
By Muslim Youth Programme
4 Ways to Manage Your Time- Which one is Best for You?
Modern productivists commonly talk aboutĀ three models of time-management.Ā Take a look at them>>
1. THE CLASSIC TIME-MANAGEMENT MODEL
- Getting Things Done by David Ellen
- Stephen Coveyās time management grid (Author of 7 Habits of highly Effective People)
- ABC method
- Paretoās principle- 80/20 rule.
- Eisenhower Matrix for prioritizing.
- Pickle Jar theory for prioritizing between goals. (rocks, sand, pebbles and water)
- Parallel Programming method
- ALPEN method
- Maslowās Theory (showing the hierarchy of human needs)
- Eat the frog by Brian Tracy
- And many more…

The only problem is- NOT A SINGLE ONE of the systems is targeted specifically for Muslims.
Although the methods in this model canĀ actually help us prioritize better and become more productive but not a SINGLE one is designed specifically for Muslims.Ā Meaning this approach completely cuts off the Quran and Sunnah limbs from time-management.
Let’s have a look at the second approach…
2. THE WORK/ LIFE BALANCE MODEL
Work/ life balance is a term commonly used by people who work 9 to 5, originally coined in the late 1970s. Ā Ā
āWork/lifeā balance is at best an elusive ideal and at worst a complete myth, todayās senior executives will tell you.āĀ (Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams wrote that in a March 2014 Harvard Business Review article)

It compartmentalizes work and life. And it clearly demarcates āworkā from everything else thatās thrown in the ālifeā part, which btw comes AFTER work.
In other words, the work itself is at the center of focus and weighs equally or heavier than the ārest of the lifeā.Ā
And what of work-from-home entrepreneurs? Or people with 2 jobs and debts to pay off? And housewives who are technically not working a 9 to 5 job? Who can clearly measure their level of productivity?
Then later there appeared this newer version of the work/ life balance model, this time called…
3. āWork/life-integrationā model.
This approach allowed people to connect the two areas of life but thatās the problem- yet again, this approach also focuses on only two areas of life: work and life. And by life, whatās meant is family and self-time.
That canāt work for us Muslims because all of these secular time-management models completely cut off the Quran and Sunnah limbs from time-management.
There’s a HUGE area that’s missing from all of the above models: IBADAH. We canāt ignore our Salah during work nor can we ignore the fact that we have to fast during Ramadan, even if that means fasting while work.Ā
We have to make time for Allah S.W.T and Quran regardless of our work-situation.Ā Ā
Plus, all the strategies in these secular approaches are rationalized by the psychology of āthe mindā with no concept of Nafs/ Shaytan. Meh.
Also, notice how all these secular time management methods talk about how to āmanageā time. Management implies āfull controlā. And our belief system shuns that idea because the complete control of everything is only for Allah S.W.T.
Which is why all of the aboveĀ are INCOMPLETE models of time management that donāt fully solve the problems Muslims are facing today.
This brings me to the fourth and the final model…
4. THE BARAKAH MODEL
Barakah is the spirit of GROWTH. Whether itās growth of your money, time or wellness, itās theĀ secret ingredient responsible for growth.Ā
So the Barakah Model is simple- attach Barakah to time and it WILL grow on its own!

āGrowing timeā is not an exaggerated idea- it is totally REAL. Just because barakah is not tangible, doesnāt mean its effects are airy-fairy. Ā
Hereās why:
Barakah is an Arabic word and experts break it down into 3 parts.

Now imagine attaching barakah to time- hereās what youāll get:
Above and beyond measure, unexpected, constant, everlasting and stable INCREASE in our time.
Sounds heavenly! But what does that even mean in day-to-day life?
Hereās what it means for you and I:
What do you see when you look at the clock? The exact time.
4am, 10am, 3pmā¦
Everything about time is right in front of you in the shape of a clock.
But what if it isnāt?
Imagine thereās a hidden Barakah-hand on that clock that moves time besides the visible hour-hand and minute-hand. This ābarakah-handā is furiously working behind the scenes to increase the hours and minutes of your time.
So on a typical day, after finishing 3 important tasks⦠you look at the clock. Only 2.5 hours have passed and youāre already done with all the major tasks of the day?! How is that possible??
Before, you couldnāt even finish ONE major task in an entire day. This is so UNEXPECTED. Itās BEYOND what you imagined.Ā
Now imagine if that happened⦠not once, not twice⦠but every single day. Whenever you look at the time, it baffles you. You end up doing way more than you’ve been doing in the past.Ā Ā Ā
That is how REAL Barakah is. That is how POSSIBLE it is to enjoy the everlasting rewards of barakah.Ā
Let me tell you- thereās no HACK in the world⦠no productivity SECRET TACTIC that can promise those powerful results. Trust me because Iāve tried almost everything out there. NOTHING that secular time-management gurus teach you even remotely compares to the Barakah-approach. Ā
And get this- unlike the ācommon time-management methodsā, Barakah is centrally focused around the RESULTS of your efforts. Ā
So by attaching barakah to our efforts, we can give the best chance of success to the results of our hard workāĀ
I know what yāall must be thinking right now. BARAKAH IS SO COOL, where do I get some? šĀ
Donāt worry, itās free for all. Iāve even attached a swipe file containing all the best sources of Barakah, get it by clicking the button below: