Have you ever found yourself in situations with so many things to achieve in so "little" time?
I find myself almost always in such a situation and perhaps that is why they say "Time is money"
We live in a time when a year seems like a month, a month like a week, a week like a day and a days like hours, so how could we make use of this "little" resource called TIME? And...Could effective time management be ibadah?
Firstly, What do we mean by TIME MANAGEMENT?
It is quite simply, the act of planning and efficiently utilizing our time to maximize productivity.
In order to better understand the need for effective time management. Let us take a journey back to our basic fundamental principles
Looking at the Five Pillars of Islam, we would realise that apart from the first Pillar, which is the Shahadah, all the other four are time based.
For instance, can we decide to pray all five daily prayers in the morning because we have "a lot" of activities lined for the day" - can we pray them in Advance? Or can we intentionally delay our prayers till the end of the day because we are "too busy" during the day?.
How about staying up all night (even in nawafil) prayers so we become too tired to wake for fajr prayers?
None of these are permissible because there are prescribed times for Prayers and hence we would have to make out time for them.
Moving on to Fasting & Hajj. Is it possibile to just perform hajj in Ramadan (making 2-in-1) perhaps because that's the only time in the year that you're free? Or maybe you could shift your Ramadhaan fasts to Sha'baan because you're going to be too busy during that period? You cant as well.
Once again time management is called for.
And what is the Difference between Zakat and Sadaqa?
Isn't it Amazing that it is the timing as well?
And likewise arent there perfect times for duas? & periods when our deeds are multiplied in their rewards?
So we can see that managing our time properly could count as an act of ibadah since it is linked to the effective execution of other major acts of Ibadah? And now the big question...How much importance do we actually give to managing our time properly?
We are all about to welcome one of the sacred months "The Month of Mercy"
Surely most of us have come up with our goals and aspirations. How then do we achieve this? It starts with Planning and Effective Time management
A tip to achieve this is; think about your goals and then, come up with a plan to achieve it.
For instance; if you want to maximize your Ibadah during the last 10 days an idea for a plan could be to take your work leave during that period.
If you wish to wake up more frequently, you may try sleeping early and getting enough rest during the day.
If your goal is to recite as much Qur'an throughout the month, you may want to try utilizing the free time in between work rather than waiting for a particular time during the day to recite it all.
Whichever plan you choose for the goals you set and your targets, having a way to monitor and evaluate yourself is key.
May Allah make us of those who effectively manage their time & maximize the benefit of this little resource, & may He make us of those who are successful in this life and the next. Aameen.
-Abbas
I find myself almost always in such a situation and perhaps that is why they say "Time is money"
We live in a time when a year seems like a month, a month like a week, a week like a day and a days like hours, so how could we make use of this "little" resource called TIME? And...Could effective time management be ibadah?
Firstly, What do we mean by TIME MANAGEMENT?
It is quite simply, the act of planning and efficiently utilizing our time to maximize productivity.
In order to better understand the need for effective time management. Let us take a journey back to our basic fundamental principles
Looking at the Five Pillars of Islam, we would realise that apart from the first Pillar, which is the Shahadah, all the other four are time based.
For instance, can we decide to pray all five daily prayers in the morning because we have "a lot" of activities lined for the day" - can we pray them in Advance? Or can we intentionally delay our prayers till the end of the day because we are "too busy" during the day?.
How about staying up all night (even in nawafil) prayers so we become too tired to wake for fajr prayers?
None of these are permissible because there are prescribed times for Prayers and hence we would have to make out time for them.
Moving on to Fasting & Hajj. Is it possibile to just perform hajj in Ramadan (making 2-in-1) perhaps because that's the only time in the year that you're free? Or maybe you could shift your Ramadhaan fasts to Sha'baan because you're going to be too busy during that period? You cant as well.
Once again time management is called for.
And what is the Difference between Zakat and Sadaqa?
Isn't it Amazing that it is the timing as well?
And likewise arent there perfect times for duas? & periods when our deeds are multiplied in their rewards?
So we can see that managing our time properly could count as an act of ibadah since it is linked to the effective execution of other major acts of Ibadah? And now the big question...How much importance do we actually give to managing our time properly?
We are all about to welcome one of the sacred months "The Month of Mercy"
Surely most of us have come up with our goals and aspirations. How then do we achieve this? It starts with Planning and Effective Time management
A tip to achieve this is; think about your goals and then, come up with a plan to achieve it.
For instance; if you want to maximize your Ibadah during the last 10 days an idea for a plan could be to take your work leave during that period.
If you wish to wake up more frequently, you may try sleeping early and getting enough rest during the day.
If your goal is to recite as much Qur'an throughout the month, you may want to try utilizing the free time in between work rather than waiting for a particular time during the day to recite it all.
Whichever plan you choose for the goals you set and your targets, having a way to monitor and evaluate yourself is key.
May Allah make us of those who effectively manage their time & maximize the benefit of this little resource, & may He make us of those who are successful in this life and the next. Aameen.
-Abbas