Hey y’all 👋🏼 I hope you’ve been enjoying Sana’s Notes so far, if there is anything you’d like to hear about from me, just hit the Reply button and let me know! I hope you enjoy this week’s catch-up.

— Sana Tabassum

🍎 food for thought

hey besties! I hope you’re all having an energising week so far. In this newsletter I wanted to talk a bit about imposter syndrome. Over the past couple of days I’ve been re-evaluating my presence in the digital space and the thin line between my personal brand and my ‘brand’. I often get asked whether I have a company or if there’s an entire team behind what I do. (No to both by the way). 4 years is a good chunk of time as a creator and as such, I’ve seen many phases of Instagram’s growth - some good - and some, not so good.

Initially, I aimed to keep the ‘brand’ side of things as simple as possible, to reduce friction but also to prioritise content rather than aesthetic. However, I quickly realised the fast-paced nature of social media and that inviting change wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. I went through countless of ‘re-brands’ throught these years and went along with whichever trend felt right.

Here’s where the imposter syndrome kicks in. I’ve been pretty good at creating content in this very selective niche and I’ve seen my fair share of creators come and go. Some have even surpassed me (in terms of statistical figures) and others have had a brilliant sense of identity from the get-go.

But at a glance of my page this past week, it felt a little confused. I dropped my chequerboard style and have been playing with fonts and captions for what seems like months. The content itself isn’t bad, it’s more so how it’s packaged that concerns me. I guess in some small way, it feels like the way my brand is perceived reflects back on my own expertise or authority in this space and I don’t want to be stuck in the same place I was when I first started.

What I’ve learned 👇🏼

• Moments of facing imposter syndrome are unavoidable. But they are also not impossible to overcome. I’m mid-way through this new re-brand and I’m feeling a lot better already. Excited even.

• There’s no pleasing the algorithm. I think that’s just a matter of fact now and to be honest, I’m itching to take my audience offline and connect with students in person instead.

• A little competitiveness can be heathly. Hear me out, I feel like as long as you’re not being salty or jealous, getting inspired to work harder on your own stuff after seeing someone else’s work isn’t such a bad thing.

🍗 content nuggets

This week YouTube has been particularly dry (recommendations very welcome!!). I’ve been watching my fair share of movies lately though, especially classic rom-coms like 27 Dresses and Knight and Day. I also came across this video about the changing work culture. I find myself watching more of these explainer / insider videos which could be a nice format to experiment with for my own channel as I have been slacking a little on that part.

I think my main take-away was the three qualities she mentions; adaptability, uniqueness and diversification which will ultimately help you to stay relevant in any job market or go off and do your own thing. Same with building a personal brand which I think is the true key to making this entire system work.

🌶️ spicy tips

I’ve been learning SO much at my new job despite it being a freelance gig where I’m only working 3 days a week. Obviously each architecture practice has its own ways of doing things but the general systems and SOP’s are pretty much standard throughout. That’s why I think it’s so valuable to adopt some of these systems whilst you’re a student because it not only benefits your work but also prepares you for a transition.

Take organising files for example. The typical thing students do is group all of their project work into one big file and call it a day. Then when they desparately need to print that final drawing, they’re stuck checking a bunch of files named ‘final’.

Instead, you can set up your own personal version of a QMS (quality management system) by just sorting your files based on type and establishing a labelling template. It’s really not that difficult but if you are struggling or don’t know where to begin, you can download my pre-made template Desktop Zero. Use the code ‘ZERO’ at checkout to get it for free 😉 (first 25 people only!!).

— Sana x