22/10/2025
I pray Allah eases your affairs and helps you out of the current difficulties.
The issues you have listed are numerous, and addressing them all at once will only lead to more overwhelm. But there are foundational solutions which, when applied, would solve all the problems biidhnillah or at least reveal the exact ones that need to be addressed.
*The solution:*
*Step 1:*
Tonight, before you sleep, write a list of all the things you NEED to do tomorrow. This list should consist majorly of the accumulated small tasks causing you overwhelm.
*Step 2:*
Write a schedule for how you will spend every hour tomorrow, from waking up till you sleep.
e.g
4am - Fajr: Tahajjud, Memorize
Fajr - 7am: Morning Adhkar, tidy up, cook + adhkar
7am - 9am: Study etc…
*Step 3:*
Put off your social media notifications and block access to your social media accounts. If you MUST, then you can leave WhatsApp and Telegram, but block access to statuses and set a time limit that should not exceed 1 hour on both. Your time for checking WhatsApp should also be included in your schedule, so you do not check it randomly. You can do all of this using StayFocused.
*Step 4:*
Put your phone aside 30 minutes before sleeping. Make dua about your major worries and your tasks for the next day, and if possible, read/listen to the Quran as the last thing before you sleep.
*Step 5:*
Stay away from your phone for the first 2 hours of waking up. I suggest using StayFocused to enforce a block on your phone. Follow the things on your schedule for these 2 hours. It is best when the tasks that are most important to you (the ones that overwhelm you the most when you do not do them) are done early.
*Step 6:*
Set an alarm for every one hour, except for your sleeping hours. Each time this alarm rings, do these:
Shukr: If the alarm rings while you’re in a state of doing something good, productive or reasonable, show gratitude to Allah by acknowledging it wouldn’t have been without his support. This could be as simple as saying Alhamdulillah, or saying سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَلاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ وَلاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّ (Glory be to Allah, and all praise is due to Allah. There is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest. There is no power and no strength except with Allah.) repeatedly while thinking about how the same task would have been extremely difficult some days back.
However, if the alarm rings while you are in a state of wasting time or doing something non-beneficial, true servitude necessitates that you immediately halt the action, see your deficiency, and turn to Allah in humility, but you still show gratitude to Him for sending you a reminder.
Istighfaar: Immediately follow your gratitude by pondering on your shortcomings or mistakes and seeking forgiveness.
Here are some adhkār and duʿāʾs for inaabah (turning back to Allah) and recognizing one’s deficiency, especially after realizing time was wasted or spent in something non-beneficial.
These adhkar should be said while you ponder on the fact the greatness of Allah, both in his punishment and his mercy. You think: "Subhanllah, i've been so negligent, I seek the forgiveness of Allah who is great in punishment and can cause my whole
day to turn upside down because of this thing I did, and who is also so great in His mercy that He can cause this return to Him to open the doors of mercy for me and change everything about my day.
• أستغفر الله/ أستغفر الله العظيم
Astaghfirullāh
Meaning: I seek forgiveness from Allah, or I seek forgiveness from Allah, the great.
• لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، سُبْحَانَكَ، إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
Lā ilāha illā anta, subḥānaka, innī kuntu min aẓ-ẓālimīn
Meaning: There is no god but You; glory be to You; indeed, I was among the wrongdoers.
Dua: Finally, make dua about your next steps, next tasks or next cause of action. Ask Allah for ease, ask Him for strength and ask Him for support.
Do these 3 repeatedly each time the alarm sounds, but if the hourly alarms are uncomfortable, just stack the 3 steps to your salawaat - review your day between the salat that is due and the previous one, do shukr for the things you were able to do, istighfaar for the shortcomings, and dua about the tasks ahead of you.
*Step 7:*
During the day, read as much of the Quran as you possibly can. Include it in your schedule. Attempt to read up to 5 ajzaa if possible. If you feel too weak, listen while following the meaning.
Also, ensure that in your schedule, all activities that do not require much mental input (cooking, washing, walking etc..) are paired with dhikr or Quran.
*Step 8:*
Say as much no's to yourself as possible to please Allah. This is the most important of these steps. Say as much no's as possible. See yourself as a servant who has no will and only follows what pleases Allah. Each time you subdue your will to please Allah, you become more beloved to Allah, and He takes charge of your affairs. This will lead to you feeling more energetic to engage in beneficial acts.
This could be as simple as wanting to click on WhatsApp and saying, “No, Allah would be happier with me if I read the Quran instead”, or hearing the adhan while engaging in something interesting and telling your mind, “No! I can't keep doing this, Allah will be more pleased if I hastened to Him.”, or lowering your gaze from looking at the opposite gender, or saying no to extra food because it will make you weak.
*Finally,*
Every night, reflect on your day, identify things that went right and do shukr. And identify the ones that went wrong, what you’d do differently to avoid a repeat, and then make dua seeking Allah’s support.
After three days of doing this, please give us feedback, even if it doesn’t go well. Just ensure the feedback is detailed enough to make us understand what exactly went wrong.