As a personal development trainer and consultant, I frequently encounter people seeking solutions for increasing personal productivity to achieve more in a day. Increased productivity hugely boosts the sense of worthwhile accomplishments at the end of the day, a feeling everyone wishes to experience.
In Islam, improved productivity is generally referred to as Barakah, something akin to a lost treasure these days. Everyone seeks it, but no one knows where to find it. People are continually complaining that there is no Barakah in time, money, business, society and so on. Here I would like to share five tips that have greatly improved my productivity and increased Barakah in my life.
- Wake up early and arrive early.
There is a Hadeeth of Prophet Muhammad (sa): “Allah (swt) has made the early hours blessed for my Ummah.” (Ahmad)
I find this a most profound Hadeeth on the subject of increasing productivity. Waking up early is a critical first step towards achieving the blessings of Allah (swt) and remaining energized throughout the day.
I suggest waking up 30-45 minutes before Fajr, offering Tahajjud prayers and using that time for getting a head start on the day. If this is too difficult, then at least wake up for Fajr and stay up. These early hours of the day are filled with Barakah, as stated by Allah (swt). I also recommend going to work early, because you can get so much more done in those early hours, as compared to the rest of the day.
- Plan your day and keep your goals in sight.
In “Getting Things Done”, David Allen says: “Your day should not be started, unless it is finished on a paper”. In other words, you need to know exactly what you plan to accomplish in the next twenty-four hours. Most people start their day like a ship without radar. It is easy to get impressed by someone, who is very busy moving from one task to another or who has a hectic schedule. Remember productivity is not judged by how busy someone looks. Why? Because speed is irrelevant, if the direction is wrong.
Before starting a journey, you need to know the destination. The same applies to your coming day, week, month, year, and even your life. Reflect in the early hours on what you want to achieve in the coming day in the form of a to-do list. Once you’ve concluded a to-do list for the day, move towards executing the list point by point
- Prioritize your activities.
The third key to productivity is to prioritize your tasks and activities for the day. It is observed that in an undisciplined or mismanaged society, people generally tackle whatever task comes their way, without considering the importance of priority. One of the ways to impair productivity is to spend excessive time on a task that is not of priority.
Not having a proper prioritization framework also puts people under unnecessary stress. For instance, one of the productivity destroying strategies is that people prioritize tasks according to ease or difficulty. In a recent workshop at a large manufacturing plant, an engineer in the maintenance department prioritized a task that was relatively easy to perform and left out the task that required more thinking and reflection. In reality, in terms of importance, the later task was more important and had greater impact on the performance of the department and overall production of the plant.
- Don’t play with Allah’s (swt) time.
When I talk about prioritization, it doesn’t only refer to the tasks performed at the work place, but everything that you do in a day. So, from the start of your day to its end, you should not compromise on the activities that our Creator has ordered us to perform. Your schedule should be blocked for prayer timings and these blocks should be non-negotiable except in case of extreme exigency that may result in huge loss. Our Creator has asked us to offer five prayers in a day, and if you calculate the total time required for these prayers in congregation, it is not more than an hour or so. That still leaves you with twenty-three hours in a day for accomplishing other tasks.
I am mentioning this specifically, because it is a common observation that even if people do go for prayers, they rush through it and thus not only compromise their connection with Allah (swt) but also cripple the entire purpose behind Allah’s (swt) orders. I consider five daily prayers as regular Barakah fillers of my day. People, who consciously remember Allah (swt) during an ultra hectic day, invariably enjoy great accomplishments.
- Minimize distractions.
This is easier said than done, because today’s world is full of distractions. If you work from your computer, there’s always the temptation to browse on social media, surf the Internet, and check email, among many other things. However, if you wish to focus and get serious work done, close your Internet browser and turn off your phone while working. Inform your colleagues that you are busy and do not wish to be disturbed for the next two or three hours. If possible, work with your door closed and use a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door, so your colleagues know not to bother you.
Although this is an era of smart phones and smart gadgets, these have only decreased the overall productivity of people. The idea of smart phone was to help people increase their productivity, but research has established that rather than using these excellent tools to increase productivity, most people waste time on social media and useless games. They lose hours on end and then complain that twenty-four hours are not enough in a day. This is a sign of low achievers with mediocre management skills and reckless, undisciplined behavior.
Every office has people who love to discuss the previous night’s television programme or political talk show. They start their discussion even before attempting the important things on their table. Avoid letting these average achievers spoil your day and hold you back. Set principles and abide by them religiously. Minimizing your distractions is entirely your own responsibility and is directly proportionate with taking your productivity to amazing levels.
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