Getting Things Deen: Faith-Conscious-izing GTD
– 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.”
This is “bottom-up,” meaning when the busy runaway is managed first, then only can I contemplate on purpose(s) “up” there / “at the top.”
I must admit, it’s only in recent years that I have been placing more importance to higher-purpose-thinking in my GTD practice. This is “top-down,” i.e. revisiting my higher-level purpose, then making sure that ultimately all my tasks and actions align to my purpose.
This shift happened as I got deeper into deen, the comprehensive way of life that encompasses beliefs, character and deeds, rather than just seeing and practicing Islam in the narrow sense of “religion.”
PURPOSE? WHAT PURPOSE?
Clarifying purpose, while being a “busy” leader, was actually an afterthought. What was urgent for me initially, and I found “fulfilling” was mastering the GTD 5 Steps.
This was despite GTD telling me that I also need to look at my Horizons of Focus (a.k.a. Six Level Model of Work, the highest horizon in chapter 9 of the GTD book being called “Life” and in chapter 2 called “Purpose and principles”).
Understandably, GTD is neutral and secular about this highest-level purpose.
But why did I need to clarify and internalize my purpose?
Because my practice of productivity, predominantly using GTD, has actually not been consistent! In GTD-speak, we say we often fall off the GTD wagon. Something else was amiss to cause this, I thought.
Of Purpose and Intention
So I delved deeper into the Horizons of Focus, naturally examining first the obvious purpose of life in Islam:
“And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion…” – Qur’an 98:5
I reinforced my belief that work is also worship (Latifa Mak calls it workship).
“Verily, actions are but by intentions, and every person will have only what they intended.” – Hadith
More and more, I use the label intention (niyyah or niat), i.e. I regard all goals and action plans as noble intentions. And I know that intentions get rewarded by Allah (pahala) even before the intentions get to be done.
The following video clip explains my attitude to planning, and the mapping to intentions.
Wanna collect more rewards? Well, every intention can be layered to higher-level intentions that all align to the peak intention of pleasing Allah. For every single intention, go and deliberately set other layers of intention, as illustrated by Latifa in the following example:
Image source : Latifa Mak, Workship Labs
Latifa’s full explanation of this is here (4.5-minute video).
PRACTICING FAITH-CONSCIOUS GTD
My top two ways of faith-conscious-izing GTD are: 1. faith-conscious-izing my GTD Horizons of Focus, so as to align to the pinnacle horizon of worship and workship, and 2. giving the finishing touch to my GTD Weekly Review with a faith-conscious accountability buddy.
Faith-conscious-izing my horizons
Even when I was (once-upon-a-time 🙂) conducting trainings on GTD (I let the certified-trainer status lapse), the bulk of the training was on the methodology of the GTD 5 Steps, with the Horizons of Focus given significant but not too deep mention.
So it is up to GTDers to delve deeper into their heart, contemplate and be clear with their purpose on this earth.
Leaders and professionals often identify their purpose to a level or two below the highest level. Even when they think they have identified their highest-level purpose, they (or shall I say we?) are so used to secularizing that they/we leave God out of the equation. We have a side equation for Allah and our relationship with the Divine. We don’t mix religion with “business.”
Integrate, synthesize and make holistic, I try to. We are not “schizophrenic,” so be firm, be assertive and be unapologetic to have the pinnacle purpose of worship (in all its meaning) declared to self and others, and have all the horizons below it aligned, right down to today’s MITs (most important tasks).
Buddying half-an hour for weekly reviews
My accountability buddy and I are committed to have our online meeting for half-an-hour every Friday 8:00am. I find that this completes and perfects my GTD Weekly Review that I do solo ahead of the online meeting. Together, my buddy and I review our past week’s highlights and lowlights, and declare the following week’s plan.
But more than that, we comment and give feedback to each other’s stories of the past week and intentions for the coming week, with an honest and direct faith lens. Both of us are at different levels of knowledge and practice in deen, yet we can “compare notes” to bring each other up.
“YOU COMPLETE ME”
I love GTD and other productivity frameworks for their undeniable power. They help me bring order to chaos, track commitments and reduce stress. I am aware that left untouched, they are so neutral, even secular! Watch out, Muslim leaders, because that can be a trap.
Don’t become highly efficient but disconnected from the niyyah, amanah (sacred trust) and ihsan (excellence before Allah) that give true meaning to our productivity.
Don’t drop GTD. Re-center it in deen. Ask whether our productivity systems bring us closer to Allah, benefit people and fulfill the trusts we’ve been given. This shift requires courage and humility! Critique our pre-programmed secular habits and always remember that our work is worship.
Faith-conscious productivity is the completion to GTD and productivity methods.
