Picture this: It's Saturday morning. You've told yourself this is the weekend you finally catch up. You sit down, open your laptop, and then... nothing. You stare at the screen. Check email. Scroll. Think about everything you need to do.

We see this everywhere. Friends who "work" on vacation. Colleagues who bring laptops to dinner "just in case." When your head's not in the zone, your focus is worthless. Worse, you never give your mind space to recover. You end up half-working, half-living, not really present for anything.

The solution?

Create clean breaks. Plan your day, execute it, shut it down. Because being half-present during "after hours" does more damage than just logging off and being fully present with your family.

The Prophet (ﷺ) didn't multitask. When he was home, Aisha (RA) describes him as fully engaged, spending time with family, helping with chores.

Then the Adhan would call. Immediate shift. Prayer time.

When he spoke to people, he physically turned his entire body toward them. Every companion believed they were his favorite because he gave each person such complete attention that they genuinely felt like the most important person in his world.

Even in his spiritual life, he used cues to transition into focus. Before Tahajjud, he'd pray two quick rakas first. A warm-up signaling: we're shifting gears now. Think about wudu before salah. We’re purifying ourself physically, yes. But we are also creating a mental boundary. Each act pulls us out of whatever we were doing and prepares us to stand before Allah.

Then there's the simplest tool: Bismillah. The Prophet (ﷺ) taught us to begin every significant action with it. Any important action that doesn't start with Bismillah is cut off, lacking blessing.

Bismillah does two things at once. It's a mental trigger telling your brain to focus. And it reorients your purpose, reminding you who you serve and why you're doing this.

One word. Two outcomes.

So this week, try this: Before you start anything significant, pause. Say Bismillah. Feel the shift. Then begin with full presence.

And when your workday ends?

Close the laptop. Turn toward whoever's in front of you. Give them your full attention.

You might be surprised how much more you accomplish, and how much more alive you feel, when you stop being everywhere and start being here.

Can you remember the last conversation where you didn't think about work?

^{Share your reflections in the poll at the end of the email.}

“For that is the one who repulses the orphan”

Fadhālika alladhī yaduʿḍu al-yatīm