I've been stuck in bed every morning lately.

It's very out of character for me.

This morning I made it up at 6:20 am.

And it's Saturday.

I was motivated to make it to the mosque at 6:45 am, which helped.

But it taught me something.

Getting up was the hardest part.

I was listening to this podcast episode about phone addictions, and the speaker said the people who are most successful in avoiding scrolling are the ones who have systems in place. Strict rules and regulations about their bad habits.

No screens after 8pm.
No phones at the table.
Chargers outside the bedroom.

I used to believe that being effective was having pure discipline and willpower. I spent years studying with my phone right next to me. I don't need to leave it in another room, that's for losers with no self-control.

While that worked for me and helped me develop insane self-control, it's untrue. Systems help. They conserve your energy and make life easier.

That brings me back to this morning.

I didn't wake up at 6:20 am by accident, it happened on purpose. I'll admit I tried this a few times in the last few weeks and failed. Here's why it worked today.

Last night I stopped eating at 7 pm, so by bed time I was fully digested. I had a major urge to watch Prison Break in bed (I just started it). I was a little hungry too but I chose not to eat and not to open my laptop. Instead, I took a cup of herbal tea to bed with my kindle at 10 pm. I left my phone in a different room and I set the alarm on my Anki phone far out of reach.

What ended up happening?

I slept like a baby, I had a long dream and when I woke up my alarm hadn't gone off yet.

When it did, I was well-rested and ready to start the day.

I'm sitting here at 8:30 am writing this newsletter feeling great about myself.

The message I'm trying to get across is simple and something that applies to many areas of life. Systems and rules are effective and you should use them to your advantage. Your life isn't going to automatically fall into place, you need to create the environment to get your desired results.

Medical School Update 🩺

I just wrapped up my first 8-week block of medical school in Psychiatry. It's been a fun start to the year working in my favourite speciality. I met some incredible consultants and befriended almost all of them (I was such a teacher's pet in this block). I arrived early and stayed late most days and was an integral part of the team. Alhamdulillah. I can tell from my experience this is truly the speciality I will pursue in the future in sha Allah.

My next block is even better - it's where all the Muslims work and I'm super close to most of the consultants' families so it'll be like working with my favourite uncles. Since I've given the Khutbah in the med school a few times I get recognised by all the Muslim doctors. I've also got into a good routine with my Step Exam prep so I feel ready to do a medical block.

I recently had some videos in my area go viral so I've been getting recognised a lotttt more than usual in the university. I'm not sure if anyone subscribes here but I thought I'd just add, it's really heart warming when people come over to say something nice or just say hi. I really appreciate all of you and it gives me so much good energy hearing from you all.

Cool Stuff 👇🏽