The Muslimah's Momentum Part 2: From Intention to Action

Salam everyone! Hawa S. here, and welcome to another episode of Muslimahs In Motion where we dive deep into procrastination solutions and productivity techniques that actually work. Ever noticed it's not just about "bad time management"? There's usually a whole emotional intelligence story behind why we put things off.

On today's part, The Muslimah's Momentum Part 2: From Intention to Action, I'm getting real about productivity tips and sharing some game-changing time management strategies that actually work. Ever heard of the five-minute rule or temptation bundling? They're total lifesavers when fighting procrastination!

Picture this: what if you could master habit stacking and pair those dreaded tasks with things you actually enjoy? (Think watching your favorite show while folding laundry 😉). James Clear talks about this in "Atomic Habits" and trust me, these productivity techniques are genius!

Here's something cool we'll explore today on Muslimahs In Motion - creating a "day menu" instead of a rigid to-do list. It's like having different time management options for different moods, because let's be honest, some days we're just not feeling it.

And speaking of emotional productivity, we'll tap into some amazing Islamic wisdom about personal accountability and growth mindset. Because here's the truth - getting comfortable with discomfort is part of the journey to beating procrastination.

Remember, we're not aiming for overnight transformation here. It's all about those small productivity wins that add up. Think of it as leaving little thank-you notes for your future self!

Key Topics We Will Cover on This Episode:

• Emotional intelligence in productivity
• Time management techniques for Muslim women
• Procrastination solutions through an Islamic lens
• Habit stacking strategies for busy Muslimahs
• Islamic mindfulness practices
• Productivity hacks that work for modern Muslim women
  
  
  Goblin Tools:
  https://goblin.tools/

Chapters

• 0:00 Overcoming Procrastination
• 3:45 Creating Sustainable Productivity Strategies
• 20:55 Embracing Emotions for Productivity Growth
• 25:10 Taking Small Steps Towards Change

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

People often say the hardest part is getting started, and it's true. Once you get the flow going, it becomes easier and easier and then it is done. And when I started to become familiar with my own emotions, you know I had to be really honest with myself and, like I mentioned, avoiding my feelings was honestly just delaying the inevitable. Salaam everyone and welcome back to Muslimism Motion Professional Pursuits, back to Muslima's In Motion Professional Pursuits. I'm Hawa, your host, and here we celebrate the achievements of young Muslim women while exploring strategies to balance the life you dream of with the life you're living.

Speaker 1: 0:51

Today we are about to dive into part two of our procrastination series, the Muslima's Momentum. In this three-part series, we're diving deep into a topic many of us struggle with but rarely discuss openly Procrastination. We'll explore how being honest with ourselves and holding ourselves accountable, all while extending grace, can help us overcome this. So last time, in part one, from pause to purpose, we got real about the emotional roots of procrastination. We talked about how it's not just poor time management but it's actually about our feelings getting in the way. Remember that sinking ship analogy? Yeah, we're not about that life anymore, sis. Now it's actually time to turn that ship around. So in this episode, we're moving from understanding to action. We're about to explore practical strategies to tackle procrastination head on, all while keeping it very real, very honest and extending grace to ourselves.

Speaker 1: 1:59

So, grab your favorite warm beverage, find a cozy little spot. Or, if you're driving, keep your eyes on the road. Or if you're walking, keep your eyes on the road. Anyways, and let's embark on this journey from procrastination to progress. Trust me, your future self will thank you for showing up today. Let's get into it.

Speaker 1: 2:25

So let's move on to our first strategy reframing tasks. So sometimes, when it's time to do an important task, our brain can kind of overstate how difficult it is to get started. Now, what do I mean by that? So, for example, do you ever know that, okay, I have laundry to fold, dishes to wash, mail to get and I don't know, like, organize your countertop or vanity or whatever it is right. But let's say, for example, you're like me and, for whatever reason, you find laundry just really difficult to do, like, I don't know what it is. It's not even like the cleaning part, because, like, all you have to do is really just organize the laundry and put it in the washing machine and put it in a dryer, it's when the laundry is clean and, like you know, you gotta hang it or fold it. And now my brain is just saying, well, that's actually gonna take a really long time. So, like, let's just save that for later. But then later actually never comes. This is what I mean. But then later actually never comes. This is what I mean.

Speaker 1: 3:45

So when you do that, it makes it very easy, as I just described, to convince ourselves that, oh, we'll just save it for later, because it's actually going to take a lot of time if you do it right now and there's other better things you could be doing right now. And the thing is there probably are other things you could be doing, but you have to eventually get to that chore, right? So how do we handle this? Well, for one, it can be as easy as self-talk. So when you, you know people say that when you speak it into existence, it becomes reality. And yeah. So if you say something enough, or you write it out enough, eventually you're going to believe it's true, you know. So when you tell yourself, for example, you know what folding the laundry is actually not that bad, you will start to believe it little by little. But you have to keep telling yourself that, and you don't even have to believe it at first. You just have to keep telling yourself and eventually your brain will start to get a little confused or he's going to start to think like oh, maybe it's not that bad, why don't you just go do it? Even if it's a 2% shift, even a 1% shift, even though it feels kind of slow, the growth in the long run is actually quicker because it is sustainable.

