PRODUCTIVE MUSLIM MASTERCLASS ASSIGNMENT

Letters from Your

Future Self
What would life look like if you lived the best version of
yourself for the next 12 months?

Note: All the letters have

been anonymized to protect
the privacy of our students.
 Letter 1
“All those while I felt like I’m dreaming
without realizing it’s the spiritual heart
that controls the centre of the nafs.”
Dear younger self,

After the Masterclass, I felt a bit lost as my environment did not have the
same mindset as me in terms of High Himma. I remembered deleted my
Facebook, Instagram and got out of WhatsApp group chats which were not
important to me. Surprisingly, I felt better although sometimes I felt lonely not
used without the social media when I’m bored. I filled my boredness freetime to
learn new knowledge reading books, quran or teaching my kids new duas.

The reason I deleted them was because of the lessons taught in

‘Masterclass Session 4: Manage Your Focus’. The knowledge was impressive as I
never heard of it. (Glad Allah moved me to take this Masterclass. The ‘Productive
Muslim Masterclass’ was a Birthday gift from my husband as he asked me what I
wanted. I know it sounds crazy for others but not for me. Alhamdulillah.) That
impacts me a lot, as I wasted a lot of time scrolling looking at Facebook’s ,
Instagram’s news feed of relatives or famous celebrities around the world
showing their photos, quotes etc. Sometimes too much in social media could
cause fitnahs or evil eyes which were part of the reasons too. For WhatsApp
Groups, I felt relieved after got out from the groups, as the information shared by
my groups were not to my interests. I felt the focus within me was controllable.
Whenever I felt the urge to check my iphone, I would do Remembrance of Allah.
Not only that, I stopped listening to music in radio stations or watching
entertainment on TV. I’m a heavy music lover as I used to work freelance with
the music industry. I felt there’s no Barakah in music as there’s no High Himma,
so I decided to move forward slowly. It works. Alhamdulillah.

I began to be into Barakah Culture. I struggled in the beginning.

Surprisingly, not everyone understood this culture. I felt like an alien while trying
to follow the Barakah culture as my environment mostly were into hustle culture.
Sometimes, I got depressed whenever I started to compare my life with others. I
got up and pray to Allah. Felt content for whatever Allah gave me in my life, the
challenges were tests that Allah knows I could bare and go through it. Always
put that in mind whenever I felt like things don’t worked according to my
plannings. Masha Allah, the feelings was hard to describe. I myself couldn’t
believe I could manage my emotions slowly, without anyone’s help. I began to
gratitude to Allah, appreciate more on blessings given.

The formula ‘Free Will+Natural Laws+Allah’s Permission=Outcome’, taught

at the Masterclass will never be forgotten. I understood there was no point I
planned so hard and things don’t turn out to be the way I wanted. Everything I
did, I implemented the starting the end in mind method. Akhira focus instead of
worldly focus.

Although I’m a Muslim, I’m shocked about the lessons taught in

‘Masterclass Session 1: Intro & Define Your Best Self’, especially the Qalb. All
those while I felt like I’m dreaming without realizing it’s the spiritual heart that
controls the centre of the nafs. I would normally decide using my heart without
my intellect/brain. Even my husband were overwhelmed by my changes. Usually
I don’t understand what he’s trying to do for the family as he’s the sole
breadwinner. But after the masterclass, it seems I could handle stress,
distractions, focus, manage time and planned for the better. Always kept in mind
I’m a human not a robot, to stop doing whatever important tasks, if could not
finish it on time. It’s OK to continue the tasks other days.I felt I a lot of my time
was wasted before the Masterclass. Very deep topic that made me feel the need
to polish myself to do something meaningful. From that moment, whatever I did
mostly, I would think about higher self, like submitting my heart to Allah, try to be
the best Abd of Allah swt.

It’s been a year after the Masterclass now. Time flies really fast. I exercise
everyday for 20 minutes. Spiritually, now I can wake up before fajr easily (due to),
doing tahajjud, and stay up till sunrise. Prayed 5 prayers on time mostly. Read
Quran 20 minutes per day. I can feel the barakah. Been following the methods
taught in Productive Muslim Masterclass. Alhamdulillah. I started my niyyah of
being the best of Abd (after the masterclass till now August 2020, hopefully will
continue in the coming years Insha Allah) within my circle of influence which are
my husband and kids. Using simple tiny habits teaching and discipline my kids,
with a gardener mindset, to please Allah swt. With the help of Allah swt, my kids
can read the Quran now and few doas before doing anything. I have more time
with my family now. I don’t like to waste time now.

I become a mum and wife that can cook delicious home meals for my
family like a chef nowadays, cause usually I would go out with my family to enjoy
great meals in restaurants which could cost a bomb. My cooking were not
delicious before the Masterclass. I can save money nowadays. Alhamdulillah,
now I don’t waste food. I only bought healthy foods that need to eat. I stopped
before feeling full. High Glycemic food really gives me the energy throughout the
day. I can manage everything in my house without the help of helper.

I become someone who is not easily to give up. Instead of going

downwards, I go up to a new level. Now, I am going to set a up a family business,
to ease out my husband who is a solebread winner. And to help those in need
(especially my family or relatives). High Himma. Yes, this is out of my comfort
zone. Bismillah. Hopefully my family business will turn out good Insha Allah.
Turns out good or not, all depends on Allah swt. Whatever I will get from the
business, one third of it I will give back to charity, in lessons taught in
Masterclass.

And after this, I will start to plan on High Himma projects. Hopefully
whatever lessons I taught my kids, they will remember to dua for their parents
(me and my husband), after their parents death. Insha Allah.

Sincerely,

Your future self.

 Letter 2
“I forgot about the most important, which
was Allah and my Akhirah.”
Dear younger self,

Bismi Allahi Rahmani Rahim, The 12 months that have passed I have
achieved so much el hamdoullilah. For this assessment, I have divided my
achievements into three categories: spiritual, physical and social. The same
categories of productivity that were used in the Productive Muslim Masterclass.

When I started the masterclass 12 months ago, I joined because I wanted to

achieve so much but I felt that I did not have the time or the discipline to do so.
But el hamdoulilah fast forward 12 months later thanks to the masterclass I
understand by now that these things that I wanted to achieve have no real
‘backbone’. I wasn't able to focus because my foundation was not right, I wanted
to do all these things to gain some financial freedom and, yes, along the way I
also wanted to help people. Which meant that I was mostly doing it for me and
for others… But I forgot about the most important, which was Allah and my
Akhirah. I still vividly remember the lesson where Brother Mohammed explained
to us the true meaning of Abd: Everything that one does should be most and
surely for Allah. Ever since I have tried to implement this in my life.

I have decided to quit working as a consultant and have started working for
my own as a tourist guide for muslimahs that are visiting Amsterdam. I show
them around and let them experience this city from my perspective, hopefully
one that is close to theirs as muslims. For example when we are doing a tour, I
always make sure that we are close to a mosque when it is close to prayer time.
This way I schedule my day around salah and I allow my clients to have the same
experience. I noticed that they appreciate this very much, because as a tourist it
is difficult to take into account the locations of mosques when you are just
wandering around. To be honest, in the beginning I was afraid that this would
break the flow of the tour. But instead subhanAllah it actually increased the
Barakah in them. It even became the way I market my tours. This is also
something I have learned from the masterclass, with this simple change in my
program I benefit from multiple sources of Barakah: Trust in Allah and Salah (on
time) and most importantly I am earning a halal income el hamdoulilah.
 Also from a spiritual perspective this year I was able to save up and go for
Umrah. This was always something we really wanted to do, my husband and I
when we would get married. Elhamdoullilah, the preparation and the visit had a
big impact on the khushu’ in my salah. I am able to focus more and truly
internalise that this prayer I am performing is my moment with my Rabb.

Looking at the social perspective, I try to stay in close contact with my

family from my father's side. My parents have been divorced for a long time now
and I did not have any contact with them for certain reasons. But now it feels
good to call my grandma and to hear how happy she is with me asking about
her. With my father I have little contact, probably not the level that he desires but
for me it is sufficient, I don't think I can give more. I also do the same with the
parents of my husband, I call them and ask about how they are doing. Outside
family ties, my husband and I have made sure to give back to the community.
The day after our wedding we held another gathering for people that have
trouble making ends meet. Our wedding took place back home so the week
before that we went on the streets to invite the poor we came across. Al
hamdoulilah it was a remarkable moment with a lot of joy from both sides. We
rented a bouncy house for the children and for them it was also a nice day out.
We are happy that we could share this moment with others and wanted to
continue this throughout our lives. Therefore, the Ramadan of 2020 we also
organized an iftar at our local mosque. I hope this is something we can continue
to do for years to come.

From a physical perspective, I successfully followed all my bioresonance

treatments. My digestive system has been detoxified and seems to function
normally again. I am happy that I have convinced myself fully that those
occasional cheat days serve me no benefit especially when I was doing the
treatment. My body at that time needed the right nutrition to recover, not some
artificial sweet taste that lasted for a few minutes but resulted in less energy and
inflammation afterwards. I have now cleared mind and feel less stressed. What
also contributed to the less stressed feeling was the khusu’ in my prayer.
Sometimes I also try to meditate before sleeping when I have a complete ‘’no-
devices after work’’ day. Which I try to have at least twice a month with my
husband. Especially on Fridays this is easy because on those days we have
decided to meet each other at the metro station and just walk all the way back
home instead of taking public transport. This is good, as we spend some quality
time with each other, but also get some exercise without really noticing it. I also
have a morning routine for myself now. So after my morning dua, I do some
stretches and take a glass of water with honey and cinnamon. Then I wait 30
minutes before having breakfast and I will then usually write my morning pages
where I take the time to write 2 pages of whatever comes up in my mind without
constraints. This really helps me to empty my mind. This week I have read back
some of these pages that I written the past 12 months and it is really interesting
to see that most of those our not just random thoughts but they have true
wisdom in them if you read them in other time and space. And sometimes it is
just funny how I can have a random rant about something that seemed so big at
that time, but seems so ridiculous now. It brings things into perspective and I am
happy that I have added that to my routine.

This is all for the past 12 months, I am sure there are more small
achievements that happened in that period but I would need more time to recall
them properly. El hamdoullilah the Productive Muslim Masterclass helped me to
acheive the next version of myself in the period of a year.

Sincerely,

Your future self.

