One of the lessons of Dr. Habib Hamidi’s “Academic Analysis of Marriage” class,was surprisingly about managing my time. Before attending this class, I had completely underestimated its value; I’m not thinking of marriage, nor am I ready for marriage so I thought this class wasn’t for me. Itwasn’t until I went when I realized how applicable it was

for me as far too often, I waste my time.

Time management is a skill that everyone has trouble working on. In a marriage setting, being organized with one’s time is a vital element. Once a person masters managing their time, they become very efficient, organized, and successful. So, what’s the secret to managing time?

Dr. Habib, began with a simple approach:

1.      Observe your day and write down what you have done for every hour for the next 2 weeks or so.

2.      Plan your schedule.

Once you have done that, you will notice that there are so many spaces in your daily schedule that are left blank. This is a problem, as Dr. Habib analyzed. When you have nothing to do, or have nothing planned to do, Shaytan comes to you and whispers suggestions of things you should not be doing. I mean, no one plans on doing wrongful actions in their schedule; sometimes, they just seem to happen. To prevent this from happening, go to step 3

3.      Fill the blanks of your schedule with something productive, like study-time.

For instance, as students we often neglect our academic occupation and forget to leave any time for studying in our schedules, until of course the last minute. Procrastination will only force us to pull all-nighters and leave us frustrated in the morning. This is why it’s very important to have our schedules planned well beforehand.

4.      Be realistic. 

Do plan your schedules but at the same time, be realistic. For instance, if you plan your schedule to have study time after ‘Asr prayer when all the brothers and sisters are hanging out, it’ll be difficult to get any efficient studying done.

Time management offers a lot of benefits such as productivity and efficiency. This valuable skill will steer one away from leading an unproductive life and hopefully provide more time to spend with others, like one’s spouse.

Step 1: Get a planner

Writing down your day-to-day, hour-to-hour activities in a planner will help you stay on task. Think of it as an advanced To-Do list. If you have a phone with a Calendar function, that works well too. To begin, write something for every time slot, so your whole day is planned out.  A typical day might look something like this:

8-9:30 – Breakfast/Study at home.

10:00 – Study spanish

11:00 – Study in Powell

1:00 – Lunch & Dhuhr prayer

2:00 – English

3:00 – Art History

4:00 -  Asr & down time.

5:30 – Maghrib prayer & Powell

7:30 – Dinner & then back to Powell

10:00 – Down time/Gym/Isha prayer

Midnight – Sleep

Not too bad, right? Of course, it’s a little trickier on heavier days with more classes and extracurriculars. But if you can manage to consistently schedule a few hours of studying every day, and still try to make some down time to prevent burnout, you’ll find yourself being a lot more productive.

Step 2: Multi-Task

Think about all the time you spend that goes to waste. Walking to class can take anywhere from five to twenty-five minutes. If you have phone calls to make, unplug your iPod and start dialing! At the gym, you can spend half an hour on the elliptical, and another 20 minutes walking back home.  If it doesn’t make you sick to read while moving, take note cards or books you need to read for class while on the cardio machines. Or you can go over information from your classes in your head, and ask yourself questions to quiz your understanding.  When you’re pressed for time during lunchtime, don’t skip your meal – keep a lunch or snack packed and eat while studying or on the go. By turning your excess time into work time, you increase your efficiency and lessen your workload for later.

Step 3: Study smart

When you really need to focus, it helps to remove yourself from a place where you are distracted when you’re studying. If you are someone who tends to socialize when studying with friends, then try studying alone, or find a good study buddy. When you get to a point when you are getting twice as much done in half the time, then you know you’re doing the right thing! This takes a little more discipline, but once you learn to study better in shorter periods of time, and frequently, then hopefully the all-nighters will no longer be necessary.

If you would like to share your own tips, feel free to add them in the comment box below!

On a Saturday evening, over 900 people gathered for Qiyam at the Islamic Socity of Corona-Norco. This year, the mosque hoped to set an example for others. Imam Mustafa Umar said that one of their goals “was to make it the most organized and planned Qiyam ever, because these events are usually very unorganized. So we wanted to change that and set a new standard.” The Imam had told me that the “schedule was thought out and revised at least 20 times in order to ensure we were as close to punctuality as possible”. The Qur’an recitation began exactly as scheduled at 11:30 PM and throughout the evening every event began and ended within minutes of its allotted time. “When you say that a program will start at this time, your word should be your bond,” emphasized the Imam. “However, most Muslims seem to not care at all about time, even though Allah has sworn by it in the Qur’an. I make sure that this rule is followed strictly, even if there is only one person there.”

In helping fulfill the promise of punctuality, the mosque utilized a vast array of technology. The schedule was displayed on both a projector and a High-Definition television and was edited live behind the scenes in case a speaker did not show up. Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail were utilized to advertise the event and feedback was requested at the mosque’s online suggestion box. The technologically acquainted Imam says that he “hopes and prays that other Muslim institutions embrace this technology as we have. By utilizing this technology, we can all advance the efficiency of our mosques. Keep in mind, there is still much opposition from influential members of our own community in using this technology, but we must fight for that which pleases Allah”.

To broaden the accessibility of the Qiyam, the mosque invited One Legacy Radio (OLR) to broadcast the Qiyam live. The Programming Director of OLR, Marya Bangee, told me that they “have begun to do this with other mosques and broadcasted live from Reviving the Islamic Spirit conference in Long Beach last May.”

One particularly important aspect about this Qiyam was that the youth were in control of everything from planning to logistics. By empowering the youth to take leadership, the Imam increases efficiency at the mosque. Youth, who are generally more embracive of technology and thus can adapt to quick changes in plans, can resolve any situation that arises quickly. College student Nora Diab, one of the Logistics Coordinators, believes that “if people see this work effectively, they may want to bring this back to their own mosque. So many leaders from different communities are observing and what they should or should not do for their own mosque, so we are all learning”.  And this is what this mosque hopes to achieve. By setting a new standard in technology, punctuality, and innovation, they hope to inspire other mosques to follow in that path. Are you up for the challenge?

“By time, Indeed, mankind is in loss, Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” (Qur’an, 103:1-3)

Allah (subhan wata’alah ) establishes the default position for all mankind at the very beginning of the ayah (verse): a state of loss. That is followed by the exceptions to the default position, namely those people that have iman (faith), do good deeds, propagate truths and exercise patience. Interestingly, all of these four exceptions allude to actions done consistently. Even iman itself is not a static state, but its level fluctuates in every individual, with the exception of prophets, depending on a person’s actions and worship. As such, we realize a hard fact: everyone is losing with the passage of time by default, with the exception of those that are doing righteous actions. With time, it’s use it or lose it. Contrary to what most of us would like to believe, there is no stationary state. If we are exactly the same person today as we were yesterday, we are actually losers under this definition. Certainly, amongst the major differences in this world and the next is time itself: this life is temporary, and the next life is eternal.