The difference between being busy and being efficient…

Bismillah

We always say “I am too busy” but have we paused to think and ask ourselves if we are busy with the right things? Are we busy doing something and nothing at the same time?! I mean, are we busy doing things that in the long run will not make a difference in our dunya and akhirah? Is there a way we can get more done and still have time for ourselves? In shaa Allah yes there is! When we study the righteous, we notice that one of the ways the righteous predecessors made the most of their now was by building great awareness of how their time was spent and making sure that their day was filled with good deeds.

We learn from our beloved prophet, peace and blessings be upon him to hasten to do good while we still can. Busying oneself with good deeds is the habit of the believer.

“Be prompt in doing good deeds (before you are overtaken) by turbulence which would be like a part of the dark night. A man would be a believer in the morning and turn to disbelief in the evening, or he would be a believer in the evening and turn disbeliever in the morning, and would sell his Faith for worldly goods.”
[Muslim]

One great and easy way to ensure that we have a day filled with good deeds is by scheduling every hour of our day! Think about it! There are so many benefits in doing so:

• Better focus and productivity. ✅
• Good intentions. ✅
• Rewards at the close of the day even if we did not get a chance to do what we intended. ✅

Let’s say you had scheduled the night before to revise a surah the next day at 6 a.m but were not feeling well and remained in bed, you still gained by scheduling it, by intending for it. Because you had a good intention, you still received a reward for your good intention.
Isn’t this deen beautiful! 😎

Ibn Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, related from his Lord the Blessed and Exalted,

“Verily, Allah has recorded good and bad deeds and he made them clear. Whoever intends to perform a good deed but does not do it, then Allah will record it as a complete good deed. If he intends to do it and does so, then Allah the Exalted will record it as ten good deeds up to seven hundred times as much or even more. If he intends to do a bad deed and does not do it, then Allah will record for him one complete good deed. If he does it, then Allah will record for him a single bad deed.”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6126, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 131

So my dear sisters, schedule your entire day with good intentions and you will never lose bi idhnillah! Indeed everything is good for the believer!

As you schedule away dear sis, also be aware of distractions and obstacles which can come in the way of you fulfilling your intentions.

Here is a list of some of the major time wasters which we should avoid/reduce as soon as possible. This list is also a great list to keep in mind as you get ready for Ramadan. Changing our bad habits now will help us be ready for a productive Ramadan bi idhnillah. May Allah grant us Ramadan. Aameen.

• Television
• Movies
• Music
• Facebook (mindless scrolling)
• Twitter (mindless browsing)
• Instagram (mindless scrolling)
• Games
• Long phone calls
• Having useless hobbies
• Shopping trips (unplanned and unorganized)
• Time consuming food dishes (no prep work or meal prep)
• Bad company (not beneficial to your Akhirah)
• Too much clutter requiring much time to maintain
• Not having systems in place to help you be more efficient
• Not planning ahead
• Phone notifications which affect one’s focus.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, you will enjoy the content we have posted for our members in our membership club. This month our theme is all about time and how we manage ourselves within the time Allah Azza Wajal blessed us with.

The AA4U Membership club is now open for registration and this membership is perfect for sisters who:

1. have always wanted to access Al An 4 U Online classes on the Names of Allah, Tadabbur and Tajwid.
2. want to be coached and don’t mind being coached in a group setting or learn from someone else’s coaching once a month.
3. want to be challenged to exit their comfort zone so they achieve their goals.
4. want a budget friendly way to meaningfully care for themselves.
5. want to grow with a community of like minded sisters.

Click here to join us and if you have any questions regarding the membership club, contact us at hello@alanforu.com.

Go ahead and do some good by sharing this post with anyone you think might benefit. 🤩

Binta Umm Yahya is the owner of Al An 4 U Online Coaching which is an online platform for Qur’an lessons, Islamic studies and Lifecoaching for Muslimas and women interested in Islam. She has been teaching Qur’an for over 7 years now and is an ongoing student of Qur’an with her husband imam Ahmed Abu Suhailah. She loves reciting, teaching and reflecting on the Qur’an. She is a Certified Master Lifecoach and a NLP Practitioner who absolutely enjoys coaching her sisters in faith to help them gain clarity, focus and understanding of their religion so they live their best life and connect to their Maker. Whenever she is not teaching or coaching, you can find her staring at the sky, reading or journaling with a big cup of tea. 🙂