Tuesday, October 12, 2021

EVERYBODY NEEDS A SPACE. SO DO I. HOW ABOUT YOU?

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful 


My humble and safe space where I spend most of my time.


I always knew that I needed my own space no matter how small it is. Just enough for me to know that I have my space that I can trust and to always come back to whenever I want. It is a special place that I hold dearly as I am the most vulnerable here at the table and I also shine the most when I give my all doing something.


The steel bookshelf was the one that I had no regret buying as I always wanted one that can hold up all of my books. I did have the wooden bookshelves but all were dented and shaky, not safe to use anymore. Looking at the picture above made me feel happy. Though I do have my own dream space but to have this is more than enough as of now alhamdulillah.


I have always wanted a room or space to make my own mini library with my books, my husband's books, my children's books and we all hang out there reading our own and quietly indulge in our own world. Ahh, may it be a dream come true one day, aameen!


Moreover, I needed a space where I can grow myself in doing reflections, writing, journaling, reading my precious books, reciting Quran, listening to podcasts/online lectures/endless online knowledge sharing and classes, staring at the ceiling/wall blankly, writing lists of dua'as, talking to my husband and children, calling my loved ones to have chats to soothe the unease heart.


I also believe that a space that I created is where I feel safe, unjudged and be myself pouring out my tears and feelings. A space where I breakdown the most too and to stand up stronger every time.

This space also holds many events that took place as it is where I spend most of my time. Sitting while editing my resume and cover letters, attending classes on how to write a good resume, how to ace the interviews and spending hours of researching. To know that at the end of the day, all I received was, "Unfortunately, we have found another candidate that suits the position. All the best for your future endeavors." 😢

Nevertheless, I am grateful for this humble space that I have created. I will continue on writing, searching and improving myself to the best of my ability.

How about you? Do you have a space where you love to be at?

Thank you for your time reading. InshaaAllah see you in the next post!

Love always,
AliahMazli
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Monday, October 11, 2021

5 TIPS ON MY TIME MANAGEMENT DURING MASTER'S DEGREE

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful 


P/S: The template is just an example of what I usually do and plan and not from my actual timetable during my master years.

I am a planner person. I plan my day, my work and even when I go out for a particular day. For me, it is important to ensure that I manage to do all the lists I have by prioritizing and allocating my time properly. Reminiscing back on the most intense study years that I went through which was when I did my Master's degree, I thanked myself to have planned all my semesters effectively, to then be awarded an Excellence Candidate Award at the end of my study. 


Master's degree is a journey of being independent with a supervisor as your guidance and the rest is all up to you. There will be no spoon-feeding and the need to read journal papers was intense—not just for 1 subject but for all 4 subjects (per semester). Reading is very crucial for master study. On top of reading journal papers, we are required to write many ourselves (for me, to write mini research papers/reports be it for individual or group work).


Initially, I did a template just for myself so that I can keep track on all the assignments for each subject. Little did I know the need to share with my master juniors as I saw them struggling on which tasks to do as the weightage for master's degree can be overwhelming and sad to see one by one left the program.

My Time Management During Master's Degree
Things to Note:

1. Scheme of Work (SOW) for Each Subject
I believe each subject has their own Scheme of Work for every University which consisted of the lecturer's details, the course outline and the schedule of the subject for the particular one semester. For me, every semester, we will be given a scheme of work (SOW) for each subject where a table of 14 weeks (per semester) of the subject is provided. 

So we will know in which week do we have to submit our assignments, to do our presentations, when to have our tests and many more. For me, during Master's degree, it is compulsory to have the SOW as I will be able to plan my semester for each subject. Hence the above table shown above, which basically what my schedule will look like. If I do not be serious about the SOW given each semester by the Professors, I'll need to face a repeat paper or a bad GPA. It somehow also shows how much do you want to really learn and allocate your time properly. 

2. Daily Routines Schedule & Master's Schedule
I will list down my daily routines from morning till night. Then I will put it side by side with each SOW for all subjects that I take (1 semester = 4 subjects). I will arrange all assignments into my daily routines (I am a fulltime housewife with a husband with two children and a fulltime Master student, imagine how chaotic it was).

This will then be pasted on the wall for me to alert. I also reminded my husband back then to check on it once it a while so that he knows where to help and what to do in caring for the children and working. We really work together and help each other out with our schedules.

3. Time Allocation Per Subject
This is very important to allocate your time to study, do assignments and read endless lists of journals during master's degree. If you only focus on one subject for too long, you might neglect on other subjects. It is important to first plan what do you want to do.  Make a timer of 30 minutes whenever you do your work, as it will lessen the feelings of overwhelming.

These are what I do for all semesters and mostly I initiate myself to be the leader and planner of the group. So far, alhamdulillah, our outcomes received good remarks from the Professors and the classmates.

a) Form a group for each subjects that has group works. Identify how many assignments with group works. Make a WhatsApp group chat.

b) Choose a leader. Positioned each member with their strength and what they can do. Assigned tasks and set a schedule in which week that they have to update their work progress.

c) Keep updating and have consistent and healthy communications with each other. Always lift each other's spirit. Master's degree is where we work professionally and we only want to best outcomes possible. Help each other out inshaaAllah, Allah S.W.T will ease our affairs. 

d) Confront crisis or hiccups professionally and discuss with the team. 

4. Consistent Dua'as and Prayers
Master's Degree is also a journey where I learned that I own nothing. All belongs to Allah S.W.T. All the ideas, the easiness of my affairs, the results that I received (all 3. 75, 3.88 and 4.00) and many more are all blessings and rezq from HIM. If I were to tell about making dua'as and prayers during Master's degree, I would definitely need to write a book! 😍 

  • Center your master works and daily routines around the 5 daily prayers. Pray early, felt as if you have longer hours because of the barakah 💓
  • Never skip your Dhuha prayers. Wake up for Tahajjud if possible (try your hardest).
  • Always asks for prayers from your families and friends.
  • Pray Taubah prayers everyday (if possible, try).
  • Do not skip your daily Quran recitation even if it just few ayahs (if you are too occupied).
  • I have a du'a book where I write all my dua'as for each subject and what I want to achieve. MashaaAllah I would cry if I were to revisit my du'a lists.
  • Do your zikir if you feel too overwhelming with everything. Try to do Istighfar and Selawat. In between if you are too tired, recite Zikir Fatimiyah (Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Allahuakbar). InshaaAllah.
  • Cry if you need to. Rest if you need to. Remember to always come back and fight stronger in this journey.

5. Support System
Reach out to your support system. You REALLY need their support throughout this demanding journey. Call out to them, have a chat and let go of whatever that you are feeling. You will feel better afterwards. Reach out to your seniors and your lecturers. Create bonds with them and have frequent conversations/discussions. Do not try to do and walk on your own all alone.

What I learned the most during Master's degree was that, you will need a whole village to reach the end of the line together. Trust me.

In a nutshell, I thanked myself for being a planner throughout my one year and a half as I can see myself being organized and well prepared on top of handling my kids, enduring online classes during pandemic & having the perseverance in burning the midnight oils along my master years. I am happy when my juniors use the template and to see themselves being more organized, prioritized their works, allocated the right amount of time & produced the best outcomes possible at the end of the day.

Thank you for your time reading. InshaaAllah see you in the next post!

Love always,
AliahMazli
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