“The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are most consistent, even if it is small.”

Assalamu Alaikum fellow Muslims or hello to my non-Muslim friends!

As I write this article, it is now the 10th Ramadan 2022. We are around ⅓ of the way into Ramadan, and I feel like it has gone so fast. However, have you been productive so far? Perhaps, you feel that you haven’t been as productive these first few days of Ramadan. Or perhaps, you were smashing it in the start and then slowly trailed off. In this article, I will be sharing with you how to increase your productivity during Ramadan and keep that momentum going for the rest of Ramadan.

Look back at your goals and your tracker.

The first thing I would suggest doing is looking at your routine right now and also at the goals you want to achieve. Hopefully, you have a plan on what goals you want to achieve this Ramadan and also a tracker to track your progress. If not, make one right now using this link: Make Ramadan 2021 The Best Ramadan! / Ultimate Step By Step Ramadan Prep Guide – Surobi Scribbles. This will allow you to know what you have to do moving forward.

Fix up your sleep schedule.

One of the main things that I realised when I was falling behind on my productivity in Ramadan was the fact that my sleep schedule was inconsistent. I know it can be difficult to plan when you will sleep in Ramadan especially if you have commitments such as work or school. But sleep is what can structure your routine. Sleep at your optimal sleep times and then work on the other times.

Make to do lists and plan around your prayers.

Hopefully, now you have fixed up your sleep schedule and that should make things 10x easier. But what do you do now that you are awake? In this case, I would suggest making a simple to-do list of what you have to do, especially if you have to revise for exams like me. One tip that I learnt a long time ago is that you can first start by writing your 5 prayers in your to-do list and then incorporating your other tasks around your prayer.

Remember the reason why you are doing this: consistency is key.

It is okay if you mess up one day and you only manage to read 1 page of the Quran one day instead of your daily 10 pages. We all do have a busy schedule and it is all about the intention. Have a strong intention that you are doing good deeds for the sake of Allah. But also remember that your career and studying can also be for the sake of Allah so have that intention you are studying and revising for Him. Seek forgiveness and try your best to move on and keep being consistent in your good deeds, even if they are small.

Gain support and support others.

If you feel that the whole year round, you haven’t charged up your Iman for a while and you want to now use this Ramadan to spiritually recharge, then I know it can be difficult. However, don’t think that you are alone in this. We are all Muslims part of one Ummah. If you have any questions or you find anything difficult, please speak up and aks your fellow Muslim brothers and sister. Research from verified sources and listen to Shaykhs and Muftis. You are never too late to start.

One huge lesson that was reinforced for me this year:

This lesson is crucial. Unfortunately, we live in a society where everyone seems to be judging each other and sometimes, you might be afraid of looking like ‘a Ramadan Muslim’ or you think others are judging you because you suddenly decided to be religious this month. I have felt like I am being judged as a non-Hijabi and maybe subconsciously we have all judged others. Please do not think this way. Everyone is minding their own business and people who are judging you or others are wasting their own time. Don’t focus on who is judging you.  Instead, focus on yourself and your connection with Allah this month, and remember that you are in your own journey in Islam. We should all be proud of each other for all the good that we do. That is what makes us an Ummah.

I hope these tips and the final message I gave helped you in some way. In Sha Allah you will implement one of these in your own life. Please remember to share this article with your family and friends to spread the messages and gain rewards In Sha Allah. Please check out my other articles below:

• My 2023 Reflections As A Medical Student 
• My First Term of Medical School | Exams, Essays and Events 
• My First Month of Medical School | Moving Out, Freshers And Workload
• The Ultimate Guide To Ace Year 12 | Revision, Friendships And Supercurriculars
• How I Got All A*s At GCSEs | 10 Tips Every Year 11 Student Should Know

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

A lot of you might hear the word ‘productivity’ or ‘productive’. This word is used all the time especially in social media nowadays and maybe in the StudyTube Community. But I wanted to explain this word and go into depth with it because I feel that people have misinterpreted this word.

Many people nowadays have this perception that productivity is when you ‘get a lot of schoolwork done’. You must have possibly studied or revised for hours and hours and that is the only way you can find yourself ‘productive’. However, this could not be further from the truth. 

Productive is achieving a significant amount or result. – Google

This simply means that if you are achieving something that will add value to your life or will give you a good result or will positively impact you in some way, you might be ‘productive’. This could surely be doing schoolwork or academic work, but it could also be extra-curriculars, self-care and sometimes even taking a break.

Obviously, there is a disclaimer to this. Procrastination cannot be productive as it is a guilty pleasure and is not really the break you deserve. So the key to being productive is priority – what is more important to you at that moment. You cannot be taking a break all the time and you have to do what is best at that moment. If you have an exam tomorrow, the thing that will make you ‘productive’ is obviously studying. But if you have just finished an exam, maybe what would be productive is spending an hour rewarding yourself by talking to your loved ones so it will replenish and motivate you for the future.

