1. Time Management

The idea of time management has been in existence for more than 100 years. Unfortunately the term "Time management" creates a false impression of what a person is able to do. Time can't be managed, time is uncontrollable we can only manage ourselves and our use of time. Time management is actually self management. It's interesting that the skills we need to manage others are the same skills we need to manage ourselves: the ability to plan, delegate, organize, direct and control. Here are 4 steps that can help 'organize' your time.

1. Always define your objectives as clearly as possible.

One of the factors which mark out successful people is their ability to work out what they want to achieve and have written goals which they can review them constantly. Your long term goals should impact on your daily activities and be included on your "to do" list. Planning tools such as a calendar in a visible place (most likely the kitchen) where you can put reminders. Jot down events (Dr's appointments, birthday parties, grocery days etc). These reminders will clear your mind and you can focus on your day's activities

2. Analyze your use of time.

Are you spending enough time on the things which although may not be urgent now, but may become urgent soon. If you are constantly asking yourself "What is the most important use of my time, right now?" it will help you to focus on 'important tasks' and stop reacting to tasks which seem urgent (or pleasant to do) but carry no importance towards your goals.

3. Have a plan.

How can you achieve your goals without a plan? Most people know what they want but have no plan to achieve it except by sheer hard work. Successful people make lists constantly. It enables them to stay on top of priorities and enable them to remain flexible to changing priorities. This should be done for both personal and business goals. don't overbook yourself, or else you will be in a constant battle with time. Limit yourself to the number of activities you can do on weeknights or weekends. On your calendar, mark the day you will be doing certain time-consuming activities - laundry, grocery shopping. On kids soccer night, do not schedule another activity. Always complete the activity fully before you move on.

4. Action plan analysis.

Problems will always occur, the value of a good plan is to identify them early and seek out solutions. Good time management enables you to measure the progress towards your goals because "What you can measure, you can control". Always try to be proactive.

Time management (or self management) is not a hard subject to understand. The lesson to learn is that the more time we spend planning our time and activities, the more time we will have for those activities. By setting goals and eliminating time wasters and doing this everyday you may find you will have extra time in the week to spend on those people and activities most important to you.

Sources:counseling.buffalo.edu/studytime.shtml
http://www.tsuccess.dircon.co.uk/timemanagementtips.htm

2. Hadith Corner

Ibn 'Umar said, "In the life-time of the Prophet I dreamt that a piece of silk cloth was in my hand and it flew with me to whichever part of Paradise I wanted. I also saw as if two persons (i.e. angels) came to me and wanted to take me to Hell. Then an angel met us and told me not to be afraid. He then told them to leave me. Hafsa narrated one of my dreams to the Prophet and the Prophet said, "Abdullah is a good man. Would that he offer the night prayer (Tahajjud)!" So after that day 'Abdullah (bin 'Umar) started offering Tahajjud. The companions of theProphet (p.b.u.h) used to tell him their dreams that (Laila-tul-Qadr) was on the 27th of the month of Ramadan. The Prophet said, "I see that your dreams agree on the last ten nights of Ramadan and so whoever is in search of it should seek it in the last ten nights of Ramadan."

3. Teacher Profiles

PTC BUZZ interviewed Ms. Amina Jarad and Mrs. Kismet Oz.

What tools do you use to manage your daily schedule (e.g.: calendar, planner etc)?

Ms Jarad: For me, managing my daily schedule means I can avoid the chaos and stress of everyday events. What I do is, at the start of each day, I make a To-Do list of things I plan on accomplishing during the day. This helps me prioritize and get things done.
Mrs Oz: Actually, it's all in my head. I have a laptop, a nifty cell phone, and a calendar on my fridge, but my schedule often changes so rapidly that I would have to do a lot to keep up with changing dates on my gadgets or calendar. And I have to admit, I often say to my kids, ‘PLEASE remind me that I have to..........................”

When do you set your long term goals (e.g.: New Year's, on your birthday, etc)?

Ms Jarad: I usually find myself setting goals during Ramadan.
Mrs. Oz: I do not believe in looking too far ahead into the future. One's life can change a lot in a matter of months or a year, so it's important to have good intentions about what one would “like” to do, work hard toward the intention, and say Inshallah.

What time management tips would you like to suggest to the students of Averroes?

Ms Jarad: Time management is a very important skill to master. For the Averroes students, the best way to manage your time is to schedule, schedule, and schedule! Sit with your parents and come up with a daily routine, especially for school days, of what you should do and when you should have it done. An example of a schedule is:
4:00 - 4:15 Get home, have a snack;
4:15 - 6:15 Do homework, study;
6:15 - 7:30 Dinner, Free time;
7:30 - 8:00 Get ready for bed;
8:00pm Bed-time.

Mrs Oz: No matter what one's position is in life, student, parent, worker, teacher, etc. it is important to be productive in a positive way each day. Being productive means that we do what is required of us, and extra things too that help us to learn. The best remedy for “not having enough time” is not to procrastinate, which means to put things off for “later”. If we take care of tasks like homework and studying when we have the time and energy, we will not have a hard time later when we are tired or near a deadline. I like to set a priority list for what needs to be done and then as each task is done, I check it off the list. This gives one a sense of accomplishment and motivation to do the next thing. Being organized really does help make more time for doing the things we need and want to do.

4. Dealing with Halloween – Tips for Parents

So your kids have come home and begged you to go trick-or-treating on Halloween night (October 31). They can't wait for all of the bubble gum, lollipops and jawbreakers, not to mention dressing up in a costume like the rest of their friends. Knowing that Halloween is about Shirk, you want to put your foot down once and for all and not let the kids go out that evening.

Talk to kids in advance: Talking to them now as opposed to on the morning of October 31 will give them some time to think about it too, and get used to the concept of not having to go trick-or-treating just because their friends are.

Explain that every one of our occasions has a meaning: Remind your kids that for Muslims, our holidays always have a good, positive meaning. For example, at Eid-ul-Fitr, we celebrate our joy of fasting during the blessed month of Ramadan, which is a time we strive to get closer to God and be better Muslims. Halloween, on the other hand, is celebrated partly as a reminder of satan, who is evil, and from whom everyone should avoid and seek refuge in God from.

Take them to a Muslim friend's house on Halloween: Don't make this a special occasion. If you regularly meet with other Muslim families and your children are friends with their children, visit them or invite them over just to play or hang out. This can take their minds off the Halloween hysteria happening outside.

Visit Soundvision.com to read the entire article.

1. Ramadan and Self Control

Allah says in the Qur’an: “Yet man prays for evil as eagerly as he prays for good. Truly man is ever hasty.” (17: 11) He also says: “Man is a creature of haste. I shall make My signs obvious to you. Do not, then, ask Me to hasten [things].” (21: 37) In another verse, He says: “You love this fleeting life, and give no thought to the life to come.” (75: 20-21)

Ramadan, the annual orientation course in self control, is visiting us once again. Muslims are conferred this opportunity once in a year in order to train their nafs (self), lest their whims and fancies overpower them and empty them of the human content. Primarily, fasting is just the form, the exterior. The content lies in integrity that it wants to inculcate within the human beings. Without integrity, Ramadan gets reduced to merely an exercise in controlling desires such as hunger and thirst. But since Allah is not interested in subjecting the people to pain, misery and rigor, the fasting has been endowed with a greater purpose i.e., consciousness of God. If Ramadan fails to instill into us the fear of accountability and responsibility towards the fellow human beings, it would be an exercise in futility.

The Qur’an makes it amply clear that fasting is the way to develop consciousness of God. But the Hadith amplifies it further. It makes it clear that if one does not stop telling lies and standing by false testimonies, Allah does not require him or her to abstain from food and drinks. Read together, these essentially demand of us a character that does not brook any kind of lies, untruths, falsehood in life. It demands a high degree of integrity, a transparent heart, a mind that is free from warfare between good and evil, an attitude where the eminence of good has already been settled. Ramadan is therefore an exercise in being true to oneself, not merely being honest. It seeks us to be people with integrity, people who stand by their word and bear no iota of deceit against God or anyone even in the remote recesses of their heart. The hunger and the abstinence are therefore the outer form. The real spirit of Ramadan lies in battling against the temptations of the self, and keeping the desires under check and seeking return to the righteous path on the faintest hint of succumbing to the demands of the self. Fasting of course, would end with Ramadan. But Islam requires integrity and the self control to stay with us in all areas of our life.

Sources: IslamicVoice.com

2. Hadith Corner

Abu Huraira (R) related that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven. Whoever prays during the nights in Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven. And he who passes Lailat al-Qadr in prayer with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven (Bukhari, Muslim).

3. Teacher Profiles

PTC BUZZ interviewed Mrs Al-Qudsi and Ms Rashid.

How do you include Ramadan in the daily schedule for the students?

Mrs. Al-Qudsi - it is my intention Inshaa Allah this year to organize a morning competition during assembly. I will ask a question about various Islamic topics. At the end of the month, we will tally the students who got the most correct answers. I will also help the students memorize the Iftar and suhur duaa. Lastly, I am planning to hold a door competition where every class is expected to decorate their homeroom door with an Islamic theme, the winner will have a Pizza party after Eid Inshaa Allah.

Ms. Rashid - The fifth and sixth graders have begun and will continue to study the various aspects of fasting and Ramadan until the end of Ramadan. The younger grades will have a heavy component of Ramadan related education interspersed within their regular curriculum inshaAllah.

Is there a personal goal you set for yourself each Ramadan?

Mrs. Al-Qudsi - Every Ramadan I challenge myself in reading more from the Quran . Every year I finish reading the whole Quran at least one time. I set a plan to pray taraweeh in the mosque every night. Every Ramadan, I feel I have a new chance of getting closer to Allah subhanahu wa taala and to be a better Muslim Inshaa Allah.

Ms. Rashid - The medicine of the heart is the Sunnah of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). I try to act upon the sunnas of Ramadan and the worship that this month brings such as Tarawih, Laylatul Qadr, recitation of the Qur'an and being more vigilant in watching over the state of my heart. More specifically, upon the advice of a wonderful teacher, my goal is to remove one haram (forbidden act) from my life and to add one act of worship that I can remain constant in throughout my life inshaAllah.

What are some of your Ramadan family traditions?

Mrs. Al-Qudsi - it is our tradition to prepare Iftar together, and my children help me prepare the soup, the fattoush (salad) and the fresh squeezed juice. We also set a time after Isha prayers to read Quran together, and everyone takes a turn to read a page while the rest are listening and following.

Ms. Rashid - Going to Tarawih with my parents, waking up for Suhur, a special dessert called Qatayif that we eat only in Ramadan, and getting together for Iftar with family and friends that we have not seen in a while.

4. Hey, But I Thought Homework Was For Kids!

What role do parents play in their children's homework?
Why do teachers assign homework? (The answer is not to "torture parents")

1. To review and practice that which they learned in class on their own - to see if they have absorbed and mastered the material.
2. To prepare for next day's class.
3. To embellish their learning by applying it to new situations.
4. To help our children become independent learners.

Where do parents fit in? DO NOT (I repeat) DO NOT do your child's homework. If you do it for them, it counteracts all of the goals of homework above. Your goals as parents are:

1. Create an environment that is conducive to homework. How? By showing that you think education and homework are important and by providing commonly used materials – sharpened pencils, pens, protractors, rulers, graph papers, etc.
2. Some children need your help organizing their homework time. Help them learn to prioritize.
3. Be around and available during homework time for HELP if needed. Avoid criticism or anger.
4. If your child is having difficulty in a subject you may look over the assignment when it is completed. But, be careful not to do the assignment for him - encourage him/her to proofread an assignment before you do.

Sources: Dr. Aliza Dworken Frohlich, School and child clinical psychologist