How Successful People Stay Productive and In Control

Source: talentsmart.com

By: Dr. Travis Bradberry

TalentSmart has tested more than a million people and found that the upper echelons of top performance are filled with people who are high in emotional intelligence (90% of top performers, to be exact). The hallmark of emotional intelligence is self-control—a skill that unleashes massive productivity by keeping you focused and on track.

Unfortunately, self-control is a difficult skill to rely on. Self-control is so fleeting for most people that when Martin Seligman and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania surveyed two million people and asked them to rank order their strengths in 24 different skills, self-control ended up in the very bottom slot.

And when your self-control leaves something to be desired, so does your productivity.

How to crush laziness while following Islamic teachings?

Source: http://www.idealmuslim.com/

It is the responsibility of every living Muslim to follow Islamic teachings and perform all the duties which Islam bestows upon them. In addition, following the teachings of Islam is something that a person needs to turn into a Muslim needs to turn into a hobby of theirs. Following the teachings of Islam should be included in the everyday schedule of every living Muslim. However, it is because of the fact that every Muslim follows the teachings of Islam every single day that most Muslims start suffering from laziness whenever the time for them to follow the teachings of Islam comes.

It is important for a Muslim to crush laziness while following the teachings of Islam because if they succumb to their laziness, they will not be able to follow the teachings of Islam, ultimately displeasing their creator. Laziness is the arch nemesis of productivity, which is the reason why every person should crush it. In addition, this is also true in the case of Muslims. Muslims need to crush laziness because if they do not do so, they will not be able to follow Islamic teachings.

Parenting Cannot Be Delegated

Source: blog.islamiconlineuniversity.com

By: Nisaar Nadiadwa

I was a guest at one of my friend’s place. This was a very rich man and he had a young son. While we were sitting, his son offered me a glass of water. The father retaliated: “Can’t you even greet with Salams!” I could clearly see the man’s eyebrows frowning and the little kid shivering. The child mumbled ‘Assalamualaikum’ in a shivering voice . Later, I corrected my friend that he was wrong in insulting his son and he should read the biography of the Prophet  on how he taught children, tolerated their mistakes and corrected them without getting angry.

Beating Procrastination: Keeping a Daily Relationship with the Quran

Source: http://productivemuslim.com/

Procrastination affects us all – however, the most serious procrastination is the one that keeps us away from Allah’s path and away from good deeds.

It’s interesting how people normally procrastinate to do good deeds or beneficial actions, but would rarely procrastinate when it come to bad deeds or useless tasks! It reminds me of what Imam Zaid Shakir said in our recent interview with him, he said clearly ”procrastination is from shaytaan”.

I want us to tackle a growing problem amongst many Muslims today: It’s the procrastination from reading/reciting the Quran on a daily basis. We call it procrastination, but in some cases, it can be called complete abandonment (may Allah protect us).

Productive Jumuah Activities

By: Abu Productive

Source: http://productivemuslim.com

It’s Jumuah! The most blessed day of the week! So how do we make the most of it?

Depending whether Friday is a day off for you or not, we’ve covered below some key activities to make most of your Jumuah which you can judge how best to fit in your life insha’Allah.

The important thing to remember is that this day is truly special and you should give it due consideration.

Are You Doing Good Deeds with Great Rewards?

By: Hiba Ali

Source: http://productivemuslim.com/

When we think about our day-to-day actions, chances are they reside in separate compartments in our mind. This may not necessarily be the outcome of any conscious effort, but simply the result of how we habitually tend to perceive the act.
I help with chores to do my part around the house.
I eat because I am hungry.
I take a nap because I am bored.
I study because I need good grades.

But what if you could make all of those actions a source of reward insha’Allah?

How!? By our intention.

Spiritual Boosters

By: Lotifa Begum

Source: http://productivemuslim.com/

Ramadan is a time of spiritual retreat – we are able to invest in the extra good deeds and gain more reward than at any time of the year. It is meant to be the most productive time of the year for us on a spiritual, social and physical level but this isn’t always the case. Sisters face a different productivity challenge during the days they are unable to fast due to menstruating or post-natal bleeding, so often I hear sisters complain about how unproductive they are during the days where they can’t fast. It’s like they feel a spiritual loss and miss out on the blessings of Ramadan. Here’s the good news sisters, you can still be productive during these days when you are unable to fast!

In this article, I will share practical tips and advice on how you can use the non-fasting days to invest in yourself spiritually, get proactive socially and make sure you don’t lose out on the blessings of Ramadan.

Firstly let’s remind ourselves of the purpose of fasting, Allah says in the Qur’an:
‘O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous.’ [Qur’an 2:183]

Managing Your Disorganized Computer Desktop

Not only are you slowing your computer down, but you are also slowing yourself down and hurting your productivity, because more clutter = less focus = less productivity.

Now, I know there are moments when you are “in the zone” and simply don’t want to disrupt your workflow by saving files properly. But if your desktop is always cluttered, it’s not a reflection of your creative state, but rather a reflection of your indecisive, lazy self (yes, yes I’m being harsh, but I’m only trying to help.) So let’s clean up the clutter, shall we?

First, let’s look at the root cause of having a cluttered desktop: Why do you have a cluttered desktop?

I guess your answer would be twofold:

1. Laziness: “I can’t be bothered to spend a few minutes and save the file in the right folder.”

2. Fear: “What if I can’t find the file again!”

So, here’s how you can solve the above two:

1. Laziness: Develop a habit/routine where you do NOT save a single file on the desktop, no matter how busy you are. You’ll always save the file in a specific folder.

2. Fear: You need to trust the “Search” functions of your computer and develop a clear naming/filing convention that’s logical to you.

The above are preventive measures to stop you from getting yourself to a cluttered desktop. But what if you already have a cluttered desktop?

Well, then here’s what you need to do:

1. Dump ALL your desktop files into one folder called “Archive”, which you have under your username account.

2. Create the logical naming/filing convention you’ll follow from now on.

3. Every weekend, spend a few hours moving files from your Archive folder to the right folder.

4. Stick to the habit of NEVER saving a single file on your desktop.

If the above steps seem difficult, try using any of these desktop declutter tools here: http://www.freewaregenius.com/ten-free-tools-to-better-organize-your-desktop-icons/.

If you are seeking to organize other physical spaces like your work desk or wardrobe, you may want to revisit this article.

http://productivemuslim.com/productive-troubleshooting-managing-your-disorganized-computer-desktop/

5 Stress Busters to Enhance Your Productivity

In this deadline-demanding, rat race society, it seems like we’re pushed to run and run everyday beyond our capacity. Suddenly, one day passes like an hour, and an hour seems like a passing mosquito. But now, instead of making stress a scary green monster that’s ready to eat you alive, we’re going to find out how to manage stress and keep it under control.

1. Address the Root Problem

What would you do if suddenly in the middle of night, your fire alarm rings? Would you switch off the alarm and go back to sleep? Of course not! You’ll search the house and try to find the source and spring into action to douse it out.

Likewise, your stress. You don’t just slap a “this too shall pass” attitude then turn on the TV comedy show to distract yourself from the problem. Stress is merely a smoke, and fanning the smoke alone won’t save your house from the fire.

Now do a quick contemplation: write down the things that stress you. Stuff you have to accomplish, including those you must do but you’re just “finding no time” to do. Just write them all down, from big stuff like “I want to publish a novel!” to something as trivial as giving your cat a bath. This is only the start. Next you’ll have to: