslim on August 15, 2011
The concept of productivity is fundamental in business as in our personal lives. One of the best meanings of productivity is when we have decided and are determined to make the best of our lives to serve Allahu (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala; any other kind of productivity might make us proud in this life but won’t help us in the Hereafter.
During Ramadan we have an invaluable opportunity to increase our levels of productivity: we are given the possibility to gain in one day what it might have taken us an entire year to gain. Yet many of us still fail to use our time investing in the best of ourselves, so how do you think you can make the best use of your time during Ramadan?
Decide
Every action happens after a decision, either conscious or unconscious. So the first thing we should do is to DECIDE we are committed to make this Ramadan the most excellent Ramadan of our entire lives.
The Quran teaches us that the best of us is he who works for the Hereafter and takes care of his affair in this world. We need to be able to manage our spiritual, physical and social wellbeing not only throughout the year but also in ramadan.
Spiritual
1. Prepare yourself from Sha’aban.
If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advised us to fast in the month before ramadan, there must be wisdom in it. Do you think that someone who makes sure to fast even before the advent of Ramadan will have difficulties in fasting during the month? We’ll be better prepared to stay away from our temptations and can focus more on acts of worship by ensuring next ramadan we plan ahead. By doing these extra voluntary fasts before Ramadan, we will inshaAllah be ready from the very start, avoiding the discomfort or physical shock of the first few days.
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by ProductiveMuslim on August 15, 2011
No matter how hard we try, each Ramadan we can easily ruin our good deeds and succumb to trivial arguments. In the article below you’ll learn how you can restrain yourself from getting into an argument this Ramadan, whether the man on the subway pushes past you or your family just drive you crazy during the day!
Fasting is your combat tool and the ultimate productivity technique to enhance our character, strengthen our sense of patience and generate a new found spiritual high. Allah swt does not need you to leave your food and drink if you do not strive to leave harmful character traits.
Outlined below are 5 Steps you can take to cool down before shaitan tries to trick you and make you miss out on multiple rewards.
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