About

How it all began

and why we do what we do…

Being a working Muslim myself, with a massive list of goals I’ve always carried with me, I’ve just had to figure out a way to create a healthy balance in my life.

After teaching thousands of other Muslims over the last 4 years through this blog, I’ve discovered that most busy professionals have the potential to do so much more with their time and energy but they feel limited. And although shortcut systems and tools can be game-changers, teaching you another productivity tactic would only be the tip of the iceberg…

I'm Aimen Saifullah

I’m a Doctor, entrepreneur and productivity coach who loves few things more than good food, finding humor in unconventional things, and teaching Muslims like you how to live a more intentional, balanced and, fulfilling life!

That’s because real transformations begin with

breaking past your limiting beliefs and reshaping how you think.

So my job is to help you reprogram your mind through faith. And to give you the best modern productivity + organization systems, strategies and tools to cultivate a life of purpose, productivity and fulfillment.

So, here goes the story.

No time to read? Skip to the TL: DR version (sshh, this will stay between us).

Now, let me just put this out there: I’m a certified owl (yes, you have to go to the owl academy to be certified) so opening up about myself on a blog read by so many is frankly put – making me feel a little nauseous. But, I consider this an important part of my job here as a coach. So, let’s get this show on the road…

The Tale Begins

APRIL 2017

Let’s go back a few years when I had recently graduated as a doctor and was working as a medic. I was working 12-hour days, night-shifts, weekends – you name it. The free time I had, I spent it studying in the library for my post-grad exams.And although I was enjoying every minute of it (Nerd Alert), to say the thought ‘what are you doing for Deen?’ never crossed my mind would be a lie. In fact, the more I got involved in the rat race of my career, the less time I had to work on anything else and the heavier my burden of guilt got. Like.I had metamorphosed into the hunchback of Notre Dame carrying bags of guilt. Sad, I know.

Lesson learned: If you’re not making time for Deen despite having free time outside your responsibilities and roles, you’ll never find the inner peace that’s promised to Muslims. [1]

The Pivotal Moment

SEPTEMBER 2017

This was the turning point for me that completely changed my life. I had a breakdown from guilt. But little did I know that my breakdown was soon to become my biggest breakthrough. At that moment, I made it my mission to learn, practice, and teach how my Deen could redefine the productivity standards for everyone.

I planted the seed of self-empowerment in my life by building keystone habits over time including – intentional planning, organizing my life, regular exercise, eating clean, praying on time, giving time to the Quran consistently, waking up early, and daily self-talk. The result? I managed to break free from the weeds of my depression, lost 10 pounds of weight, dedicated myself to learning Arabic and studying Tafseer of the Quran and overall… I felt grateful, at peace and empowered.I also started to toil with the idea of serving the Muslim community in some way. Around the same time, a good friend said to me, ‘you should start a blog’. As expected from a hermit, my response was ‘yeah sure… except, what’s a blog?.’
Enter – Mr. Google. I learned blogging and web design, and launched my first website (yes, the one you’re looking at right now! Then called ‘Muslim Youth Programme’) all by my tiny self within a couple of months using my raw, unprocessed, personal productivity system (hint: the humble beginnings of the BDD system).

Pile It On

MAY 2018

I was working 9-to-5 as a pathology lecturer. Also, my blog had taken off at this point, by the grace of Allah, and my inbox had started to flood every day. Andd let’s not forget, I was also spending every free hour I had STILL studying for post-grad exams (can we all just agree that medical exams never end? There, I said it). But the hard work paid off… I managed to clear all my examinations in the first attempt (not showing off or anything. ahem).

Lesson learned: By the Will of Allah, you can achieve anything you set your mind to with discipline, hard work, and skill. [2] But of course – it all begins with undergoing huge mindset shifts and dismantling the icky self-limiting layers around you so you can step into your ‘next-level’ version.

The Chrysalis Opens

July 2018

I treated myself by visiting Makkah to be with my family and for a few months, had a lot of free time at my hands (breathes!). So I decided to share my personal productivity system that had served me so well with other busy Muslim professionals.

To see if there was any real interest, I taught a small part of that system on my blog (aka, the Bootcamp). After seeing 2000+ Muslims go through it and reaching out sharing their amazing results, I got the validation I needed and felt obliged to continue building this artisanal system that was no longer just ‘mine’. SubhanAllah, it had started to change the lives of other Muslims.

