Praying Salah On Time: The Five Anchors Of The Day
In Part 1 of this praying Salah on time series, there are proven productivity hacks and tips that will help you figure out how to make your own personalised ‘Salah schedule’ by identifying your peak productivity times. It also shows you easy ways of incorporating Salah into your daily schedule.
In this second part of praying Salah on time, you will find the following:
- Sample schedule – showing you how to optimize your productivity and schedule your tasks around Salah instead of the other way round
- Practical tips to help you get into the routine of making the 5 Salah the anchors of your day
Read part 1 of this two-part series about praying Salah on time here.
Praying Salah on time ~ Habit Stacking
Below are some ideas of what you can do to get into the habit of praying Salah on time, and make the five prayers the anchors of your day.
One of the main techniques discussed in the first part of this series is to habit stack. Try to stack 2-3 habits along with your prayers to get into the habit of praying without needing to think about it all the time.
For example, always praying Fajr straight after brushing your teeth in the morning will get your brain into a routine of following this pattern without you having to think about it too much. You will naturally yearn/ anticipate doing the next part of the 2-3 step routine.
In this sample prayer schedule, I have created five zones of time to help you be prepared for your prayers:
Fajr: Intention & Focus
Dhuhr: Recharge & Re-Focus
Asr: Personal Time
Maghrib: Unwind & Decompress
Isha: Reset
Depending on what you want to get done in the day and what your schedule looks like, you can change what you do in these zones of times. The only one I would recommend to keep the same is Fajr time as there is more Barakah in the morning.
This is just a sample day but you can of course re-arrange and change things depending on your lifestyle/ duties.
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The Five Before Five Hadith: Prophetic Advice That Will Change Your Life
Why you MUST stop procrastinating: The Repentance Story of Ka’ab ibn Malik
ANCHOR 1: FAJR ~ Set your intention
Everyone has their own ‘productive times.’ For some, it is the morning for others, very late in the night.
However, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ prayed for Allah to bless his Ummah in the early part of the day. Therefore, the morning is a blessed time and is an ideal time to get things done.
Most successful people (including non-Muslims) will tell you that they wake up early and try to make the most out of the beginning of the day. It seems that their morning regiment is key for their success.
So, if our Prophet ﷺ specifically asked Allah to bless his Ummah in the morning, we should take advantage of this time too.
So, if you have the privilege of being free during the early mornings, aim to wake up earlier and take advantage of this key, blessed time.
Create a morning routine and stack your habits together in a specific order. This will make it easier for you to follow the routine and stay prepared for prayer.
Intention
The morning is the perfect time to set your intentions or Niyyah for the day, as well as renewing your intention for praying Salah on time.
For instance, your intentions for the day may be to pray all your prayers in a timely manner, to deep clean your kitchen, to pay your bills, to listen to one Islamic lecture video and to visit your parents.
This ensures that you are prepared for what’s to come in the day as soon as you wake up and helps you prioritise your tasks and limit procrastination.
Ibadah
Tahajjud is an extremely blessed time of the day, and you should take as much advantage of it as you possible can. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said the following regarding Tahajjud:
This time of the day is the perfect time to work on your Islamic goals even if it just for a little bit of time, as it is a time in the day you can be alone.
Some things you can do include the following:
- Quran Recitation
- Engaging in Dhikr
- Reading/ watching Islamic content
- Memorisation
By dedicating the first part of your day to worship, you will start your day in the right mindset, with clarity, focus and sincerity.
Self-Reflection & Self-Care
This time of the day is also great for self-reflection, whether that involves sitting and thinking or journaling! There are so many different journals you can use, whether it’s a 5-minute journal session with journal prompts, free writing in your notebook, or an Islamic journal.
Writing about what you are grateful for is another great way to stay focussed on the ultimate goal as Allah has given you another day, another opportunity to better yourself as a Muslim. How can you improve yourself further today?
I personally think the night before is a better time to plan the next day as it allows you to wake up feeling prepared for the day. But if you prefer to plan in the morning, you can use this time to do so.
Now that you have taken time to work on your Islamic goals, and be prepared for the day, spend the rest of your morning in a way that will be beneficial to you.
Have your breakfast, watch a little TV, read. Do whatever brings you joy in your ‘me’ time before your busy day/ school day/ work day.