Productivity comes with discipline and choice. You have to want to be productive even when you are in a low day sometimes. 

Prioritise. Be Productive. Move On.

Please share this short, motivational reminder to anyone and everyone. 

What does productivity mean to you? Comment down below.

Please check out my other articles relating to Islamic content, My Experiences, Teenage Advice, Book Reviews and Poetry.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

And you may intend for this holiday to be productive.

What does it mean to have a productive holiday? Can you really do everything that you want to do during the holidays? And most importantly, how can you be productive this holiday?

In this article, I will be answering all those questions so make sure you scroll down and read the secret steps to success.

What Does It Mean To Have A ‘Productive’ Holiday?

Productive – achieving a significant amount or result. (By Google)

When you have a productive holiday, it doesn’t mean that you are working at your desk 24/7. It means that you are doing things that will add value to your life. Some of the things that I like to do in my holidays which makes me feel productive are focusing on academia, extracurriculars but also on self-care and relaxation.

Can You Really Be ‘Productive’ During The Holidays?

Of course you can. The key to being able to achieve your goals during the holiday and stay productive is time management. If you can manage your time, you can get it all done.

How Can You Be Productive During The Holidays?

Create A Holiday Plan

On your first day of the holiday or the night before, take a piece of paper and create different mind maps. For me, I like to make mind maps respectively for ‘Homework’ ‘Revision’ ‘Free Time’ and ‘Extracurriculars’. This can vary from holiday to holiday. Make all these mind maps in one sheet of paper and write down all the tasks on each mind map. This helps you to visualise what you want to get done this holiday.

Create Daily To Do Lists

After creating your holiday plan, you should know now what you have to do. Now, every single day, pick out a few tasks from each mind map and add them to your daily to do list. By having a variety of tasks, you are less likely to get bored and more likely to get them done. Make sure to follow those to do lists and you will realise some progress happening.

Work And Have Fun At Your Optimum Times

If you are a night owl, you may realise that during the holidays, you are getting academic work mostly in the night. Try to use your optimum times to your advantage. If you like doing academia in the morning, extracurriculars in the afternoon and fun activities in the evening then follow that.

Try To Wake Up And Sleep Around The Same Time

Now that you know which times you work best at, try to also wake up and sleep at around the same time. For instance, if you are a night owl, perhaps, you may wake up at 10am and sleep at around 11:30pm. Make sure it fits you.

Reward Yourself

Please remember to reward yourself as the holidays are a time for relaxation. Relaxation can also sometimes be productive if done in limits. If you have a 10 day holiday, maybe you spend 6-7 days of that holiday staying at home and then the remaining 3-4 days may be spent lazing around fully. Do what works best for you.

These were some of the tips on how to be productive during the holidays. Comment below any tips that you have in order to stay productive in the holidays. Also, don’t forget to share this website article with your family and friends.

Please check out my other articles relating to Islamic content, My Experiences, Teenage Advice, Book Reviews and Poetry.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

In today’s article, I will be answering this question to ensure that you have a distraction-free zone to complete all your tasks.

What Is A Distraction?

A thing that prevents someone from concentrating on something else. – Google

For example, if you are trying to do your math homework while also trying to talk to your friends unnecessarily, it may decrease your productivity and efficiency of that task or it may just take longer to complete the math homework. Everyone gets distracted but it’s about how you deal with it.

Examples Of Distractions:

• Phone 
• Social Media
• Unnecessary Noise 
• People Talking To You
• An Untidy Area
• Negative Thoughts
• Being Hungry
• Being Tired

How To Remove These Distractions:

Phone

If you are not using your phone for your work and you don’t need it while working, put it away.

Try not to place the phone in your work area. Put it in another room, give it to someone else in your family, put it in aeroplane mode or even use an app such as Forest to grow trees while you are studying. These are all pretty good ways to ensure that you are not using your phone while studying.

Social Media

Well let’s say that you need to use your laptop for your homework but you still have access to all your social media in your laptop…what do you do then? In that case, I would say to place an extension on your laptop. Use these at your own risk. With these extensions, you can block certain websites that distract you for a set period of time while you are working so you can’t access them. Problem solved.

Unnecessary Noise

If you are studying in a library, for example, and there are people talking which is distracting you and making it difficult for you to focus, I would suggest trying to block out the unnecessary noise by either playing white noise, listening to non-lyrical music or even moving to another area. If it is someone who you know making the noise, you could simply tell them to quiet down respectfully.

People Talking To You

If you are trying to study and your brother comes into your room and starts distracting you, you could simply try telling them to come back when you are free. Try to maybe have a notice on your door to let your family know when you are studying if needed to prevent them breaking your bubble of concentration. If your friend tries talking to you face-to-face, explain nicely that you are studying and they can come back after a set amount of time.

An Untidy Area

Sometimes, the distraction may lie in where you are studying. If you look at your study space and realise it is untidy before even starting to study, chances are you may feel like procrastinating. Therefore, if needed, spend 5-10 minutes before starting to study to tidy up. Not only does it make you feel put-together, but it may also increase your productivity for your next study sessions.

Negative Thoughts

If you are trying to study while having worries, it may decrease your productivity as the worry may take control of your focus. Instead, try to write down these negative thoughts and write the solutions next to it. If you don’t have a solution, then assign yourself time for when you will deal with that problem, either by thinking about it or talking to someone. This will ensure that you can give your full focus to your work.

Being Hungry

Some people cannot concentrate if they have not had their food. Therefore, in order to solve that problem, you could simply make sure you have proper meals during the days and also make some quick study snacks to have while you are studying. Mind you, I said ‘quick’ which means you can make the study snacks in 5-10 minutes, it should not cut out your studying time to make these.

Being Tired

If you have not had enough sleep the night before, it is more likely you will feel tired and lose focus very easily. Try to get the work done quickly and then have an early night to get the optimum hours of sleep you need. If you are just tired because you have had a long day, take regular breaks in between your study sessions so you have time to rejuvenate yourself.

There were some of the distractions that I could think of. Remember, it is okay to get distracted or even have a low day because it’s part of human nature and you can learn how to deal with it. But just keep working hard and don’t stress.

Comment down below what common distraction do you face. Please check out my other articles relating to Islamic content, My Experiences, Teenage Advice, Book Reviews and Poetry.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

If you are new here, my name is Surobi. I am a teenager and student who also is trying her best to create weekly podcasts on ‘The Chat Library’ (available in over 5 podcast platforms), create weekly blog posts on this website and stay updated with 2 Instagram pages (@surobiscribbles and @thechatlibrary). And if I can do it, you can probably do it too.

So here are my tips:

Habit 1: Find out what your true end goal and purpose is

A lot of people live very disorganised lives due to the fact that they don’t know why they are there. You need to find out what you are working towards. For example, instead of making school a place you go to just because ‘it’s required by law’, make it a place you are going to ‘seek knowledge and learn skills for life’. Find your purpose in life, and this doesn’t necessarily only mean your future career.

Habit 2: Write down your general routine

Now, after you have received that boss of motivation and purpose, it is time to look at yourself right now. Be honest to yourself but write down your general routine at the moment, meaning what you do generally on a daily basis.

Habit 3: Figure out your limits

If you realise that your routine is packed with unproductive tasks, it is most likely due to the little devil within you who tries to stop you from achieving things. Everyone has a different devil within and also different problems in life. Try to figure out what is limiting you to be productive.

Habit 4: Try to work on your problems

This may take time but you need to exercise this muscle every day bit by bit. You need to have a positive approach that if you have problems from stress to family problems to being undervalued, you need to solve them.

Habit 5: Get rid of your distractions

If there is anything physically that you can remove from your life quite easily, try to do so. An example of this is your phone so have limited screen time, put it somewhere else when you are working or even hand it to someone else.

Habit 6: Make small adaptable changes/habits into your life

When you are working on these problems, believe strongly that you will solve it and also do it slowly. You can’t expect yourself to completely eliminate your social media in one go if you have been using it for 5 hours daily. Take it slow but try to stay consistent.

Habit 7: Have a planning system

A lot of people do end up procrastinating because they have so many tasks and they don’t know where to start from. Start by writing a brain dump of all the tasks and then prioritise and go from there. You can stay consistent on doing this procedure by having a set planning system, whether it is a bullet journal, academic planner or a digital app.

Habit 8: Set aside time for relaxation and self-care

Relaxation and self-care are needed so when you are incorporating healthy habits into your life, ensure that you also have time in the week where you focus on yourself. This is not always a fixed time but just try to assign times where you can take care of yourself and not tire yourself out.

Habit 9: It’s okay to have a break

Remember that sometimes it is okay to have a break. But do not use your breaks as a reason to procrastinate. What I am saying here is that if you feel burnt out, want to reward yourself for actually achieving something good or if it is spontaneous, then you should have a break. 

Habit 10: Keep accountable with someone else

If you are finding it hard to do these tips, do not worry. Take it slow bt if you need some extra help, ask for help! You can ask for help from a trusted adult who is most likely to be your parents, older siblings or a counsellor. You can change your life for the better.

These were some of the tips that sort of helps me to manage my time well and I hope this helped. Use these tips to your own risk as it is your choice. And remember, that you should never give up because that is just not worth it. 

If you liked this article, you will probably like this one too:

Also, you can click on the clickables above for more about me, my podcast, Instagram pages and this website.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

In this article, I will talk about the various ways on how you can overcome procrastination and increase your productivity levels daily. 

