Time & Intention

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim...


Time is an asset that we all have the same amount of - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, etc. Yet some people seem to get more done, be more productive, have less problems with procrastination, and don't struggle even when they have a lot of responsibilities. On the other hand, some people seem to not get anything productive done, struggle with procrastination, waste their time on a daily basis, and can't even handle more than 1 responsibility. Why is that?


Isn't it strange when something that everyone has the same amount of, results in different outcomes?
It all boils down to the individual. And in my experience, I've been in both situations - the procrastinator AND the productive person.


In my case, what results in my productive days is sitting down & thinking about my life. Just spending around 30 minutes to an hour of thinking time about what is my ultimate goal in life, makes a lot of difference in how I spend the following days, and eventually forming new, beneficial and productive habits.


If I don't know WHY I'm living my life, then I wouldn't know HOW to live my life - which will result in wasting time, not being able to make up my mind, etc.


The WHY is our intention.


Often in this modern time, we get so distracted with technology that we forget to think about WHY we want to do something. For example, it's easy to pick up our smartphone and scroll aimlessly at our Facebook news feed, than to open up the Quran app and read the translation. Most of us have a Quran app on our phone, yet we don't use it regularly (including myself), even when we can and have the time to do so. Why do we choose to open a time-wasting app than a beneficial app?


Have we become a mindless society? Have we lost the ability to sit down and think about our purpose, goals and intention in living our life? Have the advancement of technology turned us into robots who operate without thinking twice?


In an authentic narration from Riyad as-Salihin, 'Umar al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:


"The deeds are considered by the intentions, and a person will get the reward according to his intention."


Whatever we do in our life will be judged by The Almighty according to what we intend the deeds for.


It's not the technology that bears the blame for our mindlessness. The same smartphone can be used to get us into The Heaven or The Hell.


If we use our smartphone to view pornography, invite people to hate on other people, spread false news & lies - then where will we end up? On the other hand, if we use that same smartphone to read, understand & live the Qur'an, listen to Islamic lectures or podcasts, spread good reminders to our friends & family - then where will we be in the hereafter?


Many times, we're quick to blame something other than ourselves when things go wrong. Why do we do that? Because it's easy to be the victim than owning up to our own weakness. In psychology, it's called self-serving bias - a type of thinking pattern where we easily attribute negative outcomes to external factors instead of ourselves.


Let's be responsible with our own time, because it's something that when wasted, we'll never get back.

May Allah ease our affairs in this world & in the hereafter. May Allah make it easy for us to change our bad habits & build new, beneficial & productive ones. Amin.