Related:
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ANCHOR 2: DHUHR ~ Recharge & Focus
Always aim to get your prayer done promptly, and the best way to do it at this time of the day is to have lunch only after you have prayed.
This is a great way to ensure you pray Dhuhr on time, as you will be wanting to have your lunch but can only have it if you pray first.
Use this time to re-energize and realign especially if you have been swept away with the tasks of the day.
Watch an Islamic video during your lunch break, do Dhikr after your prayer, have a conversation about an Islamic topic with your friend or simply relax before you get on with the rest of the day.
Compared to the morning time, engage in an Islamic activity for a much shorter period of time (even if it is less than five minutes!) so that even if you are super busy, you are always aware of what is most important.
ANCHOR 3: ASR ~ Personal Time
Whether you’re coming back from work/ education, you could use this time as your wind down time.
Maybe you could work on a new hobby, spend time with family, or even deal with chores and house duties like paying off bills, etc.
Or you could use this time to work on your side hustle, study or do some other form of personal development activity.
Currently in London, Asr is at about 6pm. I like to use this time until Maghrib to work on projects such as this blog or my art page!
By only letting myself work on these passion projects that I look forward to only after I’ve prayed Asr, it will make it more likely that I pray on time.
ANCHOR 4: MAGHRIB ~ Decompress & Unwind
The time between Maghrib and Isha is short so you could use this time for further Islamic studies, Quran recitation, evening Adhkar, self-reflection or memorization. Others may like to spend time with their family during this time.
Get ready for the night by doing your evening skin care and journaling too.
ANCHOR 5: ISHA ~ Relax & Reset
As this is all subjective, you may choose to do journaling and skin care just before bed – whatever suits you.
This is a great time to prepare for the next day. This includes planning your tasks for the next day, ironing your clothes and preparing what you will need for the next day.
If you are not able to pray Tahajjud, pray Qiyyam al-Layl before going to bed. You could even use this time to watch a short Islamic video before you sleep to always keep your intention and focus in the right place.
Sleep at a good time , and if possible in a state of Wudhu, so you can wake up on time for Fajr.
As a result, you wake up in a state of remembrance, and you go to sleep in a state of remembrance.
Key Points To Remember ~ Praying Salah On Time: The Five Anchors Of The Day
- Don’t delay your prayer – Prepare for prayer as soon as the Adhan is called and pray immediately. The longer you delay the likelier it is you’ll leave it too late or miss it completely. Better yet, don’t let yourself do the thing you want to do until you have prayed. This will make you want to pray sooner rather than later.
- Have an accountability partner – whether it’s a family member or friend, having someone who motivates you and checks in on you will encourage you to pray Salah on time. If you live with someone who is always prompt with their prayers, make it a point to pray with them to reduce chances of procrastinating.
- Read translations of the Quran – Gain more Khushu and connection with Allah in your prayer by learning the meanings of the Surahs you read, particularly Surah Al-Fatihah. Even if you don’t understand the whole Surah, having a vague understanding of what it is about will help you feel a deeper connection in prayer.
- Adapt – Creating these personalised zones of times for the prayers will take time but once you’ve figured it out, it will be pivotal in ensuring you do all your prayers promptly, and you also have a productive day. Take it slowly, maybe focussing on one prayer at a time, and be flexible if things aren’t working.
- Time block – If you enjoy creating a schedule for the day, time blocking or planning all your tasks, put Salah into your schedule/ calendar like you would do with appointments or meetings.
- Have intention before prayer – Salah shouldn’t be a chore. It is an obligation but also an opportunity for you to drop everything and think about Allah and Islam, and what is most important.
- Adjust according to prayer times – As the prayer times shift throughout the year, adjust your zones of time accordingly at the beginning of each month. During winter, Maghrib may happen before you can even get home from work/ studies whereas in the summer, it will be much later in the day.
- Adjust according to weekends – where the weekdays are mostly consistent as you follow a similar routine everyday (work/ studies and then most likely being home the rest of the day), the weekends may differ. You might have plans; you might want to sleep in as well as various other reasons. If possible, stick to the zones of time you have created but if you’re not able to, prioritize your prayer rather than doing the additional things in the zones of time. You can do things like set alarms and keeping a pocket prayer mat with you so you are always prepared to pray (more ideas for how to stay prepared for prayer in part 1…)
- Keep good company – they say you are the average of the four or five people you hang out most with so stay around people who regularly remind you to be a better Muslim and stay consistent with prayers
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