This document provides 7 steps for doing your best research. It first discusses focusing on doing great research by aiming high, working hard, and learning from research leaders. The second step covers work and time management, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing important non-urgent tasks over urgent unimportant ones. Specializing while also maintaining generalist knowledge is the sixth step. Maintaining balance between work and personal life is also emphasized.

1. HOW TO DO YOUR
BEST RESEARCH
IGNITING YOUR PASSION
FOR SELF-REALIZATION
HOW TO DO YOUR
BEST RESEARCH
HOW TO DO YOUR
BEST RESEARCH

2. 7 S t e p s t o w a r d s y o u r B e s t
1 Focusing on Doing ``Great Research''
2 Time/ Work Management
3 Mastering the Art of Communication
4 Understand the Psychology/ Sociology of Research
5 Embrace Rejection as a Growth Opportunity
6 Specialize but Also Be a Generalist
7 Do Work that you Love
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3. 1
F O C U S O N D O I N G
G R E A T R E S E A R C H

4. To do great research: you must aim BIG

5. (1) The importance of setting goals
(2) it is worth setting yourself high
goals.
(3) The importance of hard work

6. The dynamics of research
(how success breeds on itself)
Actionable tip: work extra hard early

7. Work with people doing/ who can do great research
Work with research leaders Become a research leader
(by assembling a great team
& building your brand)

8. Understand what drives you (and your team)!

9. Specialize but also be a generalist
Diversity breeds creativity/ innovation

10. 2
W O R K / T I M E
M A N A G E M E N T

11. Work Management

12. Work prioritization
through an example
Important
Stuff!
Urgent
Stuff!
Trivial
Stuff!

13. Filling your life with unimportant stuff leaves
little time for other more imp things

14. After wasting our time on useless things, our next
focus is on urgent stuff (most of which is unimportant)

15. Resultantly, you don’t get enough time to do what is
most important.
You don’t have time for many things
that you deemed important!

16. Important
Stuff!
Urgent
Stuff!
Trivial
Stuff!

17. There’s always time for
what’s most important
(if only we can prioritize it).

18. Do the most urgent non-important stuff then

19. You may get time to batch in your
leisure unimportant stuff
We can do a lot (only if we could learn how to prioritize)

20. Doing the right thing vs. the right now thing
“The trap many people fall into is to
allocate their time to whoever
screams loudest, and their talent to
whatever offers them the fastest
reward. That’s a dangerous way to
build a strategy.”― Clayton M.
Christensen, How Will You
Measure Your Life?
Time management

21. Not Urgent;
Not Important
Urgent;
Not Important
Urgent;
Important
Not Urgent;
Important
Will bring increasing value

22. The Junk Use of Time
Aimless Internet browsing
Checking of Email/ Whatsapp/ Twitter
Sitting around and gossiping
Overeating/ Oversleeping
(Most) Meetings!
Most of us realize the danger of
wasting our time in these matters
(and many of us are able to plug
this time waster).
Some tips:
Take steps to move away from distraction.
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24. Where we are most deluded
(things that will tire you)
This (i.e., spending all your time on
things that are urgent but not
important) is the main reason that
most of us are leading non-productive
lives
Why are so many things urgent?
Much of this urgency is self-enforced … the
world will still work if you are less urgent
about these matters.
Mostly the urgent things arise from poor
planning (yours or someone else’s).
Answering emails in real-time.
Phone-calls/ meetings/…
(they don’t contribute a lot to
your mission/ values/ goals).
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25. Urgent; Important: Where We Should Prioritize
Such tasks get done.
You have a deadline-driven project.
Your family events that require you to be
there.
Your prayers
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26. Where You Can Benefit the
Most — Bull’s Eye
Everything that you do to improve your
quality of life and quality of skills and your
relationships.
Examples:
Reading the Quran
Birr-ul-Walidain: doing good to your
parents; visiting them .. speaking to them
kindly
Time for gratitude/ shukr.
If you learn new skills; it’s not urgent,
but it’s important.
Improving relationships.
Personal development.
Long-term thinking/ planning comes in
this category
Seizing new opportunities.
Problem prevention.
Preparation and planning.
You can make these tasks urgent, by
identifying a completion date.
(Things that will fulfill you)
What Matters Most, Matters Most!
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Not Urgent: Means no time pressure.

27. Balancing work and life

28. Credit: James Patterson, “Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas”.
Keep things in their proper place
“Image life is a game in which you are
juggling five balls. They are called: work,
family, health, friends, and integrity.
And you’re keeping them all in the air.
But one day you finally come to
understand that the work ball is made of
rubber - if you drop it, it will bounce back.
The other four balls are made of glass.
If you drop one of these, it will be
irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps
even shattered.”

29. The correct balance: Quranic guidance
“... And do good as Allah has gone good to you.”
(Surah al-Qasas: 77)
“And seek, through which Allah has given you, the
home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your
share of the world.” (Surah al-Qasas: 77)

30. T h e C o m p l e t e L i s t ( A g a i n )
1 Focusing on Doing ``Great Research''
2 Time/ Work Management
3 Mastering the Art of Communication
4 Understand the Psychology/ Sociology of Research
5 Embrace Rejection as a Growth Opportunity
6 Specialize but Also Be a Generalist
7 Do Work that you Love
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