Hey doc, so I am onboarding a new virtual assistant and I thought about you because I started falling into a trap that I tell people not to fall into, that I tell my clients not to fall into. So let me back up a bit. So I hired a new virtual assistant and And I usually do pretty extensive onboarding.
I think it is essential for anybody that you are going to have helping you in any kind of capacity, whether it's with your children, your business. your clinic, they need to be able to know what you want, what you expect, how to do things before you can just, like, throw them in the wind. You know, things that we do not have, right?
As residents, as new attendings, we may have been just thrown into the fire. That's really not the best way to onboard somebody. Just imagine how it was for you. Did you enjoy that feeling of not knowing what you were doing? And just, like, going out there and, fending for yourself.
Okay, deuces. Bye. You know, it's There's one way of learning and gaining experience, but there are better ways, and I really believe in onboarding in a very comprehensive, hand holding way. So that way, when you let go, you can truly let go. That doesn't mean abdicate. It doesn't mean that you tell somebody, do this thing, and then you never check in again, never follow up with them, none of that.
Once you delegate, you let go of that task, you truly let go of it, and it is out of your mental space until it's time for a quick check in, make sure everything is done, and then out of your mental space again. So, it is one of the, uh, points that I stress with onboarding a nanny. It's what I do with onboarding my au pairs.
I go through this very extensive process because I don't want anybody to say I didn't know and I don't want to myself get annoyed that they didn't know how exactly to do things but then I never told them, right? So you can't really have it both ways. So I have a new virtual assistant and I am onboarding her and The reason that onboarding can also be less than desirable is because it takes time.
Like the way that I onboard, I write out a lot of instructions, I record videos, you know, I meet with my virtual assistant every single day to really make sure that she feels supported and that she feels like I'm there to answer questions, that she can ask questions. And Just to have her operate at her highest level, even though she is still learning.
All of that takes a long time. So, I was typing up my newsletter that I know you're going to read on Monday. And, I'm training her to take it over completely. So she did her own version at first with the help of AI. Cause you know, we outsource as much as possible and I was editing it because it's AI and it's terrible.
It sounded nothing like me. So I just ended up rewriting the whole thing. , but that's beside the point. So she did her part. I edited it and I was just like. Let me just go schedule it to go out and I had it in the email system. I was doing everything. I was like, wait, hold on. Even though this is going to be so much faster for me to do it myself, am I giving her the opportunity to learn so that in the end she ends up helping me?
Because that's the point, right? It's not just so she learns how to put an email in a CRM and send it out to my email list. It's so that. I don't have to do it in the future. And if I just do it real quick right now, she's not going to know, she's not going to have practice and then it still falls on me.
So I had to delete the entire thing and go in my task manager and create a task. See, schedule this newsletter for Monday, read the edits that I put into the AI so it doesn't sound. , nothing like me, and let me know when you've done everything so I can review it. All these extra steps, right, so it was, it was tough for me to make that decision because I was just like, I could be done with this in five seconds.
But I know in the end, putting in this little bit of effort now is going to help me not have to put in the effort in the future. at one point I am going to not even think about sending out my newsletter. I will write the content, she will deal with it, and somebody will tell me about the newsletter that they read.
I was like, Oh, I forgot about that because I didn't have to deal with it. That is the goal. And that's why putting in all of this effort now is worth it. So now to you, doc, when you have help, when you actually say yes to the support, whether it is from a nanny, Whether it is from an au pair, whether it is from an MA, a scribe, whatever it is.
Are you going to put in the effort to train this person, to let them know what you want done, how you want it done, to check in with them, to make sure they feel supported, to check their work, not in a micromanagey way. Just in a, I'm making sure that you're doing this right type of way, being open with them, welcoming, being a good teacher, being a good attending.
Are you going to do that? Because it is going to make your life so much easier in the end. Just give it a little extra time and energy in the beginning so that you can relax and enjoy the rest of your time when whatever that task is, is off your plate. So, that is my challenge to you, to put all of your effort into the onboarding of whoever it is in your life that is supporting you through motherhood.
and enjoy the benefits later on. And so I hope this was helpful to you. Let me know if you have any questions about onboarding and training. This is what I do. It is actually one of my favorite things is to help people get their village to support them and do it in a long lasting way that will just free up so much time and mental energy for them.
So shoot me a text in the little text box on the podcast platform, send me an email at coach OBGYN. com or go through my website, drtoyacoaching. com. And if you're like, I need extra help, I got you. Schedule a free coaching call and we can go through how you can. Give it a little bit of effort in the beginning and get so much off of your plate so that you can focus on the main thing.
Your health, your recovery, your happiness, and the happiness and health of everybody that you take care of, everybody that you love. Right. So share this episode with another doc who needs to hear this. Who's having trouble with their nanny, with their au pair, with their MAs, share it with them, leave us a five star review on Apple podcasts, leave us a five star rating everywhere else.
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