Our days get so busy to the point where we don’t even make time for the place where our hearts find peace.
Including myself, we fill our agendas completely. We go to school or work, we deliver our tasks, present ourselves clean and neat, and try our best to show up with the right attitude. We get home, catch up on missed prayers, continue working, finish our tasks and household chores, and then—because we feel like we didn’t have any “me time” during the day—we spend our nights scrolling.
No, seriously—how many times has this happened to you? Have you ever wondered why?
I looked into this, and I was honestly flabbergasted to realize my own mind was playing these tricks on me. When we spend the entire day giving to others and filling our time with responsibilities, our brain looks for a small “revenge.” It pushes us toward whatever gives us the most dopamine—our phones.
Especially with doom scrolling. We keep scrolling because when we come across something funny or an amazing idea, our brain rewards us with dopamine, almost as if we’ve accomplished something meaningful. So we keep scrolling, searching for a feeling that doesn’t really exist there. Now bear with me—we’re almost at the solution.
The main question is: how do we stop this?
The answer is simple, though not always easy: plan your day ahead. I know you hear this all the time, and you might not be the type of person who plans their day, but I truly think it’s time to try. Discipline yourself into it. To keep it simple, take a piece of paper. Write down the time for Fajr. Then write the time you usually need to wake up for work or school. If you’re staying at home, write down the main task that needs to be done that day. Between your schedule, always write down your prayer times. It’s very important that we plan our day around prayer—not the other way around.
Last but not least, I need you to set aside at least one hour for yourself. I’m not going to say this hour must be only for prayer or Qur’an reading—those are beautiful and should be part of your day, but leave them for other moments of free time.
Your “you time” should be spent on something you genuinely enjoy. Leave your phone, computer, and TV aside. The rule is to use anything but electronics—unless your hobby requires them (and even then, no scrolling!).
During this time, you can learn a new recipe, crochet, read a book you haven’t finished yet, Anything that you’ve been avoiding or didn’t have time for, dedicate it to your “you time.” Your day might not go as planned from the very beginning, but it takes time. Once it becomes a habit, you will go with the flow.
What I said about ‘Ibadah’ — yes, of course, that is something you must also dedicate time to, without a doubt. But do not overburden yourself to the point where it feels like a chore. You have to do a little at a time until you love it completely. Saying this doesn’t mean we don’t love Ibadah, but we want to protect it so we don’t become lazy about it or grow to dislike it. May Allah keep us steadfast in our Deen.
So yes, if you love reading the Qur’an, do it without hesitation. If you like to understand it, I recommend researching and studying it — learning about your own religion will be immensely rewarding, In sha Allah. However, the whole point is to learn to plan your day, give each thing its own time, and not overwork yourself. Give yourself time to breathe and to find rest.