It is always said that time is money and life has only one chance. These sayings imply that as human beings we have no choice but to organise ourselves and manage the little time we have properly for our own good. This is equally atested to in the holy book Quraan. The fact that life has only one chance can be expounded by ones death. If someone dies he would not get another chance to live. The Surah Ambiya Chapter 21 which is one of the Quraanic verses that talk about the Islamic view of time management points out this. This verse reminds mankind that this life is only one opportunity.
The current life expectancy of any man born day is very short and therefore there are a myriad of deadlines top beat by this man. We can live as those who live in the Quraanic times such as Nuh did (950yars). The average life of the current generation man is 60 years. Although the life span is very short, the current man has a vast opportunity to make the best. This purely is dependent on several factors such as what one does and how he does it and what he lives behind.
Since the life span is very short, things that we can do should not be left undone. Activities such as environmental conservation to enhance sustainable development of our water resources, assisting the needy in the society, worshipping Allah among others are basic things that we can do. Things that we also believe that are very difficult to achieve should not be left unattempted since we may eventually have a break through trials. It is possible to obtain a permanent cure for HIV AIDS just like vaccines for diseases such as small pox were found through trials.
If thorough mathematical evaluation is done it is clear that we live very few years of the 60 years. If one subtracts 15years of boyhood and 15 years of sleeping (assuming one sleeps 8 hours a day), 2.5 years spent in watching the TV (assuming one takes approximately 2.hours on the TV). This would mean that we would have 27.5 years and this call for proper planning of how to manage this time.
Time wastage should be minimized at all cost. There is need to make a list of activities that waste your time and it is also prudent to make a list of the activities that remain undone and have the potential to become a problem if they are not given immediate attention. This is spelt out in Verse 59:18 of the Quraan.
In line with Islamic teachings there is needed to engage in productive actions. Some of the actions include performance of Isha and Fajr salaah in the congregation and reception of the award of praying the whole night, doing ibadaah in the last odd nights of Ramadhan and eventual earning or reward for praying for 1000 months and keeping aside 1 hour daily for self development among others.
It is necessary to engage in productive Islamic activities such as: teaching a new believer any aspect of Islam, talking to a non-believer on Islam as a good religion, being a volunteer in social activities to assist people in the society, intercession for good cause and have a good share in it among others. These are very important for proper time management. The need to properly manage the little time available is emphasized in the Quraan and is therefore a call to all mankind across the globe as depicted in the holy Quraan.