As a professional working in social media, I spend most of my day working on developing strategies to leverage channels like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogs to engage with customer communities. Then, when the day is over…I spend more time researching new tools, looking into the rumors of whether company X is buying company Y, reading articles about the latest digital technology and building connections with other bloggers and social media professionals.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great job and I get to work with some amazing people, but sometimes the timesink of all these channels and activities can result in a bit of social media overload. I thought I’d capture a view into that craziness in my latest social media comic.
Do you work in social media? Do you experience social media overload? Feel free to share any tips/tricks on avoiding the timesink and keep a sane balance between the online world and the digital one.
Cheers!
–Sean
Sean, I loved this artic… … … … …le. Sorry had to step outside for a while. 🙂
I know the feeling! I always try to just go for a walk or get out.
It certainly seems that way sometimes.
This is like a conversation with my wife!
The only suggestion I have is to take a speed reading course, so you can speed up your reading.
I took one years ago and it really has helped.
OMG…that’s me!
LOL. Thanks for the eaves and the link.
Hahah! Funny but difinitely!
That is perfect! I have felt that way often and every now and then I just unplug and relax. But…I do tend to think that perhaps I should just check in to see if I should be answering any e-mails. I seem to have more difficulty unplugging than I thought I would.
Well done. It seems that more and more people are questioning the ROI of time spent on social media. The return is there if we spend our time doing the correct activities.
Sean this is exactly how it feels sometimes!
Here’s my trick: Playtime happens on my phone when waiting for something or I’m idly watching TV. but when it’s time to work, I put myself in a spot where I can’t be distracted and write 3 lists:
1) To do list
2) Must do list
3) Must do today list
and in each of these three, I list them from hardest to easiest. Graham Skinner has led a Mastermind Group in my area for a while now and when I attended those, this was the best trick I ever took from it. I also took one other thing from this group…. “Eat the frog FIRST” Meaning get the meanest, nastiest, unfun thing done first. everything else is down hill from there.
I also take a break every hour and walk around the block or the office for 5-10 minutes and leave my cell phone on the desk. This gives me time to think, clear my head, stretch, exercise, and get my head back in the game and ready to tackle the next task.
Yep. know the feeling. Got to get out more too.
Great comic and post. It’s all in the balance.
Improved Reading quadrupled my reading speed. Taking a walk. Turning off the computer. It’s amazing how much one can get done within a short time frame on SoMe whereas one can sit in front of a running system and use 4x the time for the same content.
I like the comic strip. Lots of fun Also Sean welcome to scoopit:)
plan your blogging time…write ahead and schedule your posts..allow other social media to come naturally like instagram and four square…tweet as a way to let thoughts out and then plan time for that as well…they key is to control your time so it doesn’t control you…
haha not bad..:) cheers
Yeah–so I quit freelancing 9writing and social media) and now devote all my time to my own projects. 😉
Overload? Solved! Ha ha! It makes a difference when I care about it because it’s MINE, ya know?
I think it’s important to schedule time to unplug–completely! No phone, no laptop, etc. etc. Brain breaks are a good thing.
Don’t have any tips for you – I need tips! I’m a complete addict and can’t figure out how to get away from it, so I’m just going to find someone to hire me to do it.
I’m experiencing this RIGHT NOW! I got home, checked all of my social media channels and realized nothing was new b/c I’ve been on them ALL DAY. Now I know the average person is thinking “that means she wasn’t working” but if they worked in social media, they’d understand.