The Productive Muslim by Mohammed Farris

Reflection

Journaling

Gratitude

Intentions

Dua

Reflections

Barakah Culture

Intention

Writing down your purpose

Deliberate intention setting for each task

Focus on process

Prayer

Base schedule on prayer

Pray on time

Pray tahajjud

Planning

Top 5 tasks each day and week

Have a routine

Productivity heat map

Schedule based on heat map and prayers

Sleep early and wake up for tahajjud

Productivity = Focus x Energy x Time (towards maximizing reward in the Hereafter)

Productivity is about continuously making smart choices with your focus, energy, and time in order to maximize your potential and achieve beneficial results

Productivity is not about being busy, a single event, or boring

You can't always be productive

History of modern productivity science

Based in Western Civilization thinking

Supremacy of reason and science

Separation of church and state

Capitalism, pursuit of worldly pleasures, and materialism

Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915)

First figure in management science

Optimizing output in factories

Technological productivity age (1980s - 2000s)

Human productivity enhancement through understanding, AI, and robotics age (now)

Understand physical, emotional, neurological needs of humans

AI assisting in tasks

Robotics, especially in repetitive and dangerous tasks

Future AI and robotics for most tasks?

Lack of purpose can destroy people

Begin with the end in mind

I've noticed this is the main thing that is needed for life design as well, find your why

We are given the Quran with guidance and the Sunnah as an example to follow

Purpose Led

Being a slave of Allah

Frees you from the shackles of this life

If you are not a slave to Allah, you are a slave to something or somebody else

Choose the Creator instead of a creation

Being Allah's authority on Earth

Vicegerent, deputy, or potential trustee to home responsibility is temporarily given

Need to earn it, not a birthright

Everyone is a guardian responsible for their charges

Asked for 5 things on the day of judgement

Knowledge and how he used it

Youth and how you spend it

Life and how he lived it

His wealth, how he got it, and how he spent it

Temporary, we are not here for long, our true ancestral home is Jannah

Value Driven

Amana (Trust)

Sidq (Honesty)

Ihsaan (Excellence)

Soul Guided

Nourishment of the soul

Belief in Hereafter

Misconceptions

Islam vs Muslims - it's easy to blame outside forces on the condition of Muslims, but we need to reflect on this

We were not always like this

Dangerous misconceptions

We should neglect the dunya

Actually dunya and akhera are connected

All you need is Dua

Actually you need to give your best effort and do Dua like the prophets did

All you need is patience

We should not be passive in patience, we should be actively trying to improve our condition in patience just like we are active while making dua

Righteousness means acts of worship

Actually righteousness is to be productive in not just spiritual matters but physical and social ones too

It's all written

This needs a theological debate on destiny and free will

Allah created life and death to test us who does best, there is no test without free will

We are tested with fear, hunger, and loss

If you are thankful, you will be given more

Spiritual

Boost productivity through spiritual concepts, rituals, and ideals

Understanding spiritual productivity is to understand the link between the unseen divine world and the material world

Physical

Mainstream productivity science

Social

Impact those around us

Families

Neighbors

Relatives

Community

Humanity

Spiritual productivity is the link between our energy, focus, and time with our spirituality

In order to improve our energy, focus, and time from a spiritual perspective, we need to live according to the values and guidance sent to us by Allah through His Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

We should always seek barakah in our lives through its various sources and means

We should seek forgiveness often and stay away from sin in order to protect ourselves from the dire consequences in the hereafter