 What makes Productive Muslim
Masterclasses different?
A faith-based approach to productivity science
When it comes to overcoming the daily grind of life and learning how to align
who you are – spiritually, physically, socially – with who you want to be, the
Productive Muslim Masterclass can help. We know how hard it is to balance
between work, family, spirituality, and personal goals and still have time to
rejuvenate and relax at the end of the day. We understand how frustrating it is
when you feel you’re falling behind and can’t keep up with commitments of life –
missing prayers, missing appointments, and missing work deadlines. That feeling
that you’re losing the battle of life and the struggle for your soul is painful.

In the midst of all this frustration, no one has the time to sift through hundreds of
personal development books and productivity websites and try to decipher
what’s relevant to them. Nor do you have the time to cross-check all that you’re
learning with your faith values and spiritual teachings. This is where the
Productive Muslim Masterclass comes in. We’ll help you learn practical, hands-on
knowledge and skills that would immediately help you live the best version of
yourself: spiritually, physically, and socially. This is not theory. This is the practical
stuff you were never taught in school.

The Productive Muslim Masterclass is taught by Mohammed Faris, Author of

“The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity.” Mohammed has spent
over a decade developing a body of knowledge that combines Islamic spiritual
practices as well as modern productivity science to help you become the best
version of yourself. He has delivered his signature program in over 15 countries
and was featured on the TEDx stage, the World Domination Summit, and
International media. Over 25,000 people have gone through his program, and
you could do too through the comfort of your home.

You have one shot at life, and you deserve to know how to live the best version
of yourself every single day. Register for the Productive Muslim Masterclass and
start your journey towards your best self now.
 Letter 3
“...simply adding prayer time in your daily
schedule you’ll be pleasantly surprised on
how much more you can accomplish.”
Dear younger self,

here we are! One year after the day you’ve decided to invest on yourself
and develop your link with Allah swt.

I want to recap this year so every time you’ll feel lost and confused you can
read this letter and know that you’re future self (me, you or whatever) is proud of
you and your efforts.

I think that the decision you took in order to improve yourself was the best
one ever. This year you’ll face many obstacles, you’ll get tired at some point, and
sometimes you’ll think that all your efforts are futile, but nothing will be in vain.

Don’t be too hard on yourself! You’ve always been a very driven, goal-
oriented person, which is a great thing. But the guilt and self-loathing that come
when you don’t succeed with a goal or don’t complete it isn’t. You can always set
new goals and start over if you have to. Life is unexpected and gets in the way
sometimes, and on top of that it’s important that you just do you best and trust
your journey. I know that it’s easy to say now, at a distance of a year but
everything will make sense because Allah swt does not ignore your dedication
and what you’re doing. This year will be revolutionary, because finally you’ll
submit yourself to Allah swt, you learned to have tawakkul on Him so you’ll start
to warn less and do more knowing in your heart that everything will happen for
you and not against you with Allah’s permission. I know that you’re lost and
seeking companionship from your solitude in others, just hold on, it gets better
with time. You’ll eventually find good people that will cherish, support and love
you the way you are. They will remember you of your main purpose which is to
please Allah and they’ll correct you whenever you’ll take a wrong decision in a
bad moment. But before that I want you to love yourself and appreciate more
what you do because you don’t give yourself enough credit and that’s not okay.

You’ll work on that despite that awkwardness, getting credit for your work
gives your brain good feelings and helps you accomplish more. And by taking a
“victory lap” for your own achievements will boost your motivation and
performance. Keeping a daily list of your accomplishments can be one of the
most powerful ways to improve your intrinsic motivation, productivity, creativity
and mood.

Because small setbacks can have a negative impact than the triumph of a
small win, keeping a list of achievements isn’t just helpful in giving you a
motivational boost that day. It can also be an affirming reminder of your strengths
the next time you go through a rough patch.

Also being responsible for your own thoughts will help you be more
focused, less worried and more positive. On another hand, by being present with
your mind, you’ll learn to understand when you’re more concentrated so you can
take advantage of these moments for doing the most important tasks.

Dear younger self,

just start with having a peace of mind with yourself and your Master and
you’ll see, that after this main principal, you’ll start to implement one thing at
once.

You’ve always wanted to learn new surahs and finally you made it even if
you don’t really understand every single word Allah will help you in this new
process and I think that in the morning, after fajr, is the best time for you to learn
new verses implementing also some time to read and learn tafsir of Quran.

After that you’ll slowly introduce also your adkar; once a time, in the
morning and the evenings.

Dear younger self,

do you Remember when you never had time to fit your deadlines in a day?
Well let me tell you that by simply adding prayer time in your daily schedule
you’ll be pleasantly surprised on how much more you can accomplish. Just
setting a specific goal for a specific amount of time will make you work harder on
that time. And just by knowing, what to do at every single moment of your day,
will make everything more simple and you’ll be more serene on a daily basis. At
the beginning you can, maybe, think that you’re wasting time by giving only a
limited amount of time for every task but I promise you that it’s better to do less
and consistently than killing your self with work and study for 2/3 days and then
getting ill and being obligated to rest for one week or more.

Respect and listen your mind and body; and be grateful for having them. I
want you to always try to do your best and push hard doing at least your
minimum (reading a page of Quran, doing one dikr, intead of running go to have
a walk, review your daily lessons for uni) because sometimes there will be days
when you fill like not doing anything and that’s okay but remember that your
tolerance threshold will not be the same every time. For that you have to learn
more about yourself and your limits by being more conscious about how may
time you have to dedicate to yourself to rest, the time to get yourself back
together and return charged so that you don’t hurt yourself.

