You get on your phone to quickly check what’s going on on Facebook before you move on to more important things; then what was supposed to be just a 10-15 minute activity turns out to be 30 minutes, then an hour, then 2 hours…We’ve probably all been there and done that…and I am preaching to myself here!
Social media is a MUST today for any entrepreneur, wannabe entrepreneur, professional just looking for resources, or for anyone who wants to meet new people, keep in touch with friends and reconnect with long lost ones!
However, as much as it is important, it can also turn out (and often does) to be detrimental to us, as it reduces our focus on important things and affects our productivity. When is the last time you read a post and decided to go trough all the comments to read people’s opinions on the matter being discussed? How often have you found yourself spending more time scrolling through your Facebook wall on your phone at work than you’re supposed to (And you’re probably not even allowed to use social media at work 😊)? The same goes on for other social media platforms (i.e., Instagram, Twitter…even LinkedIn); when is the last time you decided to read a book before bedtime and ended up spending more time on your phone than on the book?
It is obvious that as much as we need social media, it can end up using up so much of your time, and preventing us from reaching our goals. Thankfully, there are ways to avoid being trapped by all the social media madness and still make a good use out of it.
Here are 5 ways to take advantage of social media without letting social media take advantage of you:
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Determine how much time you spend on social media each day
Spend a day tracking how much you use social media for non-work related activities; use a notebook to write down every single time you log in to a social media platform and when you log off. Do that from the time you wake up in the morning to the time you go to bed at night. I am pretty sure you’ll be surprised by the result you get; but that’s okay. Before you can solve a problem, you must admit there is one!
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Determine how much time you need to spend on social media each day
Based on your result from 1), see by how much you can realistically reduce the amount of time you spend on social media. Of course, this will depend on the type of work you do; but for someone who does not use social media for any work-related activities, this time should be limited. It should feel like a challenge but an achievable goal at the same time! Listen, you don’t have to comment on that post right away, participate in all the ongoing discussions, go through all your friends’ walls to see what’s going on in their lives; the same things will still be there if you take a break and come back later! Or if you come back tomorrow!
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Set an alarm
This may sound a little crazy, but if you are really determined and disciplined, it works. If you decided that you’d only spend a total of 2 hours on social media a day, stick to it! You’ll be proud of yourself. Some people may choose to do the whole 2 hours at night when they get home from work, others may choose to spread their time throughout the day; but whatever you do, set the alarm to remind yourself when your time is up. And when the alarm goes off, just stop!
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Use your time on social media efficiently
This will help you stick to your allotted time for the day, but it is also good for your sanity because you don’t need to read/watch everything that is on social media! When you log in, spend a little bit of time on your profile to see if there is anything important you should be aware of, then focus on those pages/groups you follow on a regular basis. Finally, use the rest of your time as you wish.
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Limit your accessibility to social media platforms
You may need to delete all social media apps from your smartphone and only access the platforms from your computer. This will most likely limit your usage as it will require more work on your part (Yes, logging in and off each time you want to get on Facebook/Instagram is really hard these days 😊!).
Hopefully, these small tips help! Please feel free to share any other tips you have!
With Love,
Huguette
Huguette Essoh Latte
Bio: Huguette is a God-fearing woman, a wife, a mom, a daughter, a sister and a friend. She is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) by trade and an entrepreneur in the making. When she is not working, she enjoys reading, spending time with her family and walking by one of the beautiful lakes of Minnesota where she resides, when the weather permits.
