🎯 Being Consistent Is Tough.

Being consistent isn’t easy. I have sometimes struggled with various things, such as writing this newsletter and sending it out on time or posting content on LinkedIn. I think, particularly as a medical student, consistency is a bigger issue because doctors as a whole are considered to be ‘perfectionists’ to an extent.

Having spoken to other creators who are just starting out or looking to follow a similar path have similar concerns regarding consistency. They are all concerned that the quality or standard of their content or work will not match their own expectations or expectations of their audience because of what they have produced previously.

And it is genuinely hard to show up every day, every week and give your task or project 100%.

So, how do you stay consistent?

Well, the easiest hack I have found is accepting that I will sometimes produce lower quality work.

This is easier said than done, but it’s the honest truth.

Sometimes, like this week, why am I writing the newsletter before I am about to hit send?

I reflect on why I am writing the newsletter edition this late. Was it genuinely my fault with mismanaging time, or was it because of the sequence of events this week?

Well, for this week, I just didn’t have a chance. I moved to London late on Friday and then focused on unpacking and mingling, which led to the start of my new course yesterday. And both days this week have been an 8 am to 6 pm finish. So, overall, extremely busy.

But the best part? I am still here writing this newsletter because:

1. I love writing this every week. It is single-handedly the best 3-5 hours of my week, which I truly dedicate to myself.

2. I know there’s a lot of you who read this every week.

3. I know consistency is important.

So, yes, this newsletter might not be one of my best ones to date, but I am extremely proud that I have managed to get to the desk, write, edit and send it off to all of you.

And I think we all need to realise that lowering the bar and having lower expectations of yourself is okay.

Consistency means that when you have 20% in your tank, and you give your 20%, you have still given your 100%.

Consistency does not have to mean that you need to give 100% of your tank all the time.

You can’t constantly worry about quality; with more reps, your baseline standard will increase anyway. So even when you are giving 20% energy, your work may equate to 50% or more in real terms.

A way my friend put it to me earlier this week in the gym is:

‘Even if someone shows up to the gym every day for the next 3 years and does terrible workouts, they will still get somewhere. They will build some muscle, and they will develop some technique. It’s all about consistency and reps.’

So, if you are reading this and if you are faltering or you think you can’t keep producing the same level of content or work, etc., do the following:

• Lower the bar for yourself

• Take the stress out of your work

• Get your reps in and keep going

We are all bound to fail or mess up; it will happen at one point or another, and none of us are perfect. The best we can do is keep showing up daily and stack the odds in our favour.

Hope that helps, and I would love to have a chat with anyone who is going through this phase and needs some motivation or accountability or is potentially facing burnout - just hit reply.