But as Muslim solopreneurs we have a unique predicament that 99% of productivity gurus fail to talk about: Our day is broken up five times.
Rest of the world complains about deep work and grind for 4 hours straight, we must pause and perform Dhuhr & Asr. And sometimes, it feels like this halts our flow. But what if your business could continue to grow when you are in your prayer mat?
This is a potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
I don’t mean replacing humans for creativity. Automating the Boring Stuff will be referring to those boring tasks you have in abundance and doing them so that you can just focus on your Ibadah (worship), stress-free.
In this guide, I’m going to share with you 5 halal-friendly AI tools that work like your digital team mates. They work 24 hours a day so you don’t have to.
1. ChatGPT: Your 24/7 Virtual Assistant
If you’re writing every email from scratch, you’re wasting your time. ChatGPT is the world’s top AI text model and it’s free to begin.
- How to use it: Use it to write tough client emails, brainstorm blog post ideas or summarise long YouTube videos.
- The Workflow: Before you hit the mat to pray, ping ChatGPT: “script me 5 Instagram captions for my new product launch pls.” When you come back, the task is completed.
- Halal Warning: Check the source of the translations. AI can hallucinate (lie). For us Muslims, Siddiq is not convenient or optional!
2. Zapier: The Digital Glue
Zapier is not an AI that writes; it’s an AI that connects. It is what makes all your various apps talk to one another automatically.
- The Magic: You can create a “Zap” that triggers the following event: “When I receive a new email from a customer (Gmail), send me a notification on Slack & add it to my Google Sheets.”
- Why it helps: It leads to less manual data entry. Never copy-paste client information again. It spares you hours of senseless clicking each week.
3. Canva Magic Studio design in seconds
You know Canva, but have you tried its Magic Studio? This is their AI suite that can create images and videos. Works, resize designs in 10 seconds!
- Best Feature: “Magic Switch.” You can transform one Instagram Post into a Story, a LinkedIn post and a Blog Header with just 1 click.
- Productivity Hack: Spend an hour on Sunday to create content for the entire week in batches. Then put it on autopilot and let it run itself.
4. Buffer: The Social Media Autopilot
I’m so tired of posting every day on social media. It distracts you from your real work (and prayers). Buffer uses artificial intelligence to assist you in planning posts for the next weeks.
- How it works: You upload your posts, write your captions (try their AI assistant) — and they do the rest. Buffer will post it for you, while you are sleeping or while you are in the Masjid.
- Peace of Mind: Growing your brand doesn’t mean you have to be stuck to your phone.
5. Otter.ai: The Meeting Secretary
Do you loathe the act of taking notes on a Zoom call? Otter.ai will sit in on your meetings and transcribe everything that is being said as it happens.
- Why it’s awesome: It automatically creates a synopsis for your meeting and a list of “Action Items.”
- The Benefit: You can actually be there with your client instead of banging on the keyboard. Should you have to duck out of a meeting that is running over and then overlapping with the time for prayer, at least you know Otter has got you covered.
Conclusion: Technology Serving Faith
The purpose of these tools is not only to help you make more money. It is to buy back your time.
If using Zapier saves you 30 minutes a day, that is 30 minutes you can spend reading Quran, playing with your kids, or simply resting. That is true wealth (Rizq).
Which of these tools will you try first? Let me know in the comments!