The Best Routine (Explained by a 23yo Muslim CEO)

The video outlines the daily routine of a productive Muslim CEO managing three companies while aligning his responsibilities with Islamic practices. He emphasizes structuring the day around the five daily prayers, starting with Maghrib, and prioritizing sleep, advocating for 6-8 hours of rest. The CEO follows a 3-2-1 rule for winding down, avoiding food, drinks, and screens before bed to enhance sleep quality. His morning begins with Fajr prayer and deep work sessions, focusing on uninterrupted, productive tasks. He practices intermittent fasting, eating one meal a day, and incorporates exercise and family time into his schedule, underscoring the importance of balance and purposeful planning.

• The speaker discusses the integration of daily responsibilities with Islamic practices, focusing on aligning tasks with the five daily prayers.
• Emphasizes the importance of scheduling around prayer times as a priority for productivity and spiritual fulfillment.

"The first thing that I do when mapping out my whole daily schedule is looking at the most important things first which starts of course with looking at the daily prayers."

• Prioritizing prayer times sets the foundation for structuring the rest of the day effectively.

• Sleep is highlighted as a crucial element for maintaining energy and productivity.
• Advocates for 6 to 8 hours of sleep, emphasizing the negative impact of insufficient rest.

"Sleep is the fundament of everything. I'm really seeing nowadays how people are really not taking care of their sleep anymore."

• Adequate sleep is essential for overall well-being and effective daily functioning.

• The evening routine is deemed more critical than the morning routine for ensuring a productive day.
• The 3-2-1 rule involves no food three hours before bed, no drinks two hours before bed, and no screens one hour before bed.

"The actual more important thing is your evening routine. What do you do before you go to bed will determine how you sleep and that will determine what kind of energy you have to have a productive morning routine."

• The quality of the evening routine directly influences sleep quality and subsequent morning productivity.

• Evening activities include attending the Masjid, reading the Quran, and solitary prayers to wind down.
• Engaging in peaceful and reflective activities before bed aids in relaxation and mental clarity.

"Most of the time it's just Quran because all of those business books contain a lot of information that your brain keeps going crazy. So Quran is just peaceful; it's just really good for your heart, for your mind."

• Engaging with the Quran provides spiritual peace and mental tranquility, beneficial for a restful night's sleep.

• Limiting information intake before bed is crucial to prevent overstimulation of the brain.
• Encourages writing down thoughts to clear the mind and prepare for sleep.

"Before you go to bed, all of the thoughts start running and you cannot sleep. That's because you're not taking time to let your thoughts come out."

• Writing down thoughts helps manage mental clutter, facilitating better sleep and mental rest.

• Engaging in writing and producing content is essential to avoid overstimulation and stress.
• Consuming content without creating can lead to burnout and mental fatigue.

"It's very good that you're watching this video, mashallah, but it's also important that you take some time sometimes to just write down your thoughts because you are a person that can produce as well."

• Encourages balancing consumption with creation to maintain mental health and productivity.

• The evening routine is crucial for good sleep quality and a productive next day.
• Avoiding screens and blue light after sunset supports biological rhythms and sleep quality.
• Wearing red-tinted glasses can stimulate melatonin creation, aiding in falling asleep.

"Between Isa and bedtime, it is very important for me to just wind down and not do anything except for just peaceful things."

• Highlights the importance of winding down to improve sleep quality and overall well-being.

"The color red is the lowest color in the Kelvin spectrum and this color red stimulates the creation of the hormone melatonin."

• Explains the scientific reasoning behind using red-tinted glasses to enhance sleep quality.

• Starting the day with spiritual practices like prayer and Quran reading sets a positive tone.
• Morning routines include going to the Masjid, which provides fresh air and physical movement.

"The most beautiful thing is to just do Voodoo, fresh up a little bit, and go outside to the Masjid if there is a Masjid nearby."

• Emphasizes the benefits of starting the day with spiritual and physical activities.

"One of the best moments of the day to start learning and memorizing Quran is in the morning because your brain is really fresh."

• Stresses the cognitive benefits of engaging in spiritual learning during the morning.

• Dividing the day into segments based on prayer times helps manage responsibilities effectively.
• Avoiding a chaotic schedule by structuring activities around these times enhances productivity.

"The biggest mistake I think that people are making is that throughout the whole day, they are very reactive."

• Highlights the importance of proactive scheduling to avoid chaos and enhance productivity.

"The first thing I try to prioritize is my Dean. You cannot have a bad day if you already have such blessing in your day."

• Suggests that spiritual priorities can lead to a more fulfilling and productive day.

• Deep work is a crucial component of a productive day, especially for entrepreneurs.
• Eliminating distractions and focusing on important tasks leads to more significant achievements.

"Deep work is a moment of the day where you are working without being distracted."

• Defines deep work and its importance in achieving productivity and focus.

"I strive for at least 4 hours of deep work at least."

• Sets a benchmark for the amount of deep work necessary for maintaining productivity.

• Meetings can disrupt deep work, but sometimes they are unavoidable.
• Scheduling deep work before meetings can help maintain productivity.

"Sometimes, unfortunately, it just happens, and you have to do that, but if I don't have any meetings, this just continues."

• Acknowledges the challenge of balancing meetings with deep work.

• Building a consistent routine around sleep and work enhances productivity.
• Working at night can negatively impact sleep quality and morning productivity.

"The reason why you are not productive in the morning is because you don't have a good evening routine."

• Asserts that a consistent routine is key to maintaining productivity and well-being.

• Emphasizing the significance of being productive in the morning, as it is a time blessed by the Prophet's prayer.
• Engaging in vital tasks during the morning to maximize the blessings and productivity.
• The Prophet advised against night-time activities unless they involve prayer or gaining knowledge.

"Our Prophet sallallahu alaih wasallam made a Dua to Allah for the people who are being productive in the morning."

• Highlights the spiritual importance of morning productivity in Islam.

"Oh Allah bless my ummah in the early mornings."

• Emphasizes the blessings associated with morning activities as per Islamic teachings.

"Allah made the day and the night for us to separate the day, so it's not really a smart idea to do things in the night."

• Advises against night-time activities, underscoring the natural division of day and night for productivity and rest.

• Discussing the benefits of deep work without distractions, contrasting it with a typical 9-to-5 work environment.
• Importance of scheduling meetings and limiting phone usage to enhance focus and productivity.
• Deep work in the early hours can equate to longer hours of distracted work in a typical office setting.

"These seven hours are not comparable with the 8 hours of a 9-to-5 worker."

• Illustrates the efficiency of focused work compared to traditional office hours.

"I'm having no phones; you cannot contact me in between this time."

• Describes the strategy of minimizing distractions to maintain deep work.

• The necessity of taking breaks to maintain sharpness and avoid burnout.
• Investing in health, sleep, and mental peace as crucial elements of a productive life.
• Advocating for a balanced work schedule that includes time for prayer, fitness, and relaxation.

"Invest in your health as well, invest in your sleep, invest in time to the Masjid."

• Stresses the importance of health and spiritual activities for overall well-being.

"The best and most important thing is to not work like complete 10 hours in a day."

• Encourages a balanced approach to work and life, avoiding excessive work hours.

• Practicing intermittent fasting as a means to align with Islamic teachings and promote health.
• Emphasizing the historical and religious context of fasting, including the Prophet's practices.
• Advocating for limited food intake, focusing on nutritious meals and avoiding constant eating.

"Intermittent fasting is something that people here in the West made a very big thing, but fasting is very important."

• Connects the modern concept of intermittent fasting with traditional Islamic practices.

"Our bodies are not meant to eat breakfast or eating lunch, snacks in between, dinner, and then snacks in the evening."

• Critiques modern eating habits, advocating for moderation and mindful eating.

"One-third of our stomach for food, one-third for water, and one-third for air."

• Refers to the Hadith on balanced eating, promoting moderation in food consumption.

• Importance of regular physical activity to counteract sedentary work life.
• Engaging in various sports and fitness activities to maintain physical health.
• Following a diet plan that includes one substantial meal a day, supplemented with healthy snacks.

"It's very important that I make my body in motion because I'm having a job where I need to do things online."

• Highlights the need for physical activity to balance a sedentary work lifestyle.

"I'm just eating one meal a day; it's a bigger meal than what people are normally having for lunch."

• Describes the practice of One Meal a Day (OMAD) to maintain health and nutrition.

"The best snack that you can have is dates like our Prophet did that as well."

• Recommends dates as a nutritious snack, aligning with the Prophet's dietary habits.

• As a CEO, it's crucial to prioritize self-care to effectively manage responsibilities towards the company, family, and team.
• Physical fitness, adequate sleep, and healthy eating are essential for maintaining energy and productivity.
• The speaker practices fasting and One Meal A Day (OMAD) to maintain a balanced lifestyle.

"If I'm not taking care of myself, then how can I do this throughout the day? How can I have energy? How can I make sure that I'm fit?"

• Emphasizes the necessity of self-care for sustaining energy and fulfilling responsibilities.

"If I'm not sleeping well, if I'm not prioritizing my Dean, if I'm not eating healthy, then I would constantly have brain fog."

• Highlights how neglecting health can lead to decreased mental clarity and productivity.

• The speaker follows a structured routine starting with prayer, sleep, and religious practices.
• Prioritizes important tasks through deep work sessions and integrates health and fitness activities.
• The routine allows for flexibility to include family time and leisure activities.

"I prioritize all of the important things actually it doesn't really matter what I do after that."

• Suggests that once priorities are set, the rest of the day can be flexible and enjoyable.

"I plan my whole day, so I plan all of this what is about to happen for the next day."

• Emphasizes the importance of planning to ensure a purposeful and productive day.

• The speaker discusses the balance between work commitments and personal life, including family and leisure.
• Highlights the misconception that CEOs cannot have fun due to busy schedules.
• Stresses the importance of having a routine that accommodates both work and personal time.

"Sometimes people are thinking as a CEO, as an entrepreneur, you cannot have fun anymore."

• Challenges the belief that entrepreneurship eliminates personal leisure time.

"After M, what I do is I take time for things like family or time for reading or other activities."

• Illustrates the integration of personal time into the daily routine.

• Having a clear purpose and a well-structured plan is crucial for daily productivity and long-term success.
• Encourages setting goals and continuously optimizing routines for better efficiency.
• Suggests that entrepreneurship offers more flexibility in managing time.

"The most important thing is that you have purpose in life."

• Underlines the significance of purpose in driving daily actions and decisions.

"This is after a couple of years of optimizing after I referred to Islam I needed to flip the whole schedule as well."

• Reflects the iterative process of refining routines to align with personal beliefs and goals.

• The speaker advises adapting routines based on individual circumstances, such as job type or personal commitments.
• Encourages gradual implementation of productivity strategies, especially for beginners.
• Emphasizes the importance of balancing work, religious practices, and family time.

"Try to learn, try to be adaptive and also when you're just starting out really important."

• Encourages adaptability and continuous learning in developing effective routines.

"The goal should be that you do as much as you can in your day while still taking time for your prayers and for Allah."

• Stresses the importance of balancing productivity with religious and personal commitments.