Get Off the Hamster Wheel: 5 Ways to Avoid Social Media Overload

We're maxed out—all of us. We were tired before social media came tripping into our lives.

And the worst part? The guilt. We are made to feel that we're not a serious business if we don't participate in the "community."

That we'll be missing the conversation if we don't hang out online.

Of course, you need to find time to actually run your business, too. Developing project bids, meeting with prospective clients, balancing the books, returning phone calls and emails.

Oh, and fit the family in there somewhere, would you? And sleep. Guess you'd better find time for that.

I subscribe to the blog of Chris Brogan, one of today's bright minds in social media. What completely blew me away last week was his post The Shape of My Game.

He walked his readers through a normal day, practically minute-by-minute. Now granted, this is not your typical small biz owner, but it struck me how much successful people have to do just to keep up the pace.

 5 Ways to Avoid Social Media Overload

 Whether you are just starting down the social media path or consider yourself a pro, it's easy to get sucked in and pretty soon you are letting the social web rule you instead of the other way around. Here are five tips for taming the SM beast:

 

1. Choose a couple of platforms and focus on them. You don't have to be everywhere. Besides, it's better to produce good stuff on two sites than scattered, unfocused messaging on six. It's ideal if one is your very own (your blog or your e-newsletter) and one is an external platform. I blog, write an e-letter and participate regularly on Twitter and Biznik. Two should work fine for you, though. Or even one.

1. Decide what your goal is and stay with it. This makes a huge difference. If you don't know where you want to go, you'll never get there. For my blog, my goal is to cross-promote my e-tips and increase the number of people who see me as an expert in my field. For Twitter, it's searching out opportunities to collaborate and cross-promote with other marketers.

1. Schedule your social media time like you do other things. If you are distracted by bright, shiny objects (like that "Mentions" column on Tweetdeck that tells you every time someone is talking about you!), turn off the noise. One of my friends turns Twitter on twice a day, for 10 minutes. That keeps her in touch, but not tied to it.

1. Save sacred time for the work your business needs you for. This is the tough one. Days can be fragmented with blogging, emails, and social networking sites. I've seen people have great success by blocking out two uninterrupted hours first thing each morning for the day's priority projects. It's especially important if you need to work up momentum and then have focused time to think through a project. The key here, of course, is to turn off the phones and those irritating email pings.

1. Give yourself some 'play time.' Reward yourself with short breaks, even a walk around the block. If you are a creative like me, play is essential to your self-nurturing—and your ability to produce new ideas. I keep my juggling balls handy. My watercolor set. My paddle ball (remember those board thingies with the rubber string and little red ball?). My kaleidoscope. 10 minutes with any of those and I'm good to go for another hour. 

If you are feeling social media burnout (and we all do from time to time), try a couple of these ideas. And let me know if they help.