The Art of balancing projects and side hustles alongside Medicine.
Oyindamola Adeniyi, a 4th year Medical student, and a recipient of the Diana Award 2023 shares her tried and tested tips on how she masterfully balances the many hats she wears.
"How do you balance everything?" is a question frequently asked, and for good reason! As a medical student, social entrepreneur, mentor, and volunteer, I have embarked on the journey of honing the skill of managing multiple projects simultaneously—a journey that is still ongoing. Within the realm of medicine, where the workload is demanding and stress levels run high, it can often feel like there is little room for anything beyond the confines of the profession. Over time, I have discovered that by diligently applying specific strategies, we can empower ourselves to assume various roles and develop layers of identity that go beyond the stethoscope.
Oyindamola Adeniyi is a 4th year medical student, mentor, strategic communications officer at MelaninMedics, co-founder of the Black Excellence Network and a worthy recipient of the Diana Award this year.
Prioritisation and goal setting
Setting priorities and clear goals is integral to ensuring that you can maintain consistency in your projects as this will give you a well-defined roadmap that guides your decisions daily. When it comes to identifying priorities, you must be able to self-reflect and understand which tasks align most closely with your short-term and long-term vision. This will help you to determine the importance of different tasks and priorities. A strategy I find effective involves outlining my monthly priorities based on my yearly goals and subsequently breaking them down into weekly targets. Each morning, I dedicate approximately 10-15 minutes to reviewing these designated weekly priorities. From there, I select my top three priorities for the day by asking myself, "What are 3 things I can achieve that would make today a good and productive day?" It's important to remember to be realistic with these daily priorities. For instance, on weekdays following a full day of placement, I allocate less time-consuming tasks, reserving the more demanding tasks for weekends when I have more time and brain power to dedicate to them.
Your priorities will inevitably align with the goals that you have set for yourself, meaning that you must set clear and specific goals within your projects, personal life, and medical journey. Note that changing seasons of life come with changing priorities which means that during the thick of exam season, my responsibilities pertaining to my external projects would be less of an immediate priority whereas outside of exam season, I would have more liberty to prioritise non-medical commitments. An effective goal-setting and prioritisation method would mean that you will have prepared for these time-pressured seasons beforehand to ensure that your projects can still run smoothly with your reduced presence.
Utilise systems
A fundamental principle which comes with balancing projects alongside medicine is the establishment of systems! Systems will allow you to create rhythms of working that will reduce the risk of burnout and reduce the need for relying on willpower regularly. Making use of the 'time blocking' technique will ensure that throughout your schedule there is space for both your work, study or your projects. For example, take a look at your timetable or working rota and identify gaps whereby you can 'block out' and dedicate yourself to working on your projects and carrying out tasks such as team meetings, project planning or reviewing key performance indicators or KPIs. When considering time blocking and the creation of a working schedule, it is also useful to evaluate how realistic your plans are – ensure that you are not overloading yourself with responsibilities as this will inevitably lead to one falling short and becoming overwhelmed over time.
Automation and software can be the key to unlocking a seamless system which equips you to achieve consistency both within and beyond the realm of medicine. My personal favourites are 'Notion' and 'Todoist'. Within my Notion dashboard, I have dedicated sections for various aspects of my involvement with The Black Excellence Network, my responsibilities at Melanin Medics, mentee tracking, habit tracking, timetables encompassing university-specific tasks and meetings, as well as sections dedicated to monitoring my yearly goals and reflections. While this may appear extensive, learning how to use online software such as Notion can revolutionise how you organise your time and track your progress. Note – check out https://www.madebymide.com/mbmshop for some excellent Notion templates to help you get started! Mobile-friendly apps such as 'Todoist' are especially helpful to give you regular time-sensitive updates on your duties. Systems are important for helping you take the 'thinking out of the doing' and thus make the art of balancing multiple things less laborious.
Delegation
Whether you are a volunteer, company director, content creator or public speaker, alongside your medical career there will be periods whereby there is a lack of available time coupled with increasing urgency to complete tasks which means delegation is required. Delegation will support you in working more effectively with your team and further empower your team to develop their skillset further. When looking into when to delegate, consider whether there is someone on your team who can, with good explanation and support, be given the task to complete well – if the answer is yes then this could mean that it is a good opportunity to delegate. Delegation can also be concurrent with the skill of knowing when to simply say no to a new endeavour or project. When deciding whether to take on a new project I would consider some of the following:
What unique value can I bring to this new opportunity, and am I already providing a similar contribution elsewhere?
Will I be able to commit to this endeavour wholeheartedly without jeopardising the quality of my current work and ongoing projects?
Do I genuinely believe that my involvement in this project will yield a significant positive impact, either by making a meaningful difference in people's lives or by contributing to a social cause?
When I have considered these important questions, I can make a more informed decision as to whether to accept new projects amid my existing work.
With all things considered, we must ensure that we look after ourselves and put our mental well-being above all things – remember that by investing time to rejuvenate your spirit, you enable yourself to give generously from a place of abundance. Ultimately, wearing multiple different hats alongside medicine is no easy feat – it requires discipline, structure, and a clear understanding of your 'personal why'. According to James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, "...the person who builds better habits gets better results. It's not the outcomes. It's the inputs." A practical framework and consistent effort will enable you to diligently manage your work, studies, and projects while avoiding excessive stress and burnout.
With these elements, alongside the guidance provided above, one can embark on the journey of mastering the balance between external projects or side hustles and a thriving medical career.