Dermatologist Dr. Yousef Abo Zarad on Daily Life as a Content Creator
The Daily Scanner
I would really encourage professionals in any field to leverage social media to reach people, because you never know the impact you can have.” Dr. Yousef Abo Zarad known as Doctor Yousef, is a board-certified dermatologist in Germany. He is also skincare expert best known for his fun insightful skincare videos across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Kickoff: “I’m an early riser…I get up, I do a little exercises, do my skincare routine, have my cup of coffee, and I’m pretty much ready to go. My mornings, depending on the day, are going to consist of clinical consults.” Mapping his time: “Having a good awareness of how much time it actually takes to get things done makes it easier to say no to things that come your way. Because you can’t add more hours to the day. If you’ve taken the time to plan out what you need to do well in advance, there’s no way to take on things that aren’t going to feed into that.” Asking for help: “I think the key is to not just sit there and struggle in silence, but to reach out for help and to verbalize what you need. That’s something I struggled with when I was younger…You can’t just do things all alone. So when roadblocks come up, if you don’t reach out for help, then you’re just gonna get stuck.” Slaying his inbox: “I have become a lot more succinct with my email communication…Back in my younger years, I would have felt like I needed to be a lot more formal. And nowadays I’m fine with a simple ‘oh, that sounds great.’” Finding balance: “Scheduling and planning: That is really what can set you up for success. I spend a good chunk of time just sitting down with paper and pen, because I’m old school, and mapping out what my month is going to look like, [and] what kind of content I intend to [make]. Then I develop a strategy for creating that content, [and] how it’s going to intertwine with my clinical consults. And then I just execute that plan and it’s worked out well for me, but it requires you to be able to say no to a lot of things and prioritize what is important to you.” A good night’s rest: “I find that the foundation kind of crumbles when sleep is not prioritized. So if I’m traveling, I will say no to certain things if I know it’s my bedtime. Because if I’m sacrificing sleep I’m just not going to be able to perform; I’m not going to be able to help people.” Social media’s power: “The online world has really become a powerful tool for taking whatever expertise you might have and disseminating it to a larger audience. I would really encourage professionals in any field, medicine in particular, to leverage social media to reach people, because you never know the impact you can have…it really can help your career in ways you would never even really imagine.” Room for improvement: “For me, it’s the work-life balance piece that I think everybody is always trying to improve upon. I’m so passionate about what I’m doing that my work doesn’t feel like work, it feels like I’m having a good time…So, I do find that it’s actually hard to stop and touch base in real life with my friends and things like that. I’m always trying to get better at that.”—