Continued from...Time Management 101 Part 1

Today, in Time Management Part 2, we will insha-Allah help you gain perspective in your life and of your time by helping you to identify the multiple roles you play in your life.

Many of us feel overwhelmed, we are juggling too many things and yet we have no order in what we are doing, because we don't know how to manage our tasks and manage ourselves. The secret to managing ourselves and our lives is to manage the different roles we play.

When we manage the different roles we have, we will find that our lives become balanced and we have things under control.

Some of us are mothers, daughters, wives, students, business women, managers etc. We are trying to juggle all these multiple roles and be successful in each. Remember we give attention to the roles we are aware of , and we neglect other areas in our lives, because we have NO roles designated in those areas.

Take Fathima for example, She is running a home, she is a mother, a wife, and a business women. Her areas of focus in her life is Home, Family and Career. What about the other areas in her life? What about time for her and her physical well-being? What about her desire to become a better chef? And her desire to memorize the Quran? The honest truth is, she will never become a chef or memorize the quran, because she hasn't identified it as a role, or made time for it. She is just a busy women, juggling a business and family and always wishing she had time to do more of what she wants.

By only paying attention to certain roles, we are only giving attention to certain areas in our lives.We are balanced, when we are able to balance all the roles we play in all areas of our lives.

To help you identify your roles, we have identified the 7 major areas of in our lives, they are as follows:

1)Spiritual- The islamic aspect to our lives

2)Personal- Me time-Includes both the physical and emotional aspect.

3)Relationships- we are daughters, mothers, wives, sisters, friends.

4)Career- doctors, lawyers, teachers, businesswomen,

5)Home- Home organizers

6)Financial- How we earn money , save money, budget etc

7)Contribution-The way in which we contribute to our world

Now,the most important task-

Journal Work:

a) Find a quiet place and take a little time to do this task.

b) Think about each of the 7areas of your life and what role do you play.

(See example below)

Example: Your Name:

1)Spiritual- Muslimah* (we are all muslimahs, write this down)

Hafidha (Are you memorizing quran? want to?)

2)Personal-Self * (physical well being, gym, exercise, emotional well being)

3)Relationships- wife, mother, daughter ,sister, friend

4)Career- When it comes to working and a career, not every women has a defined career. Some women are accountants, doctors, lawyers etc, but some women are stay -at -home moms, who do other things with their lives. Other young women are students, who apart from just studying, they want to learn more of deen, or learn art, or take cooking classes.

So write down what do you do as a "career".

Now write down what you would like to add to your life, and designate a role for that. It doesnt have to be a career, but it is something we include in this area, because it contributes to your growth.

Do you want to start a blog? Designate a role as blogger.

Do you want to become a writer? Make a role for writer.

If it is part of your field, then do not make a major role for it, instead set goals within your current career, field to incorporate it.

Only designate roles that are extremely important to add to your life. Don't make too many unnecessary roles that overwhelm you.

5)Home- Home organizer( this is especially for women who are wives n mothers) If you are living with your parents, you can stil be a home helper and help out at home

6)Financial- Let's face it, we all have to be money smart! In some way budget, or set goals regarding finance along the way. So here's your role in this area- Financial planner!

7)Community- Contributor: Everybody has to play this role to be balanced. We always have to give back!

Once you have all your roles written down, you have a broader perspective on who you are and what your life encompasses, or what you want your life to encompass.

c) Think carefully about who you are, what you want, and identify and designate roles in your life. Once you have done that, think about what you want to achieve in each role.This will get you thinking for the next part.. Time Management101: Part 3 - Setting Goals for Identified Roles!

Share with us your thoughts in doing this task, the roles you have come up with and if you have any queries,need advice, or help, email us at

productivemuslimah@gmail.com