Tip #1: Clean your room. 

If you are living in a room that is messy and disorganised it is very unlikely for you to get any work done. Therefore, if you want to stop procrastinating, clean and maintain your room because a clean environment leads to a clean mind.

Tip #2: Make a to-do list.

If you still have things going on in your mind, it is time for you to do a brain dump. List out all the tasks you have in mind and if it is a lot, prioritise your tasks using the article I made before: http://surobiscribbles.com/how-to-prioritise-your-tasks-the-5-step-method/

Tip #3: Have the motivation to start.

If you lack that motivation, you can always just search up some motivational quotes to study or even ask someone to motivate you. But this gives short-term motivation. I would recommend that whatever you are doing, count the days, not the months. E.G: there may be more than a month left till your exam but it may only be 31 days which sounds a bit more daunting.

Tip #4: Tie up your hair and wear good clothing.

If your hair is all over the place, you may not feel motivated. Tie up your hair into a loose bun or ponytail or just comb it out. You may feel better. 

Tip #5: Remove distractions. 

Now it is time to put your phone away and remove anything that will distract you. If you want a noise-free environment, then you may need to tell your parents to keep your younger siblings out of your room.

Tip #6: Set timers. Start working.

Give yourself the challenge to work within the amount of time you set. 

Tip #7: Take a break.

After studying at short, regular intervals, have breaks to rejuvenate your energy.

Tip #8: Continue this process. 

Keep doing your work without any distractions, with times and breaks in between until you get all your work done.

Tip #9: Give yourself a reward after doing all your work.

If you have finished all your work, reward yourself. For example, you could watch an episode of the show you are watching or talk to your friend on the phone.

Tip #10: Make a timetable or calendar with all your events. 

For the future, in order to avoid procrastination, write out the events in a monthly calendar and stick to it. It is about self-discipline and hard work with minimal stress.

Remember to follow these tips only if you want to. If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your family and friends and then get back to work! And if you finish all your work, here is a treat, another article from me: 

If you want to watch a funny TED talk about procrastination, I recommend:

Thank you for reading and have a lovely day!

So what’s the solution? One is that you need to manage your time more effectively. So, in today’s article, I wanted to share a few tips on how I manage my time more effectively to make the most out of it. I hope it helps :).

Figure out whether you are a morning person or a night owl.

Do you prefer waking up really early and completing your work before leaving the house or do you prefer working in the evenings with a mug of hot tea? After finding out, incorporate this into your routine.

Plan a routine.

Now after figuring out when you like to work best, and when you have free time, you can plan a weekly overview of how your week should look like. Take into account your work time, free time and even extracurriculars. You can choose how detailed you want this routine to be.

Have a planning system that will track all your tasks.

Whether it is bullet-journaling, an academic diary, a digital app or even a simple notebook, find a place to jot down your to-do lists and keep track of your past, present and future. As said in the quote “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” make sure to plan daily.

Prioritise your tasks. 

This will help you to know which tasks you should do when and set out the day in order of tasks importance.

Practise good, consistent habits.

It can then take quite some time to get used to this routine but have the self-discipline to keep striving to do your best. You may see the long-term effects of feeling more put-together and may even have more time in your hands. One healthy habit I would suggest for students is to always pack your backpack and tidy up your uniform for school the night before.

Set timers for each task.

To manage your time, you need to keep track of it. The simplest way to do this is by setting timers for each task. If your phone, however, distracts you while doing so, then it is best to buy a timer which alerts you (optional). This will help you to put you in a time constraint and make sure you are not spending too long on one task. By setting timers, you also challenge yourself to complete the task quicker.

Remove distractions.

When performing tasks, especially important ones, it is crucial to remove distractions so that you can focus on your task and get it done quicker. For example, if you keep using your phone while doing your Math homework, it will probably take you longer than doing it without any distractions. 

Be in the present moment.

This may contradict what I said earlier about planning, but it really isn’t. Being in the present moment means that when you are doing a task put all your focus, energy and concentration on that task. For instance, when you study, try not to fade away thinking about something unrelated to it.

Take care of your sleep, diet and organisation.

As much as these three things can be forgotten, they do still play a huge role in your time management. A bad diet and lack of sleep can lead to low concentration levels and high-stress levels which can be wasting your time. Get enough sleep and take time off to have your regular meals too as health is important.

Allocate different spaces for different tasks. 

Your desk should be for work-related tasks whilst your dining room should be to relax. That way, your brain knows which places are for what and can act upon it. 

These were some of my easy time-management tips. I hope this helps (try it out if you want) and for me, it works better the more I practise them. Please share it with your family and friends. 

Please also check out my other articles:

http://surobiscribbles.com/category/lifestyle/l-i-f-e-l-e-s-s-o-n-s/

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!