The Abyss of Social Media

Much of what I do revolves around managing time well. Whether I'm teaching people how to stay on top of their clutter, teaching businesses how to be more efficient and productive, or managing my own time.

What I've been finding lately is that I have been falling into the abyss of social media apps on my phone. I'm sure I pick my phone up 50-60 times a day just to check email and Facebook (and slightly less often LinkedIn and Twitter).

Why am I doing this? Is it fear of missing out? Do I think someone is trying to contact me and I may be losing business? (unlikely) Is it trying to connect with someone… anyone? I have been trying to assess if I've been picking it up more often since we've been in pandemic mode - but honestly, for me, my life has changed very little. Except of course, the in-person organizing has been zero since March. (Still willing to come - I use mask and gloves!)

I really hate the fact that I've been filling up my time grabbing my phone a million times to see if there *might* be something interesting there. I hate even more the fact that I've been doing it enough that I've noticed it. I tried making the excuse that I need it for business. I respond to email and social media posts almost immediately. But… that's not what I teach!

I teach my clients to schedule time on their calendar for these things so that they're not constantly interrupted and trying to refocus - which are major productivity inhibitors. Yet, now that my life is less busy than it was when I was working 60 hours a week, I'm not following my own advice.

No, I don't have to be productive every second of the day -a nd yes, I'm getting the things done that I need to. But there's so much more I can do. Some of it is not on my priority list, though. I just don't find them fun and they aren't absolutely necessary for my business or my life. They would, however, be great things to do and likely will help grow my business.

Instead, though, I'm reaching for my phone, checking email and Facebook for the 15th time. It had to stop!

Here's what I did: I deleted the Facebook app from my phone. (Sorry, couldn't bring myself to get rid of email just yet). I deleted the social media app about a week and a half ago. Oh, the pain! Ok, not really. But, it has definitely been an adjustment.

I've found that when I do start to reach for my phone, I pause now and think about why I'm doing it. Am I bored? Do I need a break from what I'm doing? Most of the time, it's because I just need a break. Now, I make sure I stand up and move around rather than grab my phone.

I've found at this point that the only problem I've had is trying to post things for sale in the Facebook Marketplace. Instead of being able to create the post almost instantly, I have to finagle getting the pictures from my phone to my computer and then on to Facebook. Time consuming work - but not nearly as time consuming as checking Facebook 50 times a day.
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Yes, I do need Facebook and email for work. But I can follow my own advice and schedule those things into my day, like I used to. Turn off email notifications, put time on my calendar to check them and gain time in my life for more productive work.

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