I know that you have a difficult relationship with sleep because when you
were younger you used to sleep 10 hours per night or more, feeling always tired
like you ain’t got accomplished anything but now you’re sleeping very few hours;
so it’s time to find balance in order to be more active during the day.

On the days you feel more energetic and would like doing anything new try
to add something little that you enjoy, and can benefit you in your day like
running (just saying) but you’ll thank yourself for implementing sport in your daily
routine. It’s not easy but at the same time it’s not healthy to sit in a chair for a
long time without moving a little bit. Just stop trying to find excuses, cut off your
social media and the time you’re passing scrolling your Instagram feed without
benefitting yourself, use it instead to put your headphones and trainers on and
go for a run, even if you don’t feel like it. Also try every week to implement one
source of barakah added to volunteer at least once a week.

Last but not least, continue to search and think on your high himma project
even if you don’t know what is it yet, inch’Allah hopefully one day everything
we’ll be more clear.
 At a distance of a year your future self is thanking you a lot for everything
you are doing, and the effort you’re putting to make yourself better and hopefully
one day making also the life of someone else better.

Take care of yourself.

Sincerely,

Your future self.

 Letter 4
“I pray to Allah to bless me for every
action I take and grant me his rewards in
this world and the hereafter.”
Dear younger self,

Bismillahirrahmaanirrahiim,

Alhamdulillah for the blessings from Allah from the past 12 months. It
started back in August 2019, when I traveled back home visiting my family. After 1
month stay, I came back to France to start my second-year PhD research and
studies. After up-and-down experiences during the first year, I intended myself to
be better researcher after learning a lot of things and gaining more technical
knowledge and skills. My PhD continues until now, and in this second year, I am
so grateful that I have achieved some milestones: I did international research &
collaboration mobility in KTH, Sweden for 4 months, got acceptance for my
paper in A-rank computer communications conferences, and gained 50-hours
academic teaching experience (le vacataire). Besides, I have started my high
himma project: publishing a book for DevOps engineer in Indonesia.

Going home to Indonesia at that time was different. I committed myself to

really improving my relationship with a whole family, especially my parents who
divorced around 10 years ago and lived separately. I was a temperamental son
before, but I realized that I must respect them, humbling myself down before
them no matter what the conditions are. I lowered my voice, prevented my
senseless argument, and avoided futile debate. I communicated with my siblings,
the thing I rarely do before, and started to talk with other family members either
by meeting them or through social media. I felt grateful that even though I
dedicated this to improve myself socially, I also feel a boost in my spiritual and
physical strength. Also during that time in Indonesia, I was planning to get
married and Biidznillah, now I have my small family with my wife, living with her in
France. May Allah grant our marriage with full of barakah, Aamiin. Back to France
to start my second year, it was my true intention to break my old habit and start
my new self. My supervisors expected me to achieve more milestones in the
second year and I accepted the challenges. Continuing the app development,
we targeted that the research goal should be accomplished before my mobility
plan to Sweden, so I can learn more different things there without really caring
the current projects. In Sweden, I met many people with high reputation in my
research field. In 4-months sabbatical period, my research grew to be more
advanced in the field and I learned many new perspectives in DevOps technique
for SDN/IoT environment. As part of the work achievement, my next two papers
were accepted in two top-level conferences in computer communications, all in a
year! Alhamdulillah. This is unexpected because we knew about the low
acceptance rate of both conferences. Writing more than one paper increases the
challenge; it needs more perseverance and patience to work simultaneously
without losing one focus for one or another for different writing tasks.

Due to the hard works, I had two chances to travel abroad in January 2019
and May 2020 to present my paper work, once again Alhamdulillah. Aiming to
become an academic lecturer in the future after I complete my PhD, I decided to
register for teaching assistantship for both undergraduate and master students in
the university. This is a requirement I need to achieve for those who wish to
become a university lecturer in France. I am grateful that previously I had some
experience in teaching for undergraduate students in my previous university for
around sixty four hours in two semesters, which I can take advantage from.

Giving a talk in any shape of form was difficult for me, due to introversion
trait in myself. Also, I had to carry the class as best as I can in a way that the
students can obtain the knowledge with ease and joy. In many times, the
students had better understanding and more critical in discussing the topics in
the class, which made me nervous and awkward in delivering the topics, but I
accept this as a new way of learning for me to improve and become a better
teacher. Besides some accomplishment, I also started my high himma project
which I feel like it will be a long journey to really finish it. Yes, it is writing and
publishing a beneficial and inspiring book that may take years to complete. At
first, I knew that my writing skills was not good enough and I really need to
develop this gradually. The book topic might be related to my research activity
and I targeted the readers to be for a community as this concept was still not
really known in Indonesia. I prepared some drafts. Some of my colleagues also
helped me to write. Their valuable feedback, at the end, always help me to write
better and better. Besides that book, I am also thinking to write something more
general about my experience, targeting broader audiences so that more and
more people can benefit from it. Above all, I started to break my mental block of
fearing interacting with people. I did: going for coffee with colleagues every
morning, joining social invitation outside working hour, and sharing some snacks
for my lab mates. I also developed my public speaking skills by rehearsing my
talk in advance, giving myself a pep talk to build more confidence before
delivering the talk. Now I feel more ease to mingle and interact with my
colleagues or start conversation with stranger outside. Lastly, I pray to Allah to
bless me for every action I take and grant me his rewards in this world and the
hereafter. Aamiin.

Sincerely,

Your future self.

 Letter 5
“...whenever I feel overwhelmed, I remind
myself that ‘productivity is a process, NOT
an event’ and the same goes for
becoming the best version of myself.”
Dear Journal,

What a wonderful year it has been, Alhamdulilah!

Looking back to the person I have become in such a short span of time, if I
was told this is the person I would be in a year’s time, I wouldn’t believe it
Alhamdulilah Alhamdulilah! Of course there is PLENTY of work to do but
whenever I feel overwhelmed, I remind myself that ‘productivity is a process,
NOT an event’ and the same goes for becoming the best version of myself.

At the beginning of the masterclass, I aimed for the next best version of
myself to be a person who prayed (on time), constantly counted my blessings by
saying Alhamdulilah and a being a calmer family member (less snappy).
Alhamdulilah over the past year I saw improvements in all those areas and more!
If I tried to jot it all down I would probably run out of the time allocated time for
this in my planner, but I will talk about the most important ones…

My mornings still start with my tiny habit: when my alarm goes off, I sit up
and say ‘Alhamdulilah’. I also added two more habits to it: drink water and
Sujood al Shukr. As I would wake up early and refreshed, praying Fajr on time
became the norm all year round, not just in winter. As I am writing this I am
asking myself: Who am I? Is this real? By praying Fajr on time, I didn’t want to ruin
the rest of the day’s prayers. All of it just fell into place, making it easier to pray
on time. Obviously it wasn’t always this easy but whenever I found myself
slipping I would remind myself that ‘Salah is non-negotiable’. It is not a tiny habit I
could slowly implement into my life.

Another change I have seen in the past year is my sleep improved

dramatically. I hacked my sleep cycle and Alhamdulillah what a game changer!
For years I was struggling with this but within a few weeks it was sorted. My
motivator was ‘if you can manage sleep, you can manage your life’.
 Hacking my sleep and waking up early was not an accident. It was the
planning and preparation the night before that got me there. My evening routine
included planning out my day/ week. That way I would wake up the next morning
knowing what I had to tackle that day and I no longer wake up anxious or in tears
because I have 100000 tasks in my head that I need to do. Instead, I wake up
refreshed and ready to tackle the day’s tasks.

My evening routine also included the sleep hygiene factors; saying the
evening Athkars, which I memorised very quickly. Winding down in the evening
was easier with the no phone rule in place as I focused on my evening routine
rather than being distracted on my phone. Additionally, doing Wudu as part of
the evening routine ensured I prayed Ishaa if I hadn’t prayed yet (Ishaa and Fajr
were the toughest prayers for me prior to the course).

Short/Long term planning allowed me to reflect on myself and not to go

with the flow. Previously months/ a year would go by and I would be so annoyed
why I didn’t accomplish certain goals. Using the weekly/ daily planner and
eventually the productivity planner, enabled me to organise myself. I would prep
my food for the week, which prevented me from ordering take out and improved
my energy levels as I cooked healthier food. I also kept up with errands/chores.
It also kept me focused on my physical wellbeing by walking daily, blocking out
time for the gym, sports and hiking.

Planning my social outings on weekends only guaranteed I slept on time

during the week and woke up early. This prevented me from becoming
spontaneous and as a result stressed the next day because I had so much to do!

Scheduling in family time well in advance eliminated the guilt I have felt for
a long time! Slotting it in at the same time every week so it became a habit really
helped. This included tasks such as speaking to my parents, visiting
grandparents and seeing extended family members. Previously I was struggling
to keep up so there was no time to see other Aunties and Uncles and would see
them only on Eid etc. We would speak almost on a weekly basis but it was
embarrassing that they lived around the corner and my excuse was I didn’t have
time. What’s even sadder was it was accepted as the norm and they always
responded ‘we know what your life is like….work, home, work home.’ The
Prophet (PBUH) spent a lot of his time with family and now I strive to do so as
much as I can and call/message various close family members abroad on a
monthly basis (all slotted in).

Planning also prevented me from slipping back into bad habits again such
as talking on the phone for long, listening to music, binge watching) because I
would stop myself and question what should I be doing right now and is this
leading me closer to the next best version of myself? It also made me very picky
about what community events I choose to go to (you can’t attend ALL). I have
also stopped volunteering after four years of doing so. This is short term decision
so that I could focus on myself first, then give back to others, NOT the other way
round.

In general my focus working on a given task has improved so much!

Whether it be a task at work or a chore at home! By focusing solely on a task and
doing it well was SO much better than juggling multiple tasks. It improved the
quality of my work and made me feel more confident as I was not questioning its
accuracy because I wasn’t going back and forth on it (especially if it was a report
at work). The biggest distractor was my phone and putting it away helped stay
focused. Knowing what my MIT’s for the day were and when my energy levels
were the highest allowed me to prioritise when was best to do certain tasks.
Decluttering my desk, room and house also helped me stay internally focused
and less distracted.

After months of thinking about it, I have a clearer picture of what my High
Himma project is. Alhamdulilah I am so much more organised now and as a
result I believe I can do it. Although I was always told I was organised by others
prior to this class, believing it and witnessing it feels different because now my
life is in under control. Having being involved in so many different projects
previously made it a very hard decision, but Alhamdulilah I got there in the end. I
also make duaas frequently that it will work out and include visualising working
on it as part of my morning routine.

Words cannot describe how grateful I am with all the changes I have made
over the past year and how happy I was I took this course. I feel like I am a
different person and it is so funny to look back at how I was just accepting that it
was normal to try a new habit, it lasts a short time, then it dies out and I am back
to square one. It is the hard work and the can do attitude that pushed me.

I can’t believe I was considering not taking this class due to the cost and
thinking it was the ‘wrong time’ (I was on holiday the first few weeks of the
course and had to play catch up bigtime). I would start filling out the enrolment
page, then stop (this happened a few times). But the email I received titled ‘I am
not giving up on you’ changed it. I pushed myself and Alhamdulilah Alhamdulilah
I am happy I did. This course was probably one of the best investments in myself.
So many struggles I had that this course has helped me solve. I constantly
remind myself that after this course there’s no excuse not to be successful, we
have the tools to improve ourselves. It was worth every penny and I would do it
again… Alhamdulilah! Right, my time is up (used my buffer time as well!) So until
next time Inshallah, Salams!
What will I learn in the Productive
Muslim Masterclass?

 What Does it Mean to Live Your Best  How Spirituality Impacts Living Your Best
Life? Life
 The Islamic Psycho-Spiritual  Power of Barakah: Achieving More with
Understanding of the Self Less
 The Productive Muslim Peak  Barakah Culture vs. Hustle Culture
Performance Framework
 The Mindsets, Values, and Rituals of
 Defining Your Next Best Self Barakah Culture

 The 3 Pillars of Physical Well-Being  Why is it so hard to focus these days?

Understanding the root cause.
 What to Eat & Not Eat for Maximum
Performance  Managing External, Internal, & Life
Distractions.
 Why Exercise is NOT Optional for You
 Practical Tips To Boost Your Focus
 Hack Your Sleep For Peak
Muscle.
Performance
 Building a Trusted System to Calm Your
Brain

 The 4 Spiritual Axioms of Time  Why Motivation & Willpower is Overrated

Management
 The Power of Habits in Staying Consistent
 Mastering Time by Managing Yourself
 The Perfect Morning, Afternoon, and
 How to plan your day, week, quarter, Evening Routine.
and year.
 The Daily Routine of Prophet Muhammad
 Tools to Manage Your Time (PBUH)
 Letter 6
“...when I now start with the question,
‘What would make today a more
successful day?’, it helps me frame the
day and think about it in a more specific
way.”
Dear younger self,

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem

Alhamdulillah, it has been a year since the end of the Productive Muslim
Masterclass, and I am grateful for the tools I’ve been able to implement in my
daily life from this course. I’m glad I was able to finish the course, because when I
started, I remember being hesitant about it.

One of the biggest lessons for me has been learning how to accept the
fact that the process of implementing change can be slow and that I can be very
impatient at times. When we ended the class, the amount of information, tips,
and techniques that we had learned seemed somewhat overwhelming. In order
to be the best version of myself, I was determined that everything should be
implemented as soon as possible. Otherwise, what was the point? However,
after thinking it over, I remembered when Br. Mohammed spoke to us in the first
session about the iterative process of the next best version of yourself and
asking us to think about what small changes it would take to get there. There
would hopefully be many of these, and inshaaAllah I would keep moving on an
upward trajectory, all in the hopes of becoming a better ‘abd (slave) of Allah, and
becoming closer to Him.

Another thought then entered my mind. Is accomplishing two or three

things really an accomplishment, especially in the span of a year or more? This is
a long period of time and I would think more could be accomplished in order to
actually seem efficient and productive. I then realized this was futile thinking – if
I’ve shown mastery in these tasks and they are filled with barakah, then those
are worth more than numerous tasks only being implemented at a superficial
level.
 So, I’ve gone back and forth during the year, between these modes of
thinking, and it has felt like a tug-of-war between my thoughts and intentions.
The changes have been incremental, sometimes barely perceptible, especially
when I’m first starting with a new tiny habit. However, they are there.

Spiritual

I have tried to become more consistent with my Qur’an reading and

memorization, but this is still a work in progress. I try to spend at least 20
minutes with the Qur’an each day with the intention of eventually increasing the
time. However, if for some reason I can’t, I used to just say, “oh well, it was
missed, hope it goes better tomorrow, inshaaAllah”. This all or nothing approach
didn’t sit well with me, so now, I try to do 10 minutes if that happens, and if that’s
not possible, I try to read at least one ayah. With memorization, sometimes I lose
focus, and I feel like it’s a very slow process. Then I remind myself that it’s my
effort that will count and not how many pages I’ve memorized that week or
month.

I have also tried to increase my dhikr, especially in my free moments and

in between moments of work, and this has led me to try and memorize more
du’as from Hisn al-Muslim. This is an ongoing process.

Finally, in preparation for my highest himma project, I have been studying

Arabic, and becoming more familiar with reading in Arabic, so that I can apply to
Qalam Seminary’s one-year online program, inshaaAllah.

Physical

“If you can manage your sleep, you can manage your life” is the quote I
remember frequently from the Masterclass. I have become much more attuned
to my sleep cycle, and no longer think in terms of the number of hours I need to
sleep, but how many cycles I am completing. Because I understand this better
now, it’s been easier to wake up for tahajjud, and I’ve been trying to do that at
least once per week, and more when possible. If I am unable to get enough
sleep cycles, then I try to incorporate a nap into my day, although this can be
challenging with work.

I also used to get into bed to sleep when I was tired and ready to go to
sleep. I practice better sleep hygiene now and keep trying to improve it bit by bit.
I make wudhu and recite du’as before going to bed and also upon waking up. I
sit in the bed while I do these things, to help my mind become used to the fact
that I’ll be going to sleep. It was strange when I first started to implement it. I had
usually done the du’as, but I hadn’t been intentional about having a routine. One
of the other things I’ve been trying to practice more of is reflect and forgive
people who may have wronged me. It isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but I
think I’m getting better at it alhamdulillah.

I think my nutrition was okay for the most part, before the class had
started, because I was also dealing with a health issue, so my intake of unhealthy
foods was actually limited. Still, I try to be mindful of what I eat, because I really
love chocolate, so I make sure I eat it in smaller quantities!

Exercise has been a challenge for some time – I just don’t like it and
cannot motivate myself to do it. I think starting up very basic yoga again has
been helpful for me. I don’t find yoga as demanding and I find the stretching
makes me feel more relaxed. I built up to this habit by starting with one small
stretch right after completing ‘Isha prayer (a tiny habit) and saying alhamdulillah. I
thought it seemed a bit trivial at first, but I’m actually very proud of what I was
able to accomplish, given my aversion to exercising at all. I try to do yoga 1-3
times a week, and alternate this with walks. I cannot say that I enjoy exercise
more now but I’m pleased that it’s in my life, because it is something my body
needs, and I know that I’m responsible for attending to and caring for my body.
 Discovering and tracking my energy levels, and realizing that I was most
energetic in the mornings has been life-changing. I used to feel like I always
needed to be performing at the highest level all throughout the day, until it was
time go home from work or go to bed. Knowing that mornings are my most
productive time has shifted this mindset, and really made me focus on executing
some of my most important tasks (MITs) or having a focus session during this
time.

Social

In terms of scheduling, I always want to fill in all the empty slots on my

calendar. However, when I now start with the question “what would make today
a more successful day?” it helps me frame the day and think about it in a more
specific way. I still feel overwhelmed at times trying to get everything onto my
calendar for the week, and then figuring out whether I’ve under/overscheduled
myself. It really helps to put in the givens – prayers/meals/nap or bedtime. – to
set up the day. I’ve told myself that the MITs can be few in number but should be
meaningful to me and my day and my work as an ‘abd. I am trying to recommit to
tasks daily, but it overwhelms me sometimes – I think I’ll circle back to this
practice in the future, inshaaAllah. Building in buffer time and being ready for idle
time were tough as well, because as I mentioned earlier, I wanted to fill in all the
empty slots. They make more sense when practiced over a period of time, and
seem more normal now.

Focus sessions have been somewhat challenging for me, but I think I’m
getting better with these. I try to have one to two and hope to build up to three
inshaaAllah. I try to make sure to hold focus sessions at least two days of the
week, if not more. InshaaAllah, I hope this number gets higher, to where it’s a
part of my daily routine.

At work, I was really getting tricked into completion bias, because

answering e-mail is so easy. I’ve been trying to watch this carefully, and be more
intentional in which tasks I complete in which order. I’m trying to keep more open
loops during the week, even though I really just want to close them then and
there (maybe completion bias in a different way?)!

I’ve also found layering to be a really useful technique. I can learn a few
things in the same space of time, usually related, and switch between tasks. For
example, if I’m studying a verb chart, and feel like I’m spacing out, I will read a
chapter about a book of the companions of the Prophet (saw) next, rather than
keep hacking away at the chart, when I can’t be productive, and then circle back
to it. It was strange for me at first, trying to work in this way, probably because of
my tendency toward completion bias, and also because it felt like multi-tasking.
However, I know it’s different, because I’m not trying to do everything at the
same time, but interspersing some learning with other learning.

I used Ramadan to review what I was doing well, and what may not be
working so well, and made adjustments. I want this to be one of the things I do in
this month each year inshaaAllah.

My morning and evening routines are really still in their infancy stages and
truly a work in progress. I actually wrote out how I would like these to look, and
there are consecutive days when I’m able to follow them, until it then drops off
for a while. I am considering doing more mental rehearsals to help me visualize
the routines.

I have thought about the year ahead. In the next year I would like to find a
mentor and learn how to breathe better (already introduced a little bit with the
yoga), inshaaAllah.

I am reminded in our very first class that we talked about being kind to
yourself during the process of becoming the next best version of yourself, and in
a later class we talked about making mistakes but that an ‘abd can never give
up. Through trying to implement and then sometimes failing to close the
intention-action gap, I am learning how to be more kind and patient with myself
and forgive myself for mistakes as well as seek forgiveness from Allah. I try to
remind myself that I’m on the path to training myself heart and mind to submit to
the will of Allah, and in turn making my heart the king. I also try to remember the
principles of the gardener-mindset and accept that effort only does not dictate
outcome, and that I need to be aware of both natural laws and Allah’s Will.