Speaker 1: 5:18

So let's stick with the example of laundry. Yes, we've managed to convince ourselves that doing the laundry is not that bad, but then when you think about all the steps involved with doing the laundry again, you're just kind of like oh no, there's just a lot of a lot, a lot of tasks. What do we do about that? Well, let's explore our second powerful tool breaking tasks into smaller steps. So, for example, have you ever heard of the five minute rule? What is the five minute rule? Let me explain. So it states that once you get started on something for like five minutes, check in with yourself. If you still don't feel like doing the thing, let it go. Just stop. Try again another time, try again tomorrow. But chances are you're gonna keep doing the thing because you're already in the flow and you're probably gonna finish it. That's because whoever came up with the five-minute rule shout out to you. But this person realized that the problem isn't the task itself, it's just the difficulty in getting started. So a lot of times when we have a whole laundry list no pun intended of things to do, we just think the whole overstating in our heads kind of thing kind of prevents us from actually beginning. But then once we actually begin the task, it's not that bad and we end up finishing it like we were supposed to. People often say the hardest part is getting started, and it's true. Once you get the flow going it becomes easier and easier and then it is done.

Speaker 1: 7:06

Now let's move on to one of my favorite strategies combining low dopamine activities with engaging high dopamine activities. So, with engaging high dopamine activities. So I know we've all heard the book Atomic Habits and I'm sure you've heard of it several times, but can you blame people Because it's actually a really good book. So anyways, in Atomic Habits, james Clear talks about something called temptation bundling. Like, I've always did this thing, but I didn't realize it actually had a name. But anyways, temptation bundling is a method to help build a habit by grouping a behavior that is important but unappealing, with a behavior that is attractive to you. So, for example, when you clean the house, you reward yourself with a movie, or listen to your favorite podcast, wink wink or watch your favorite vlog or tv show. You know what I mean, and the more you do it and the more you do this, the more your brain actually looks forward to doing the quote-unquote unappealing task, due to the dopamine released by the reward way yay. So another example.

Speaker 1: 8:23

Right, maybe it's time to work on your budgeting. Yuck, yes, we're coming back to the budgeting thing. Sorry y'all, we're not escaping this one. It's very important. So, boo budgeting. Oh no, I don't want to look at my mistakes and numbers and math. No bad, okay, how about this? How about you reframe it as a solo date, or even find a very good friend and make it a little friend date and you go to a cute cafe or your favorite restaurant, get little mocktails and get your favorite pasta and you work on your budget there? Provided you can afford it, though. Let's not now put ourselves out of the budget. Working on our budget, you know, that way your brain is associating the womp womp activity with the yay activity, and it just makes things so much easier.

Speaker 1: 9:23

I remember when I first started the whole reframing, slash, temptation, bundling thing, the first thing was laundry and I had a huge pile of clean laundry that, no matter what I tried, I really just I honestly I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I was honestly just avoiding the laundry, and it's not even like I didn't want to is that deep down inside, it was just really overwhelming and instead of telling myself I have to do this boring chore, I reframed it as oh, I get to have clothes that I don't have to frantically iron every time I want to leave the house. Then I would put on a very nice audiobook podcast or very nice cozy vlog. Now, the following tool is a very powerful one that I'm actually starting to use, and this is the concept of different to-do lists for the different types of days you might have. What do you mean by that? Let me explain. So it's like a day menu, right, that's what I'm choosing to, I guess, call it. It's like a day menu, a Muslim menu, I don't know. We can workshop the name. So like, for example right, come up with four different menus, you got a menu for the good days, you got a menu for the normal days, you got a menu for the tough days and you got a menu for the bad days. Now it can be four or three, whatever. So what do all these days mean?

Speaker 1: 10:53

So the good days is when you can get your most productive and go get our tasks done. So you know that you have a list of things that you can take care of. If you wake up that day and you're like you know what, today I'm gonna just do all the stuff. I can do everything. Nothing could stop me. I'm unstoppable. This is this list. Right. Then you got to-do list for the normal days.

Speaker 1: 11:19

So every ho-hum day, moderate tasks, and you get a little reward. So you get a little sweet treat every time you get her done, you know. So, for example, you went to the post office and you sent that mail you were supposed to send, or you packaged up that Amazon return and you went to the Whole Foods or UBS and you did that thing and you want to reward yourself Temptation bundling. So then you go get a little donut or a little ice cream. You're like, yay, woohoo. So you have a list of the things you can get done and a list of the rewards that you get. Then you have a list for the tough days. These are like the bare minimum tasks. So you know things that you know you got to get done, but the things you also know that don't take too much mental or emotional capacity, that you know you can get done if your just day isn't really the worst but it's not the greatest either, and you just really take time for yourself.