The Mad Scientist

2018 – 2019

I think of this year as ‘The Year of Experiment’, where I researched, surveyed, and ran rigorous tests in my online cave… much like a mad scientist (tsk, tsk, Aimen).

I also started noticing a pattern of difference between my students as I talked to them. I observed I could teach someone the productivity and organization skills they needed to achieve their goals but without reprogramming the mindset, they’d never enjoy the results and transformations they were looking to create or the results wouldn’t last long. So I started infusing mindset shifts into my coaching.

The Hustle Continues

September 2019

Another post-grad exam with a scary deadline wreaked havoc on my routine (facepalm). I had a small window of time before traveling, and joining an academy full-time for 6 weeks to clear this exam. So I had to batch content creation by working overtime upfront and set up maintenance systems for my blog (so it wouldn’t crash in my absence!).

At that point I honestly felt like a very irritable monkey swinging from one goal to another. I felt like I had to keep working myself to death or else I’d be left behind with no opportunities. Hustle culture, as they say.

Let the Unwinding Begin

Jan 2020

Cleared my exam bi-iznillah. But.I.was.done. Sick and tired of overworking between deadlines, I felt suffocated. My emotional health and relationships with family had started suffering. My all-consuming over-achieving nature had started taking a toll on my physical health too (which later manifested in the form of severe bilateral wrist pain).

I desperately needed a break. Said to myself “Who am I really serving by being this way?” and felt like it was the perfect time to take a sabbatical to recharge.

So I set out to travel around the U.K. I visited family in different cities, got lost in the country multiple times (uh, literally) and at the end of it all – just felt like I could breathe again. I came out rejuvenated, resilient and ready to go big again.

Lesson learned: I realized that even with a highly effective productivity system driving you to achieve your personal and Deen goals, unwinding was a visceral part of enjoying a Sunnah balance [3]. So I learned to integrate daily self-care and unwinding techniques into my life and my productivity system.I also learned another important lesson – no matter how well-organized you are, there will always be periods of crisis and chaos. And it is in our ability to gain strength from our faith to handle crises with grace that really sets us apart as Muslims.

The Fulfillment Era

2020 – NOW

2020 was the year of massive shifts for me in everything. I had started working full-time as a productivity and mindset coach and took my time to fine-tune my planning systems, project management systems, and organizational skills. Undoubtedly, these skills have proven to be fundamental in my career, business and personal life.

But I learned that there’s an upper limit to the amount of time and energy we have. And where that mortal limit ends, barakah begins.

I also deeply understood that the key to unraveling the powerful effects of barakah is being very intentional with your time and exercising mindfulness. Because the freeing truth is – more goals is not the answer. “Hustle Culture” is not the Sunnah way.

Over this entire journey, if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that we have to do things differently if we want to win big in Deen and Dunya as busy professionals.As you’ll come to notice, I love taking a holistic, non-overwhelming approach to teaching. Because that’s the way of our beloved Prophet SAW and without a shred of doubt – that’s the way that works.

Yes, it takes discipline, hard work and skill to get to that ‘Next-Level’ of productivity where

achieving sky-high goals becomes your new normal.

But when you put in the work upfront, you get disproportionate rewards by Allah SWT.

The TL:DR Version?

“I believe the only way to win big in Deen and Dunya is

by empowering yourself through faith.”

I’ve learned that the high-achieving Muslims of the world are well organized and disciplined people that follow systems to streamline the parts of their life that are in their control, are fully present while doing Deen and Dunya work and have the faith-empowered mindset and resilience to handle difficulties with ease.

I talk about this all.the.time in my Signature Program Balance Deen and Dunya, where I regularly coach other Muslim professionals on how to achieve your Deen and Dunya goals with ease by getting well organized and reshaping your mindset.

As you’ll discover, I take a holistic, relentlessly optimistic, and dare I say fun approach to coaching professionals. That’s because I’ve learned (the hard way) that going ‘all in’ and empowering yourself from a place of overwhelm is a race to the bottom…

I believe the fastest way to SEE REAL CHANGES IN YOUR LIFE and THEN sustain them is BY stepping into the ground when it’s time to take focused action,