6 Tips to Avoid Social Media Burnout

I’ve noticed a disconcerting trend lately; more and more articles about social media burnout.  This isn’t surprising considering the sheer volume of information that speeds toward us at an exponential pace, making it even harder to sort the wheat from the chaff.

People who work in the field of social media remind me of the early pioneers and explorers of the new world.  We are toiling in a field of tweets in order to clear the trees and make the ground fertile for growing a sustainable social media plan. 

No one has come before us.  There is no road to follow.  We are the trailblazers and greenhorns of this new world order. 

The enormity of this task may make us clamp down and try to force order and calmness on this mess.   With social media, that is like taking an aggressive bird of prey like the Accipiter hawk, and trying to put it in a cage.  Often times we find ourselves on the fast-moving train of social media distraction.  Without realizing it, we move further and further away from home base until we can barely see the platform that we started from.

Here are 6 tips to stop our swashbuckling ways:

1.  Apply calm attention versus worried attention to the task at hand.  Realize that it is possible to stay positive, serene and inspired in the midst of chaos.  Do one thing at a time.  Go slow and start small.  Let the hare pass you.

2.  Be mindful of what you consume on-line.  It’s easy to fall into the “I have to learn this, or I should know more about that” trap.  With every good intention, we try to learn everything.  Remember to maintain balance.  None of us are perfect.

3.  Put down books like “Socialnomics” or “Six Pixels of Separation” and pick up a fiction book.  Not only will this clear your mind but it will improve your writing style.

4.  Put away your pride and benchmark.  Don’t re-create the wheel.  Use other people’s knowledge.

5.  Take time to know what you really want and need from social media.  What are your goals?  If you aren’t getting them – move on.  Don’t look back . You are no longer going in that direction.

6.  Be kind to yourself when you need it most.  Working in the field of social media means we are constantly trying to keep up and we are continually propelled into the future.  Be wisely selfish and know when enough is enough.

“Well arranged time is the surest mark of a well arranged mind.” – Sir Isaac Pitman.  Taken from the book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma