Build a System, Not a Streak

Asalam alaikum. Hello everyone and welcome to the Barakah Blueprint, the podcast which helps you achieve a balance between faith and focus. My name is Ibrahim Shareef and in today's 12th episode of the Barakah Blueprint podcast, we're going to be talking about a system that helps you achieve your goals. We're going to be talking about the system that will inshallah be behind your success in this life and in the hereafter. not not some hype up, not some repurposed uh words of so-called motivation, but a system that actually works, a system that is set up for success and a system that you can build on today in Baraka style. Everybody is chasing that spark, the perfect planner or the ideal environment. The truth is you don't need another motivational video. You don't need any any one of those Monday morning wakeup videos on YouTube that will get you to turn the wheels. What you and I need is a system that helps us make and produce what we were created to do. And as Muslims, we already believe in systems. For example, we have the system of time management found in the five daily prayers. uh we have the system of uh discipline and personal development in Ramadan and now that Ramadan is leaving us in the next few days uh we ought to reflect on what we have achieved from that month a month that is both structured and routine-based. So Islam as an ultimate perfect system that is given to us should tell us that we shouldn't treat our personal goals like another gamble. So what about this system? The system is broken down into three domains. You have number one clarity, number two execution and number three review. So let me break down how I do it so that you can do the same. Let's start with number one, clarity. Clarifying your goals and having real goals. For example, most people say, "I want to be more productive." Now, technically, that is not a real goal because we've talked about the smart methodology before uh specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound. Now, this setup is the ultimate composition of what a goal is. So, saying that your goal is to be more productive is very ambiguous and is therefore not a smart goal, if a goal at all. A goal, for example, could be uh and it's something that I was actually close to struggling with last week. Posting a weekly podcast episode, for example, that is a goal. or setting a goal for yourself to complete the revision of the entire Quran uh during the month of Ramadan. That is a real goal. But it can also be a goal that is scheduled for a later time. For example, I want to complete this course in Skillshare or LinkedIn learning or whatever platform uh in UX design by the end of uh April. So in order to achieve clarity in my goals, I break them down to three categories. The first one is Quran. The second one is learning. And the third one is content creation. Now, categorizing my goals like this helps me ensure that whatever idea of the milestone that I want to write down for myself or set up for myself, I can actually connect it to a clear category so that it can help me formulate my goal clearly. And personally the system I use for this is a system that is called bullet journaling which is basically a physical book and a pen and you follow a specific setup or layout where you set up your goals. Now when it comes to which system you're going to be using there's really no right or wrong answer. There are those that prefer manual methods like bullet journaling for example. There are those that prefer digital systems like a calendarbased system through any calendar platform. Uh there are those that prefer so I don't know I don't know what you call them but you can maybe call them workflow systems or like systems like notion for example uh where you have uh dashboards and spaces for well whatever activity or task or project you're working with. Now, whichever system that is most suitable for you and your usage and what you are comfortable with, that would be the system that I would recommend you to use. There's no need to reinvent the wheel. The importance here is that you know what you are trying to achieve and you have clarity on the journey that you're trying to take. So, for bullet journaling, for example, you have like countless videos from multiple creators on how they set up their bullet journal. So, if you're interested in that, you can definitely check it out. If you're interested in knowing how my bullet journal setup uh is, then please reach out and I have no problem sharing that blueprint with you. Which takes us to step number two, execution. Now, there's a key difference between a streak and a system. A streak relies on wishful thinking, but systems rely on a structure. So the system that I am using is a mix of bullet journaling and digital planning on my calendar app. I personally use Google calendar and my system works out as follows. Step number one, I write down my goals in my bullet journal and link it to the specific category. Number two, I use my calendar to block specific time slots for each of those goals or activities or tasks that are related to those goals. For example, if I have the goal of finishing my Quran revision during the period of two or four weeks and I know that it will require a daily effort of let's say two hours, uh then I can take that in mind and block two hours in the most suitable time of the day. For example, I know that after prayer is the time where I'm going to have the most residue energy and where I don't have other commitments that could block my activity. So, I set up two hours after prayer for revision specifically. Or if I know that Wednesday nights or Wednesday evenings are the most free uh for me to record a podcast episode, I can then block that time for recording and editing the video. And to keep my mind clutter-free, I stick to that system. So if I don't find anything in that system, let's say if it's not written in my bullet journal or if it's not in my calendar, that's not something that I necessarily have to worry about. And then I have this focus, this hyperfocus on the goals that I have set for myself. It is also very important to tie your goals to your identity and that will help you so much more in achieving your goals in your journey. For example, don't say I want to learn Arabic. Say I am someone who values knowledge. And that mindset shift can do everything for you in your favor. Now number three review is one of the most if not the most important one. Also it just so happens to be the most underrated segment of the system which is that you actually review the goals that you have set up for yourself and your performance. So this is not a time slot that needs to be substantial or very timeconuming. It can be a five or 10 minute session even but it needs to be there on a weekly basis where you can review the goals, activities and tasks that you have had for yourself and also compare that to and measure that to towards your performance. How has your performance been during this week? Were you actually able to uh meet your goals? Uh did you miss out on a few tasks? What moved forward? What went well? What didn't go well? Why didn't it go well? And considering well, I'm assuming that your goals are not necessarily some that are met during the span of a week. So, if I'm assuming that your goals take time, let's say they are take a couple of months or maybe even a couple of years, that review session will help you understand whether you are on track to reach your goal in that specific time or if you're not on track. And if you are not on track, then the question you're going to be asking yourself is, how do I get back on track? Now, all of that is not going to be as possible or as or as convenient without a review system in place. And as Muslims, we're also taught to realign our nia to purify and renew our intention to to renew the nia. And a review session allows you to realign your goals and progress with your nia, with your intentions. And as we discussed several times, every action is based on the intention. So if your intention is not fresh or refreshed, your actions are going to lose meaning by time. Now let's talk about the tools I am using and the tools that you could be using. And let's face it, the tools are not central. They're not crucial to your system working. Your system and your tools are separate. Your system is based on the mindset and is based on uh your intention. The tools will only aid the system and make the system more convenient and comfortable. So if your system is not real and structured, your tools really they're not going to matter. They're just going to be another app or program that takes disk space. So I always recommend uh my friends and family to find their own system that is the most convenient for them. But if you are curious about the system that I am using, then this is what I do for tracking my goals and reflection, I use bullet journaling. Now, bullet journaling helps me structure and set up my goals on a weekly basis. Uh, and it also helps me in my review sessions because I actually use it for written journaling. Uh this helps me understand where I am in terms of my progress and also it helps me to check in with myself to see how I'm doing when it comes to reaching my targets. It's a very flexible system because it can really be designed any way you like. If if you are an artistic person or if you enjoy like colors and drawing, uh I would really recommend bullet journaling because you actually have a lot of wiggle room to style your journal to your liking and to your theme. And to me, it's my favorite system because it combines uh planning, scheduling, and uh journaling. Now, bullet journaling is not the only system that I use for scheduling and time blocking my time because I don't feel like it gives me a real time or interactive view. So, for that I use a tool like Google calendar. There I can schedule my day. For example, what time I am working, what time I am doing other activities, if I have any commitments with friends and family. And well since it is a system that is synchronized across all of my devices I can for example start using it in my computer and schedule on my computer and on my phone I'll be getting the notifications for example uh location based notifications if I need to be somewhere or if I need to uh start moving to that location. So besides the fact that it is interactive, it is also very convenient because it is suited to my daily usage as I am like most of you a very active and heavy user of the phone. Now let's face it, brainstorming is very important. Uh for me my favorite tool for brainstorming is chat GPT. Uh what others may be using is for example anthropics uh claude or other AI systems. uh really you can't go wrong with any uh solution you could be using. My my personal recommendation is definitely to use an AI model for this. Uh because of the large language capabilities uh you will be able to pick up ideas that you weren't able to pick up if you were to do a basic uh schematic brainstorming uh drawing on a piece of paper like we used to do back in uh school. And using AI for brainstorming, for prompting, and for reflection will help you get that extra edge when it comes to refining your goals and actually refining the output that you're trying to achieve. In my case, for example, I use it for content creation. I use it to brainstorm ideas, to elevate my personal brand, and to better my marketing in my social media. For my Quran revision, I use Quran. Now unlike other applications like Tartil for example, Tartil uses an AI for learning the Quran. Now personally I use Qurani for revision and for revision Qurani helps me to stay on a daily revision schedule because it has a gamified system. So you have a leaderboard of your friends and your family and how much you have recited and like especially if you have that one person that you're always trying to beat. Uh you can set a goal for yourself. Okay, I I'm I'm going to have 30 minutes. If I read this much, I'm going to get uh this many points and then I will beat them in the leaderboard. And Allah subhana wa ta'ala describes the believing men and women as competitors in good. We need to compete in we need to compete in wards and I think Qurani executes that idea exquisitly. Now combining all of those tools together, you can aid and assist your system that we have set up from the previous segments of this episode and build an unstoppable machine. For example, using chat GPT or another AI tool, you can get a personal development or personal training schedule for any skill or any domain that you want. For example, if you want to learn um let's say digital marketing, uh you can prompt Chat GPT to act as a subject matter expert of let's say 20 or 30 years of experience in digital marketing in various industries and you want to learn the uh most important uh parts of this domain in the least amount of time. use 80/20 rule and let's say you want to have a schedule of three months a dedicated schedule to learn this. Suddenly you not only have a personal tutor that gives you the guide that you need, but you also get the times that you can put in your bullet journal or in your calendar to achieve that very same goal. So suddenly you have a personal tutor available to you in your pocket 24/7. Now, a final reflection before I let you guys go. Let's be very honest with each other. Uh, most people fail to achieve their goals not because they're lazy. It's very easy to say that the person is lazy and therefore they don't want to do anything. Well, that could be true, but most people fail to achieve their goals because they never set up a system to begin with. And most people don't do that because they expect perfection when really what they need is consistency. And that is even something the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam taught us. He says the most beloved actions to almighty God are those that are consistent even if they are small. And setting up a system to achieve your goals will help you achieve that consistency and sets you on a path of consistent action while avoiding burnouts. Because with a clear goal, you understand what you want to achieve. With a proper execution plan, you understand what you need to do to achieve the goal. And by reviewing frequently, you understand how well you're doing and if your strategy needs any modification. So setting up a system is very very important to achieve that same consistency and Allah subhana wa ta'ala loves consistency. Thank you for tuning in to the Barakah Blueprint podcast. If you like what you hear and see, please leave this podcast a review so that I know what I am doing that is beneficial and good or what I can modify to better and improve the delivery of this very important message. If you're on YouTube, please make sure to give this channel a subscription. Please leave the video a like and a comment so that I can reach out to more users uh with this very important and crucial message. And let's all aim to be the best versions of ourselves using the best systems suited for ourselves. And remember, do not let's do not chase streaks. Rely and build meaning. Don't rely on just pure motivational words. As much as they are motivating, they're not really going to give you the meaning that you need to achieve the goals that you are destined and meant to achieve. Until next time, stay productive, stay purposeful and style.