Let’s meet you 

My name is Chimdiukwu but I’m popularly known as Chimfoun. I am a medical student (paused by ASUU) with just 10 months to become a doctor. I’m someone who loves having a lot of skills. My major skills are copywriting, content writing and managerial skills. I am passionate about growth and personal development, which is why I love helping people achieve their goals.

You said you’re popularly known, so should we take it that you are popular?

 I am popular in my field.

How did you come about the name Chimfoun?

 It’s a name I’ve had for more than half of my life. I wrote a children’s storybook when I was 9, so I wrote a letter to my parents calling for a family meeting because I wanted to publish my book. I didn’t really know what I was doing but I wrote letters a lot. In the meeting I told them about my book but I didn’t know how to go about publishing it. I needed a business name for my books so someone came about the name “Chimfoun ” since my name is Chimdi and my middle name is Foundation. The name has become a part of my personality since then. 

It seems you’ve had a knack for writing since you were quite young, so what inspired you to study medicine in school?

I’ve always loved to help people. Asides that, my dad is a medical doctor but I won’t say that was a big influence. We had a lot of people coming to meet him as a result of their health issues and I felt bad that they had these challenges, especially when we couldn’t really do much to help them medically anymore. Most people do not take their health seriously and I want to increase awareness that health is very important. Medicine is a field where it is very evident that you have helped someone and that is what I want to do.

How do you balance being a medical student, having a job and running your own brand? Studying medicine on its own is overwhelming so how do you manage to cope with the stress? Please share your experience and give us tips to learn from you

Ever since I got into school, I’ve never been that student who is 100% into academics but it never meant that my academics suffered at any point. I had extra curricular activities that I was involved in including school politics. In 2021 when I started working at Digital Abundance, I thought I could handle everything at once. Whenever people ask me this question, I don’t always know how to answer because I don’t think you can ever have the perfect balance. Medicine is a very unpredictable and jealous course in the sense that it would want to take from anything else that you are doing. So when I got the job, we weren’t doing a lot of tedious work but when we got to the stage where I was having classes from 8-5, I knew I was in for the real thing. I helped myself by having a daily routine. 

After my classes ended at 5, I would get home, unwind, eat and sleep from 6-7. When I wake up at 7, I would either work or read where need be. At 9, I go for night walks to clear my head. I study from 10pm till 1 or 2am, wake up at 7am and start my day all over again. I made sure I never procrastinated my tasks, if not something would suffer, and it would not be my job.

So how has your journey been so far at Digital Abundance?

There are good days and there are bad days. When I started, I was very enthusiastic to bring in my best. Before you achieve your goals, you will have moments where you’ll be overwhelmed. Nothing can frustrate me more than medical school did. So  I try not to let anything get to me. When problems come, I try to solve them.

What do you do after work hours?

If I was in school, I wouldn’t have after work hours because that’s when I am in school. Most times I do both of them at the same time. I know how to achieve balance between work and school. Now that ASUU is on strike, I have spare time on my hands to focus on my personal projects which include my personal newsletter and my brand called OneLad that also deals with writing. I also take time to improve my skills.

Sticking with a daily routine can get boring at a point, has that pattern ever bored you out? What made you so intentional about everything?

Medical school on its own is a routine, staying overnight on call and attending classes. So it was no longer difficult for me to modify my routine and make it work alongside medical school. I don’t fit medical school into my daily routine, I fix my daily routine into medical school.

Do you look forward to resumption? Have you been reading throughout this break ?

I love to be in the present. When school was in session, it took up most of my time. Now that I’m out of school, I’m focusing on other things. When resumption comes, I’ll welcome it but right now I’m focusing on what I can control.

One thing about you that will surprise people

I don’t think a lot of people realise that I’m more introverted. I used to consider myself an extrovert before, but now I love being in my space a lot. Anything that disturbs my peace can get a backlash from me, especially when I don’t allow it.

Stay in Nigeria or japa?

Hmmm….Anywhere I am, I know I will be comfortable enough to make a living.

One thing you believe in that most people would disagree with

It has to do with the skill market, especially now that we are all about learning skills and making money from them. I believe that you have to serve in a place where your skill is needed, expecting nothing in return so that you gain experience and know your worth in the market. I did more volunteering when I was starting off, and I think it is much better than internships.

The funniest thing you have postponed your tasks for as a remote worker

Sleep

If you had to choose between your medical profession and writing, which would you choose?

Currently, I discovered that one thing I know how to do well is talk to people. You can come to me with a problem and I’ll know how to talk to you till you feel like that problem is almost solved. One thing that helped me with that is my medical career. Medicine taught me how to analyse problems before you give a solution.and writing has helped me to express those solutions very well. Most times when I write, I write from a very human perspective. I have learnt how to merge two things that seem abstract, intertwine them and at the end of the day, it makes sense. 

Are you a lover or a fighter?

It depends on who meets me o. There are some people that I can show love to and there are people that I will fight. So generally, I’m not a preacher of love.

Do you play any sports or games?

I play basketball and golf.

As a team lead, has your role ever been frustrating? How do you manage team members?

YES ! The most difficult resource to manage on earth are human beings. We are dynamic and as a result of emotions, you might not know how to react. Having to manage a team is a very core aspect of the company because anything put out by the company revolves back to the content team. There are days when team members might not be available or might not deliver on time. In these cases, I always try to do those tasks but people tend to take advantage of that. Now, my delegation skills are much better and it has become less frustrating. ‍

When working, how do you balance your voice as an individual with that of the company?

When I came into the company, I somehow studied Chris and consumed a lot of materials from him. It was easy for me to learn from him and develop the brand of his voice because I have read a lot of things from him. DABA is fun, direct and educational and I love teaching so it was easy for me to adapt into that voice.

Have you ever struggled with presenting content in the voice of the brand?

With proper research, I believe you will always blend in with the voice of the brand. I struggled with my time when I started but now I can work under pressure even though it’s not healthy. It takes me an hour to completely focus and write a blog post.

‍As a content lead, what do you have to say about your team members’ approach to work?

It is above average but they can improve in their delivery time

If you’re not a medical doctor or a writer, what would you be?

I would be in the tech field.

What is the best thing about working at Digital Abundance 

That has to be my growth. I have seen changes from when I’ve started till now — so my self growth has been significant.

You seem to be the person that has a lot of tasks to do everyday. Give us advice on how you manage your time

You people are making me feel old with all these questions you are asking me (laughs). I believe that you cannot manage what you don’t measure. If I’m not able to do that, I will get it wrong. If school resumes now, I will use the first one week to measure my time. I journal my day and know the activities I do every single day along with the time I do them. It all boils down to creating a routine that works for you.

Do you have any last advice for us at DABA

Nobody should skip processes. Everyone should know the existing process and follow it so you don’t overwhelm yourself. We should work as a team for the growth of Digital Abundance.