The Prophet’s (saw) daily routine chart is an excellent reminder of how the
spiritual, physical, and social are practically implemented. I usually used to think
about his (saw) life in terms of how much was accomplished in the 23-year span
of his mission, or on a more year-by-year basis. Looking at the daily routine helps
me think about how his days were essentially the building blocks to his
successful mission, and how purposefully they were structured. Through my
efforts, my highest himma project at this time, and whatever else Allah Has
planned for me, I hope I can fulfill my purpose and continue to attain barakah in
my work and Allah’s Pleasure.

Sincerely,

Your future self.

 Letter 7
“I truly aim to live by and embody the
Ayah ‘Verily, my Salat, my sacrifice, my
living, and my dying are for Allah, Rabbil
‘Alamin’.”
Dear younger self,

I am so proud of what you have accomplished, all that you have done,
bi'ithnillahi taa'la, and for your continued sincerity and hard work, persistence.
Ameen Ya Rabb.

I utilize the sleep cycles daily effortlessly and without fail, and wake up
before Fajr everyday, make dua as my eyes open, and offer Fajr during the early
time. I recite the Noor dua, which I have memorized completely now, between
my sunnah and fardh salaah. I sit on my musallah, enjoying the quiet time and
recite a little dhikr before opening up my mushaf. I now look forward to my daily
quran time which has become a routine for me, part and parcel of my day, my
morning routine. I recite my daily wirdh of one ruku with translation and tadabbur
thinking about each ayah, each meaning, enjoying, savoring. I then move to my
Quran class homework, and open up Tafsir Ibn Kathir (either the app on my iPad
or the book itself) and continue where I left off, pondering over the commentary,
and reflecting on the lessons from class, along with my homework of how can I
change myself to embody the Quran bi'ithnillah. Half-an-hour goes by and I am
still reading. On the days that I have more energy and have already completed
my homework, I call upon myself to review my hifdh - it is easy for me now mA,
because I am in the habit of reciting Quran and reflecting for half an hour
everyday.

I stay awake after Fajr and go to the gym five days a week, after which
(when I don't have work) I complete my reading and projects in one hour focus
sessions building up to 90 minutes. I have organized myself such that I have
fixed days on which I work on certain projects - I contain myself to those times,
and do not wander into something else whilst I am in a dedicated period. I now
understand to limit myself to projects that are goal-oriented, focused and no
longer spend time or energy in that which is not best for me. I can say no to
myself easily. Alhamdulillaah I nap between doha and dhuhr, the duration
varying depending on my need that day.
 I enjoy journaling as needed, twice daily affirmations and daily gratitude
talk with Allah Azzawajal, also mentioning the blessings to my family. I greet my
family with a smile and am at ease and relaxed, having completed all my tasks
and duties, able to enjoy their company and enjoy life. My phone is put away and
only used when absolutely necessary in short blocks of time. No screen time and
no tea from before maghrib.

I plan what I eat and my diet is mostly a whole food plant based diet.
Alhamdulillaah I have organized and pre-planned nourishing food for my family
without stress and in an orderly fashion and without wastage. I am easily able to
control my nafs and alhamdulillah routinely as a habit practice the 1/3 hadeeth
which I never thought I could consistently carry out practically. I have taken to
fasting as both a spiritual aid and physical improvement in health.

I prioritize my salaah above ALL else, every single day mA. I no longer
worry about changing times for salaah or changing seasons, rather I enjoy and
adapt with each time change naturally. I truly aim to live by and embody the Ayah
"Verily, my Salat, my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, Rabbil
'Alamin" SubhanAllah. I maintain my composure and my internal state/response
using the Inside Out Paradigm and Living Present in the Moment regardless of
the environment around me, even if someone upsets me or has hurt me in the
past. I am no longer afraid - of anyone or anything, except Allah Azzawajal. I see
life as a journey, a journey of my growing closer to Allah Azzawajal (and
biithnillah helping those around me in their journey). I, by Allah's mercy now live
by the hadith "Whoever makes the world his most important matter, Allah will
confound his affairs and make poverty appear before his eyes and he will not get
anything from the world but what has been decreed for him. Whoever makes
the Hereafter his most important matter, Allah will settle his affairs and make him
content in his heart and the world will come to him although he does not want it"

My High Himma project: I have completed a comprehensive course on

Tibb Nabawi inclusive of Hijama and am certified to practice in this field. Having
completed the course as well as one on Ruqyah Shariah, and studied books
related to these subjects I will now start to help people, with mentoring as
needed. I am now able to bring Traditional Prophetic Medicine to the general
public where I reside, and reestablish forgotten sunnah. Biithnillah I will be the
driving force to create an establishment that will carry on this therapy for many
years to come.

I also spend (2) one hour time periods per month speaking with teenage
Muslimahs, as a big sis via an established platform.

Sincerely,

Your future self.

 How does the Productive
Muslim Masterclass work?

Step 1
Register for the Masterclass at
ProductiveMuslim.com.

Step 2
Join six LIVE online sessions.

Step 3
Apply what you learn & live the
best version of you.

All Live Sessions take place on Saturdays at 10am US Central

Time and last 90 minutes + unlimited Q&A Time.
Handouts and Recordings will be sent after each live session.