For 5 years, I kept telling myself this one lie that had kept me in my shell, until I told myself that I’ve had enough.

I’ve always been one to give excuses, and trust me they were endless…

“When I’m done with this course, I’ll start,” “When I finish MLS internship, I’ll start,” “After MB, I’ll start,” “When I get a new phone/PC, I’ll start,”

To be honest, even after I got all these things, I never really started, I still found a way to tell myself that I had no extra time and medicine was too time consuming.

Don’t get me wrong buddy, medicine is actually time consuming. Jokes apart, I’ll fill you in on a typical day in my life as a med student.

We usually have a morning class by 8-10 AM, ward rounds by 10-1 PM, afternoon classes by 1:30-4:30 PM.

That’s not all. If you’re on call, you’ll go back to the ward or theatre and when you’ll leave depends on when they’re done. Sometimes I return home by 10 PM.

Now tell me…

What extra time do I have to do the other things I love, rest, and also fulfill my dreams of building one of the biggest marketing brands in the world?

Literally, there’s no time and that’s why it was so easy to tell myself that. The day my brain had a detour was when I saw my course-mate do the exact same thing I wanted to do and by then, she already had years of experience from trying, while I was sulking and making excuses. She ended up being my mentor 😂

When I asked her how she did it. She said something I’ll never forget. “There’s always time for what you consider very important, and you should be very disciplined about what you give time for.”

I was faced with the hardest truth; I was my own stumbling block, not even medicine.

I decided to show up online no matter how hard it was and I had to learn how to prioritize my time.

Now, I still find time to work for brands, still study medicine, even build a marketing community here (we are 640+ now 🎉)

You’re a huge part of this community and I’m so glad to have you here, yes YOU…

I’ll show you the 5 things that helped me stay dangerously consistent in building an online brand while on a journey to becoming a medical doctor.

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The 5 Things I Did That Helped Me Stay Consistent

1. I stopped deciding in the moment and started deciding at once.

Most people will tell you “just make out time to post” without telling you that deciding what to post is where the real struggle is.

On days where you’ve already made 100 decisions (what to eat, what to study, what to prioritize, etc.,) your brain wouldn’t be having it, when you put it up to another task.

This extra decision is what kills your ability to show up. That’s decision fatigue disguised as lack of time.

I removed the decision from the hard days completely. Once a week, usually on Sundays, I sit down and decide everything at once.

These includes; My article for the week, my notes for the week, and also research on strategies that’ll help me upscale.

I also read and study copywriting and marketing books, tutorials, etc., to keep my brain busy.

Before the busy week days starts, I already have my posts figured out and my notes scheduled.

This shift helped me to stop making the same decisions daily and took a whole lot of pressure off of me.

You should try this out, because if you’re deciding what to post the same day you’re posting it, you’ve built a system that depends on you having energy you won’t reliably have.

2. I built a floor, not a ceiling.

I used to think being consistent meant showing up when my strengths were skyrocketing and everything was going on smoothly.

This belief is one of the biggest reason a lot of people stay inconsistent. On days when your strength is low, you might not be in the mood, hence the zeal to show up diminishes.

You’ll end up skipping a day, which becomes two, and then you tag yourself to be “I guess I’m just not a consistent person.”

I stopped designing for my best days and started designing for my worst days. I thought of the smallest or low effort things I could do that could still count as showing up.

Sometimes it was just a three-sentence note, a restack, a quick check on my community, or a 30-minute writing.

It wasn’t impressive and it wasn’t supposed to be, it’s supposed to be possible, and that’s what kept me in check.

I’ll leave this here, consistency isn’t about intensity, it’s about showing up in the smallest ways even on days when momentum dies or when we just don’t feel like it.

Try to lower the bar for your to-do list on those days, not because you’re lazy, but because, low effort is better than no effort and the guilt that comes with being inconsistent.

3. I stole time that was already wasted.

I don’t have a secret extra hour in my day; it’s still the same 24 hours you have. What I have is dead time (the 30 minutes waiting for the lecturer, the 15 minutes bus ride, the cancelled classes, or even meetings, etc.)

That time was already budgeted for and spent; I just ended up changing what it was spent on.

A lot of people do skip this part, because it sounds too small to even matter; they subconsciously use that time for something unproductive, such as; doom-scrolling on social media, chitchatting, or simply just staring at things till they exhausted the time.

You have to stop looking for new time and start noticing the time you already spend on nothing and reschedule task for it.

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4. I made my content easy to repurpose before I even wrote it.

Back then, I used to write everything from scratch every single time. It was either a new idea, a new draft, a new structure, for every post.

Apart from slowing me down, it was really exhausting in a way that has nothing to with actual time and everything to do with starting from zero.

Now, I build with repurposing in mind. A paragraph from a post could turn into a new note. A note that does well could turn into a hook for another post.

Also, an idea that comes to mind can be restructured into three different formats without me having to think of three different ideas.

This made it more easier to be consistent as I stopped treating every single post as a brand new task.

Try building content that has more than one use. Before you finish a piece, ask yourself, “What else can this become?” On an exhausted day, you’ll be grateful for this reusable content.

5. I let people see the real mess, not just the highlight scenes.

It took me a while to get used to this. For awhile, I thought the version of myself worth posting was the cool one. The one with something valuable and polished to say every time.

That version of me only shows up on good days and good days are not always guaranteed.

If that’s the only version allowed to show up, then consistency would never be possible for me, I would have given up months ago.

What kept me going was giving myself the permission to post the tired, frustrated, and confused version of me also. The behind-schedule version of “I almost didn’t make time for this today, but here I am anyway.”

This honesty didn’t cost me too much, in fact, a lot of people related to it and made them stay. No one trusts a too perfect or too-good-to-be story.

People trust you when you put up the version of you that have survived the hard times, yet you kept going. That kind of consistency is what they picture for themselves.

You should note that consistency dies under the pressure to always show up perfectly, but lasts when you allow yourself to be human and being human is sustainable because you are.

Here’s the real proof:

None of these five things needed extra time, they just required fewer decisions, a lower pressure, use of dead time, smarter content structure, and the permission to be human.

If I can do this while studying one of the most time-consuming and challenging courses in the world, then, “I don’t have time” was never really about time, it was about the absence of a system that allows you create the time to achieve your goals.

So here’s a question for you: Which one of these 5 things are you missing right now?

Drop it Here

P.S. Don’t forget to also have fun, live, and let live. I also find the time to connect with people, visit families, and also enjoy my hobbies.

I believe that you are capable of living the life on your vision board. Create a system that saves your brain from the mental torture of deciding everyday, and you’ll eventually find the time you need to build your life.

I’m rooting for you… ❤️

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About the Author:

Hi bestie 👋

I’m Ruth, the creative mind behind Rue Writes to Convert. Two years ago, I ditched my 9-5 to gain both financial freedom and explore life on my own terms.

As a copywriter and marketing strategist, I built this space to help you grow your business using words and strategic content that connects and converts while sharing every step of this journey with you.

I’m so glad you’re part of this community ❤️

Let’s keep in touch:

📧 Need help with conversion or any other marketing-related issues? Reach me via ruthnche115@gmail.com

📞 In need of strategy, clarity, and positioning to help you upscale? Book a 30 minutes clarity call with me.

🔗 On LinkedIn? Let’s vibe…

💬 Ask me anything, I’ll respond ASAP

Thanks for reading!

Enjoyed it? Feel free to share it.

Share

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By Ruth Odey — Join a community that converts.

Practical copy lessons and marketing tips that connects, converts, and help you live life on your own terms.

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You may not know this about me… but I’m coming clean today and I’ll tell you something about me most people don’t know about.

I’m a 500L medical student in the University of Calabar, who is also building an online business.

I came across Substack last year December, and this year, I decided to build my brand here and see where it takes me.

We all know how medicine is a jealous lover, who wants all the attention it can get. Hence combining both isn’t a walk in the park.

So yeah,

I’m taking you on an actual day in my life, so you get to see the not-so rosy and raw-unfiltered side of this journey.

Today’s Monday, let’s not forget that!

For two weeks I’ve been in Paediatrics department and currently I was posted to the Special Care Baby Unit where we deal with mainly newborns who are are severely sick or premature babies.

So, today I woke up around 5:30 AM after snoozing my alarm for like 30 minutes.

I read my devotional and prayed obviously because that’s what keeps me going for the day (I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me 🤩)

I had a quick home Pilates session by Lily Sabri (because your gurl gonna hit that summer bodddy 😩)

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Had a very light breakfast and I’m off to school. Classes usually start by 8:30 AM and everyone has to be seated before the lecturer comes in.

The morning lecture for today was Acute Glomerulonephritis. It’s a sudden onset of inflammation to the glomeruli(filtering structures) of the kidneys, usually due to post streptococcal infections.

I’ll seize to bore you of all the details 😩

Immediately after the morning class, I headed to the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) for clinical postings. Here, we do ward rounds, run clinics, etc.

On the first day of our posting we were all assigned patients that we have to clerk, manage, and follow up.

My patient is a preterm baby boy who was admitted on account of preterm low birth weight (1.57kg) at 32 gestational weeks.

