I am a firm believer that while technology and social media provide ways for us to live better lives, connect with people on an easier and more consistent basis and truly accomplish more than we ever have before. But I’m not blind to the fact that you really can have too much of a good thing.
Social Media as a Business Tool
Social media is a big part of my business. When I’m not freelance writing, I provide marketing consulting and in today’s day and age a lot of that surrounds social media. Not only that, but I run a fashion blog and a paranormal podcast—so, at the end of the day, it’s safe to say that I spend a lot of time on social media.
But it’s become increasingly evident to me that as much as I think I enjoy being on social media, I waste a lot of time on it and I end up spending a ton of time regretting decisions or thinking I have to change something to compete.
So, while social media is a truly important business tool, it’s not great for me personally. It’s so easy to slip in and out of reality with the all-consuming allure of the digital social world. In the end, it’s become increasingly clear that social media has to stay a mainly social tool.
Checking Out on a Regular Basis
Over the past few months, I’ve been taking steps to regularly check out of social media for longer periods of time. I try to limit each social media interaction to a shortened period of time, depending on what I’m working on.
For example, I use Facebook a lot in the morning for business but after a certain time (usually around 1 pm) I shut the window until the evening when I check messages to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
Likewise, I only use Instagram for business—my personal account has been set to private and logged out on my phone for the last six months. So, instead of accessing it through my phone I try to restrict “checking” it to my desktop where there are less options to actually play around with. This way I’m really just scanning the feeds to see what’s going on.
I take it a step further by trying to not check social media for more than 15 minutes between Friday and Sunday. If I’m planning posts for the next few weeks I login directly to my scheduling app and skip the apps themselves unless I need to do a little keyword research.
Has It Helped?
The days that I spend less time on social media I am WAY more productive. I’ve found that social media has a lasting impact—it’s not just distracting when I’m on my phone, but going through posts, videos and quotes, depending on what they are, can actually be distracting for hours afterwards.
If you find that much of your time is spent surfing through social media, then perhaps it’s time to implement some rules for yourself. You’ll be surprised how great it actually feels.
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Tae started out as a journalist before following the money into the corporate world. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener and now you can find her spending most of her time writing about all the things she loves. Namely, money, travel and business with a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. She is a podcast fanatic, blogging aficionado and loves to find new ways to turn passions into cold hard cash!
