After last week’s resources I was inspired to write a post on social media burnout. I have to be careful with social media because for me—as much as I really do live and breathe it—I tend to see it more as a way to get my work out there, and something that just comes with the territory of writing, than a major focus/goal. I run lots of different accounts in addition to The Blog Market and my personal accounts, so I’ve definitely teetered on major burnout many times. If you’re not so sure about spending lots of time on social or you also run separate accounts, here are some habits/attitudes I suggest to have toward social media!
Treat it like a job
Whether it’s actually your job or just a part of a hobby (your blog for example) it helps if you commit. One thing I’ve noticed about social media that really affects me: there is no end goal – the goal is just to keep growing and evolving and connecting. Sure you have desired milestones but the truth is that social media always rolls into the next day. If you don’t find effective ways to make the most of time spent on social, you’ll drown in the upkeep. So, while you may have heard this 100 times, if you’re running more than 1-2 accounts, you really should schedule in advance, operate and bulk, and trust in your ability to post effectively—don’t check in 500 times a day if it’s not necessary. (This has been a huge lesson for me, when I have 10 posts scheduled I’m always worried I messed up, but in all my obsessive checking in, I’ve rarely had to correct a scheduled post!)
Combine accounts or purposes
If you’re not into running personal twitter, facebook, and Instagram pages AND ones associated with your blog or brand… Simply don’t! When I had an Etsy shop, I created pages for all these things. In the end I realized promoting myself as my brand made a lot more sense, which took off the pressure of needing multiple accounts. And while I love a cohesive Insta feed—AKA when bloggers keep their selfies and pet photos off their blog accounts—there are plenty of ways to go about combining several purposes into one. Don’t feel like you have to set things up just because that’s what businesses do!
Spend time taking it all in
I usually get burnt out when I’m spending too long on it with a specific goal in mind, like to implement a strategy or comb social posts for something specific. But when I just go on for fun, to take everyone’s updates in, I leave more inspired. It’s easy to spend an entire day online, so I recommend setting a timer and deciding to go on for an hour or so, and then signing off. It’ll be nice to not feel like you NEED to accomplish anything, and you might just remember why you liked social media to begin with. Kind of like reading a magazine or watching the news—no ulterior motive.
Sign off at a certain hour
Speaking of signing off, I know this is something that’s probably going around with social media advice too. No matter what our jobs are, I think we can all say they’re pretty demanding. So many things beg for our attention at once. But you could say that about anything, right? Relationships, day jobs, passions, travels—if it’s important to us, we’ll always think of it with urgency. The problem is when we let social media take center stage and forget that other things are just as (or more) important. By signing off at a certain hour (and if you work in social media like me, saying that you’ll only break this rule in an emergency, like your boss sending you a request after hours), you’ll allow time for other things. Just by doing so you lessen your chances of getting burnt out; you eliminate a lot of that mindless scroll.
Practice mindfulness in order to engage
Multitasking is the enemy of mindfulness, and I think it’s a huge reason those of us who spend lots of time on social get burnt out. We’re constantly switching back and forth. If you work in social you know that you might be asked to do 50 things at once, but each thing only requires a few minutes to update or upload. It’s quick, but overwhelming, because everything seems equally urgent. I’ve found lately that the best way to combat this anxiety-inducing feeling of “everything at once” is to practice mindfulness in social media the way I try to practice it IRL. By focusing on one thing, one step at a time. I’m much more efficient this way and able to actually respond to comments and engage in more meaningful ways.
Let us know if you give these tips a try!
Liz says
Love this! Thanks, Angela :)
Mama Miah says
Thanks for all the tips, it was an awakening post… :)