His mother delivered before term (37-40 weeks) on account of severe preeclampsia (240/120 mmHg) and had to undergo an emergency lower segment caesarean section.

Hence, he was in an incubator which provided a thermo-neutral environment to aid his survival.

Here, he was given intravenous antibiotics like ceftriaxone, genticine, meropenem due to neonatal sepsis as they are more prone to it.

IV fluid of 90mls 10% dextrose water was given as he couldn’t suckle his mother’s milk at the moment.

Caffeine citrate was given to prevent apnea of prematurity (stimulates the CNS to send signals to the lungs, so it doesn’t forget to breathe).

Today, I had to take note of the vitals, weight, temperature, medications, fluids, and meals given to the baby and report to my professor.

He is currently doing better and his general health has improved.

This session lasted from 10 AM till 1 PM. After I had signed my logbook for attendance, I headed for my afternoon lectures, which was scheduled for 1:30 PM.

We had two, each lasting for about 1hr 30 minutes. The topics of the lecture were: Sickle Cell Diseases and Sickle Cell Anaemia.

The one thing I dislike about this unit is the call sessions. You literally have to attend calls every day for the 2 week duration.

Call is from 5pm to 7pm. By now I was already itching to go home.

I work from home as a copywriter/marketing strategist for a travel agency. My current task is to write the website copy as we are about expanding worldwide.

My meeting with the CEO that day was scheduled for 7:30 PM. We met to discuss the sections for our website copy and category travels/trips.

At 8:30 PM, I quickly refreshed and ordered some food because the last thing on my mind was cooking at that instant.

I knew that sleep wasn’t far from me anymore and I had to just set my alarm for 3 hours of sleep.

Waking up at 11:00 PM, I went over my to-do list for the day and I realized I need to connect with my people on Substack.

So, my goal each day is to do the following:

• Post about 10 notes a day

• Chat with my community on the subscribers chat

• DM up 5 Subscribers

• Engage in people’s notes and posts

• Write for 2 hours (Substack posts)

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If you’re building an online business, you need to communicate with people and build a relationship with your audience in order to gain their trust.

They need to know you personally. If your audience doesn’t like you; they won’t buy from you.

Buddy, let’s face the raw reality…

I know what might be running through your mind right now, having read till this point.

You might be thinking “Wow, she got it altogether” “She’s a strong girl” “She’s so good at multitasking.”

But I’ll tell you for sure,

This is just one out of the many days where I kept it cool. I’ve been where I’ve cried my eyes out because I’m exhausted, tired, and uncertain about this whole journey.

There were times where I’ve doubted myself, where I’ve overthought things, where I almost gave up because I felt I couldn’t do it.

Even up till now, I feel that way sometimes, but I’ve learnt throughout this process that it gets better if you stay long enough to see it work.

I keep whispering to myself that it’s either a WIN or a WIN! I can do it.

I’ll also tell you what I tell myself, “You can be whatever the h*ll you want to be,” “Nothing can stop you,” “You are talented, gorgeous, creative, and strong…”

Now, act like it ❤️

And if you’re like me, juggling two or more things, with an unquenchable desire to see yourself bloom at all…

Just know that you’re not alone and I’m with you every step of your journey.

I’ll keep on encouraging you and I’ll share marketing ideas and strategies that are easy to implement so you can effectively balance building an online business and your other passions.

P.S. One thing I’ll love you to always do is not to be too hard on yourself and give yourself grace.

I’m here to see it all work out for you in the end, cos I know it will.

Till my next session, talk to you soon…

Lots of love,

Rue 🫂❤️

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About the Author:

Hi bestie 👋

I’m Ruth, the creative mind behind Rue Writes to Convert. Two years ago, I ditched my 9-5 to gain both financial freedom and explore life on my own terms.

As a copywriter and marketing strategist, I built this space to help you grow your business using words and strategic content that connects and converts while sharing every step of this journey with you.

I’m so glad you’re part of this community ❤️

Let’s keep in touch:

📧 Need help with conversion or any other marketing-related issues? Reach me via ruthnche115@gmail.com

📞 In need of strategy, clarity, and positioning to help you upscale? Book a 30 minutes clarity call with me.

🔗 On LinkedIn? Let’s vibe…

💬 Ask me anything, I’ll respond ASAP

Thanks for reading!

Enjoyed it? Feel free to share it.

Share

Subscribe to Rue Writes to Convert

By Ruth Odey — Join a community that converts.

Practical copy lessons and marketing tips that connects, converts, and help you live life on your own terms.

Subscribe to Rue Writes to Convert