Speaker 1: 12:17

The last list is for the bad days. Now, this list is very self-care focused and recharge. You know, take it easy, yeah, recharging. Now, the reason why all of this works and it's okay that you don't necessarily have like the most productive list for the bad days is because you went so hard during the days that you actually could do it. So then that way you can take it easy on the days you can't, because the truth is, no matter what social media or all these things try to convince us, not everyone can go super hard, 100% every day.

Speaker 1: 12:56

You know, and it's nice because I'm starting to see this whole like movement about like what, like feminine productivity or just like a new wave of productivity, which means that, like you don't do grind, set mindset go to bed at 3 am, wake up 4 am or whatever, take ice bath, take cold shower, jog for 10 miles, then come back, then work at your best every day, and if you don't, you don't deserve to be a millionaire. Yeah, no thanks, buddy, this is. I think this strategy is honestly a lot more sustainable and I think you'll like yourself a whole lot better because, again, we're not focused on the whole failure aspect like, I think, a lot of productivity or a lot of fake. I don't even say productivity, because real productivity it's not about who can do the faster, the mostest, it's just getting it done at an appropriate pace and feeling good about it. You know so, like a lot of these like grind set people, they're just like oh, if you're not doing the thing, you're failing, because either you're in a state of failure or you're not.

Speaker 1: 14:12

But this is reward yourself, for you know being and doing the things you need to do and doing even more. But then also take it easy on yourself and extend yourself grace for those inevitable days where it will not be the easiest to get everything done, because it's not a matter of if those days come, it's a matter of when, right, we will not be at our best all the time, and that's okay. So this strategy allows you the room to kind of do your thing when it's the right time. So what I want you to do is I want you to find a piece of paper I know you got a piece of paper and a pen or a pencil. Even if you don't got that, you can even go in your notes app and I want you to make a day menu for good days, normal days, tough days, bad days, etc. So then that way, when those days come, you don't even need to put the mental energy into even thinking about what to do, mental energy into even thinking about what to do. Your past self, aka your now self, has already taken care of your future self by doing that job for you and put anything you want on there honestly, especially for the rewards. This is important because this is, these are things you want to look forward to. So that way it's going to be easier to do the things you know and even have like little bonuses, like things that you're typically not really the biggest fan of. You know errands of doing, but then you give yourself a really nice reward like oh, I'm going to go get my favorite pizza from my favorite pizza place, or I'm going to treat myself. You know you can have different tiers. You can have whatever you want. This is your list, this is your day menu.

Speaker 1: 16:00

Now, along with those strategies, what are some additional tools that would be able to help or assist us on this procrastination journey? Now, while obviously it's not about the tools, it's about the person who wields them, however, it still helps to have really awesome things to help us or at least make the journey easier. So, for example, right In the past, I've always put stuff on my calendar and put a time frame for them, kind of like time blocking, and that solves one part of the problem. But what about the other parts, like, for example, what we discussed earlier about breaking the task up into smaller tasks? Well, I want you guys to meet a very special friend of mine. This special friend's name is called Goblin Tools.

Speaker 1: 16:58

Now, what are Goblin Tools, you might ask? Don't worry, I'm gonna explain. They are a collection of small, simple, single task tools, mostly designed to help neurodivergent folks or, honestly, anybody who's really suffering from executive dysfunction, to help with tasks they find overwhelming or difficult. And it's really awesome, it's really great. They even have things like tone checker, like where you can check your tone in an email or somebody else's tone, just to make sure you didn't overread or overanalyze it, or even things like here are the things in my fridge.

Speaker 1: 17:38

What can I make for dinner tonight? I mean, I cannot even get y'all. I cannot even begin. Don't even get me started on that one. It's so helpful, it's free, online and, if you want, like the app, it's like two bucks. But honestly, that two bucks. Would you rather spend that two bucks on some random subscription you forgot to cancel or I don't know a random something at the impulse buy at the store? Would you rather spend it on something that actually improves your life? Trust me, I think this is worth the $2. Now, anyways, one of my favorite tools on there is now we're gonna have to get a drum roll for this one Ta-da, the magic to-do, which breaks things down, so you don't have to.

Speaker 1: 18:29

Now, how does it work? It's magic, it's a to-do. What does it mean? Let me explain. So it's really simple. So you just put your task into the magic to-do and then you click the button and it breaks it down into smaller chunks. So, for example, if you type in like clean the house, it'll say. It'll then break down clean the house into picked up laundry, wash dishes, vacuum living room, wipe down kitchen counters so it'll already. It'll add to your already existing to-do on the app by like breaking them down even further and you get to check off things when you're done. So you get a little dopamine hit and it's great.

