And y’all, I have been maintaining the ultimate job—a medical student turned resident physician. I promise you there’s nothing like it. For those who are new to the SAC community, welcome! I started my blog and social media presence in medical school when I was in desperate need of a creative outlet. To see where I am now makes me proud. Maintaining my corner of the internet all the while studying for exams, working long hours, answering patient MyChart messages, and becoming a whole doctor is not easy…but I absolutely love it.
So many have asked how I’m able to maintain a full-time job and still create content consistently. I am breaking it down for you in this post. For those who want to keep a day job and find success in influencing, keep reading along.
I was raised to be a hard worker. Y’all, my parents were not playing with me or my brothers. That really is the crux of our success. Dad created the rule and Mom upheld it as he worked all his jobs: No television until 7pm each day. After school, we were to engage in our various clubs and activities and, most importantly, practice our instrument and our sport. All four of us had to have both. I played piano and tennis. We had to spend our afternoons doing that. We were still expected to also uphold academic excellence, so after we practiced, we studied. As a result, there was essentially no tv during weekdays or maybe an hour or so of free time each day. And the weekends? Oh you better not be lazing around the house all day. My Dad worked so hard. My Mom sacrificed so much. We were not allowed to be inside just soaking up air conditioning. We were definitely that 90s/early 2000s “Go outside and play” household. If tablets had existed back then, Dad would have ensured they never saw the light of day. Ha! He always said, “I want you all to be doers. Why would you spend all day watching others do when you yourself can do?” He would always tell us not to spend time ogling others and being super impressed by them because we can accomplish greatness too. And during the summer?? Forget about it. Dad would come home for his lunch break different times each day just to ensure we were doing what we were supposed to and the tv was OFF. It was pure madness when we heard that door open lol!! These lessons truly transcended the test of time and I just couldn’t be more grateful for them. These lessons established my mindset, work ethic, and time management. Get into it. I’ve had a solid work ethic and time management skills since I was 9 years old. I am able to accomplish so much in a day because I am used to putting in work. I am used to meeting the mark. I am used to squeezing the most out of an hour. And I am used to believing I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. My parents have always spoken highly of us and breathed life into us. They truly made me feel I can do and be anything. Also with this upbringing, I believe in rest, but I do not rely on it. I do not luxuriate in it. Being productive was a requirement growing up and now it’s truly second nature. THAT is how I maintain the long hours and demands of a full-time job and life as a content creator.
I’m incredibly organized. My email address is plain as day in my IG bio and I do intend for people to use it. I ensured I have my notifications on. I check my email multiple times per day to ensure I do not miss any communications from brands. When I’m invited to events, I plug the info immediately into my Reminders app. I create a separate Google Drive folder to house content for each brand collab. I have a spreadsheet to keep track of brand deals. The spreadsheet houses information like due dates for content submission, content posting, and payment. I use QuickBooks to manage my business funds. I update the ledger consistently. I keep a wish list on Pinterest with links to pieces I want to purchase and essentially plan future looks there. I shoot at least once per month with my photographer. I use the Caption Writer app to plan captions in advance and constantly whip out my phone to immediately write my thoughts when I have a story I want to tell. I use my 1-2 days off per week to write additional captions, film videos in my apartment, shoot with my photographer, write blog posts, write newsletters, post to shop.LTK (I can schedule my posts!), and determine which content to publish for the week. I try my best to have all my content lined up for the week so all I have to do is copy the caption/hashtags, head to social media, and post. Streamlining my content in this way makes it so easy for me to post during a busy day at clinic or in the hospital. It takes all of 5 minutes of my time and then I can get back to my day job. Being organized really does help me do what must be done. To recap, here are the apps and systems I love for my business:
- G Suite Email
- Google Drive
- Reminders App
- Excel Spreadsheet
- QuickBooks
- Caption Writer App
- Preview App
- Flo Desk
I incorporate my full-time job into my content creation. You don’t have to keep them separate, y’all. Surgery AND The City, m’kay?! In a sea of content creators, part of what makes me interesting and set apart is the fact that I am both a medical doctor and a fashion girl–not your average combination. I can speak on so many things from a perspective of expertise. I definitely ensure my content reflects that. When I first started my blog, I in no way intended to discuss so much of my medical career. In fact, I was trying to establish a space where I could get away from it. The more I shared about my journey, the more my audience grew. I’m so glad I did that. I love the depth and layering of it all. Colorful fashion, tips for students, women’s health, city guides and recommendations. Those are my four main pillars and I work them well. In allowing my full-time job to be apart of my storytelling, I have greater ease with content creation. It’s a little less work and more authentic because I am literally cluing y’all in on what I truly do on the daily. Did y’all see that story about my patient who knew Bumpy Johnson? That’s something that happened at work and a lot of y’all were really interested. I can share my journey as a medical doctor, provide tips on how students can improve test-taking, and tell y’all where to find my favorite colorful scrubs all in one breath! That’s interesting. That’s dynamic. That’s authentic. I love that for me and so do the brands!
That’s it in a nutshell. You can do both, y’all. You can have a full-time job and be a successful content creator. It’s completely doable. It’s also really nice to have:
- Solid health insurance
- Funds to throw at your content creation (because there are costs)
- Steady income for slower months
Win, Win, Win. It’s been such a pleasure to be on this wild ride. From ducking into hallway stairwells to post content during rounds to hiding my phone from Attendings so I could quickly select the perfect tune for my reel. At each heavy-hitting stage of my medical career, SAC has been right there with me. I look forward to seeing how much further we’ll go and grow at the Attending stage. I have so many plans, y’all, and I’m not letting up. We are just getting started and with this trajectory from med student to resident physician to Attending, SAC is about to see a rapid increase in funding. It’s about to be more fashions, more creativity, more storytelling…and more Life!
xx,
Photos by Sweetie Mensah
LOL…..not “soaking up the air conditioning!” 🤣😂🤣😂
Author
LOL!! Yes!😂😂😂