Productivity & Mastery

– How redha, sabr and ikhtiar transform frustration into purposeful initiative

THE “BANE” OF WORK PROCESSES

Almost every professional faces it: the bane of bureaucracy.

Procedures pile up, approvals drag and paperwork feels endless.

In a conversation (8½-minute video below) in 2023, I spoke with Dr. Nadiah Suki, an academic whose work life sometimes revolves around forms, reviews, ISO checklists and audits. Yet, instead of loudly complaining, she has learned to view these frustrations through a faith-conscious lens.

I encourage readers to watch patiently! It’s longer than my usual clips, but worth it. What unfolds is a journey from irritation to insight and finally to initiative.

Read More “Beyond Whining: Faith-Conscious Action in the Face of Bureaucracy”

– When GTD meets deen: unlearning secular patterns, striving for faith-conscious productivity

PRODUCTIVITY BOTTOM-UP OR TOP-DOWN?

David Allen’s GTD® (Getting Things Done®) methodology has been beneficial for me for two decades.

GTD’s 5 Steps, with all the techniques and tools I’ve been using, have systematically helped me manage overwhelm and stress, truly, i.e. in cruising to try finish more than a hundred (!) to-do tasks at any one time (GTD calls them Next Actions) at the “runaway level.”

Read More “Getting Things Deen: Faith-Conscious-izing GTD”

IN SEARCH OF THE RIGHT WORD

From the 1970’s I have been reading a lot, and in 1982 I picked up the book In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman. It became a business classic that shaped management thinking for decades. “Excellence” became a benchmark for organizations seeking to outperform competitors and sustain growth.

Forty years later I discovered the profound word that signifies an internal state for excellence, and the word is ihsan. The word takes on a spiritual lens. Beyond efficiency, KPIs, or customer satisfaction, ihsan asks: how do we bring beauty, sincerity, and God-consciousness into our work?

Read More “In Search of Excellence: Ihsan or Itqan?”