Speaker 1: 19:16

So, like for someone like me who's feels very overwhelmed by the sheer number of things I have to juggle on a day-to-day basis, honestly, the magic to-do is a game changer and it honestly just kind of takes away the Because the thing is right Sometimes it's not even. You know it's already hard enough, like having a lot of stuff to do, and then you got to think about okay, what do I have to do inside the things I have to do? So the magic to do kind of gets rid of the other hard parts of trying to actually break down what you have to do and all you have to do is just essentially be like a little robot and be like oh, step done, and what's the next step? Step done. Like all the mental taxation not all of it, but most of it has been alleviated from this little tool and it's really great. So next time you got to break some tasks down or things down to do, you can even put things like I don't know, like get ready to go to park, and it'll still break down those steps for you. Like get dressed, find shoes, I don't know. You try it out. I'm going to put the link in the description. So great. Now take a moment to think about a couple of tasks that you would put in the magic to do, then go ahead and do it. Yes, it is that simple. Don't worry, I already did have the heavy lifting. Just click the link in the description. It's really great. And listen, this is not sponsored or anything. I just really liked it.

Speaker 1: 20:55

So now that we've covered reframing and other very important and impactful strategies, let's just dive in into how we can manage the tasks by addressing our emotional responses. So, like we talked about in part one, we often try to like suppress or mask our negative emotions because it feels easier in the moment. But the truth is, as a society, we honestly just need to be more comfortable with being uncomfortable. So as soon as we accept that, honestly, these challenges and difficulties are honestly just a natural part of life, it just becomes really easier to just get over these obstacles, and I don't mean like get over it, but I truly mean like traversing and understanding yourself more. You know a lot of us. We kind of push our emotions aside because it just feels quicker, it feels easier and it honestly is just better to ignore them in the short term, because that's what our human brains are wired to do. But in doing so we honestly miss out on a really important opportunity to understand what's really going on under all those brain layers. You know, and you know even in the Quran it says Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, will not change a condition of people until they change what is in themselves. So even in the Quran, guys, you got to hold yourself accountable at some point. You know we can. That's what I like about Islam because, at the end of the day, right, you still gotta hold yourself accountable. We can always ask for change and things, but again, you have to do the work to make the change happen.

Speaker 1: 22:37

And when I started to become familiar with my own emotions, you know I had to be really honest with myself and, like I mentioned, avoiding my feelings was honestly just delaying the inevitable. I wasn't helpless and, honestly, wasn't a victim, and you know, obviously this does not apply to every situation. So, you know, do not just blanket this and be like no, you're so unempathetic, this is not what's happening. Just saying, in my own situation I was definitely in control of certain factors I was just facing. I was just choosing not to like face the reality and the issues that were in my control and it was very difficult. Yes, it required a huge ego check, but it's so necessary if you actually want to improve and grow in life. So the first time you do this, the first time you confront your own emotions and you admit your own accountability and role in these emotions, it can honestly be very overwhelming. But it's okay, because these kind of things take time and it's not going to happen tomorrow, it's not going to happen the next day, it's not even going to happen next week. But it's important to like be patient and be gentle with yourself as you kind of work through these emotions, because it's a lot. It is a lot, but it's an important reminder. So thank you guys for tuning in.

Speaker 1: 24:10

Today we talked about some really good, tangible solutions for very real procrastination problems we all go through. Sometimes we reframe tasks, we broke them down, use some dopamine, what is it? Temptation bundling, and we use amazing magical tools like the magic to do. In part three, from effort to barakah, we will discuss accountability and self-compassion through the islamic perspective and we'll dive deeper into what we kind of discussed at the end and how islamic teachings can kind of provide us with both motivation and self-forgiveness and compassion as we tackle these procrastination problems. So we'll explore the concept of Varaka and how it relates to our productivity journey.

Speaker 1: 25:10

So before our next episode, I challenge you to try at least one. It doesn't have to be three, it doesn't even have to be two, just one of the strategies we talked about. And then what I want you to do is pick a task that you know deep down inside you've been avoiding and don't tell me oh, I haven't been avoiding nothing. Yes, you have, we all do. Ok, even if it's like the smallest thing, right, and honestly, if you really haven't, good job.

Speaker 1: 25:42

But but for the rest of us, pick a task you've been avoiding and apply one of the strategies that we discussed today. I know I will and I know what I'm applied on that godforsaken laundry. It's okay, like I, progress takes one day at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was change. Anyways, man, I'll just make it easy for everybody and just take it easy one step at a time. Of course, change is not immediate, that's okay, but until next time, keep that motivation up. And even if you're not too motivated, that's okay too, as long as you come back bigger and better eventually, and keep it moving forward. As-salamu alaykum.