Monday, November 15, 2010
Simplify and Manage Your Use of Social Networking
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn...It’s obvious that social media has become an integral part of our world. Some view it as a necessary evil while others enjoy the ongoing process. Regardless of who you are and what your view is of these sites, I’m sure we can all agree that they can take a lot of TIME!
Time is precious – especially for us working moms – and it goes by quickly. So that leads to the obvious question, are you wasting your precious time on social networking sites or are you using them effectively? The key to using social media is time management. I know that sounds boring when social networking should be fun, but it is necessary. Without it you can be sucked into a never ending cycle of keeping up with the overwhelming amount of information on these sites.
The first step is to identify if you have a problem spending too much time with SN. Over the next week, record how much time you are spending and what you doing when visiting these sites. Is it work related or pleasure? Online Stopwatch is a free tool to help you keep an accurate record of your time. Be honest with yourself and remember it's just you that is looking at this.
Once you have made an honest assessment of your time, you can start putting into practice these time management tips for social networking:
- Set aside a specific amount of time each day that you can dedicate to social media and stick to it! You can even set limits on how many times you tweet per day or update your status etc.
- Identify your purpose/goals for social networking and set those as the priority. It is very easy to get caught up in the non-essentials of social networking. Keep in mind what you are using it for and use it for its intended purpose. If you want to enjoy the other fun and causal aspects of it, set a limit on how long you can spend.
- Remember that you don't have to do it all. You will never be able to read and respond to everything. There are many social media bookmarking tools online that you can use to bookmark items that you would like to go back to at a later time. That way you can stay organized and you won't feel like you have to view everything immediately.
- Don’t be available 24/7. If you need to chat with someone over Instant Message on any of these sites, send them an email or a private message to join you in chatting. This is much more effective that keeping your IM active throughout the day.
Social networking can be an excellent tool to stay connected personally and professionally. But remember, you control it...don't let it control you. Our goal at Simplify is to give you what you need to keep your life as simple as possible in a hectic world. And if you’re looking for more ways to simplify please connect with us via Facebook and Twitter!
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