Skip to main content

Increase Productivity and Reduce Aimless Social Media Use

Three Tactics to Increase Productivity and Reduce Aimless Social Media Use

Subscribe

* indicates required
Email Format

Spend your time on your own terms, not just when you get a notification

As the owner of a digital marketing agency, using the world’s most popular apps and technology is in my job description. From Facebook and Instagram to WhatsApp and Snapchat, connecting with friends, family and colleagues around the clock is my job. But recently, it became increasingly hard to separate what was work from personal use.  

Want to waste time? There’s an app for that

Creating transformative online marketing programs is one of my favorite things to do, yet I was wasting time on social media apps because of their addictive qualities: pictures, sounds, messages in one neat package in the palm of your hand. It was easy to divert from the smallest problem, even just to take a peek. As a result, my business was not growing. It was clear my focus needed sharpening.

Social media has the unmistakable feel of being busy. You can click around for hours messaging people funny jokes, pictures and internet fodder, without a lot of actual work being done. It took me way too long to figure out how much time I was wasting. The time had come to make a change. 

Passionate about online marketing but realizing I needed to do a serious digital detox, here are some ways I was able to make positive changes to maximize time and increase productivity: 

Recognize the problem

Working in marketing means having to know the latest apps and use them to authentically, understanding their role and purpose. My use of technology began for work, but quickly devolved into time-consuming personal use.  If you find yourself checking your phone relentlessly, and not getting objectives completed, recognize your phone may be a problem. I know a very well known CEO who uses a flip phone! You may keep your current phone, but know some adjustments may need to be made.

Delete problem apps 

WhatsApp is a great tool for anyone who works globally, and with family and business around the world sending me communications around the clock, it was particularly hard to avoid. Free calls and texts make it even more addictive. Same goes for social media like Facebook and Instagram, whose splashy platforms dish up pictures and content they think you’ll be interested in (and you almost always are). Deleting the apps removes the temptation to surf aimlessly.  You can try to log in once a day from your desktop computer, but be sure to log out after a pre-set time limit (no more than ten minutes).  When you need a break from work, and the urge to look at social media arises, try making a list or journaling in your phone’s notepad.

Identify your highest and best skills

Focus on what you do want, rather than what you don’t want. Designing creative advertising programs and solutions using automation is my specialty. While I had a diverse client roster, I realized I was doing work I didn’t enjoy—such as Google ads—for years. I needed to get to my higher and better use, and started declining anything that wasn’t one hundred percent my specialty. The surprising result?  More business that I love doing—strategy and digital marketing—came almost immediately!

I came back to my true passion: creating unique, customized online marketing programs with the most cutting edge tools available. If I have to view social media during the workday for a project, I know how to use it. It’s fun and productive in the sense that I’m helping someone reach new audiences and capture new customers. Sometimes it’s a challenge to keep it strictly business, but when I think of my goals, it becomes easy to avoid altogether.

Outside work, I wanted to spend more time with my wife, four children, and extended family. Through reduced technology consumption, I was able to successfully develop new business, spend more time with family and feel less stressed and frenetic overall. 

Using these tactics, I was able to reduce my time spent on apps and increase my client base.

Regardless of your industry, business or geographical location, increase productivity and improve focus by removing the extra noise in your life. Spend your time on your own terms, not just when you get a notification

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

52 Work From Home Jobs for you

  52 Work From Home Jobs Paying as Much or a Lot More Than the Average UK Salary. The money can be pretty good but you're on your own. For some people that's the best part. 1. Affiliate Marketer  When the visitor clicks the affiliate link and buys the book, Amazon will pay you a percentage of the sale. People love affiliate marketing because they can start earning money passively with few startup costs. 2. Animator Are you an artistic and creative individual who is able to create animation and visual effects for television, movies, video games and other types of media? 3. Baker/Caterer/Chef If you have a knack for baking or cooking, then turn your passion into a side business. From your own kitchen, you could start a catering business or become a personal chef. If you're a baker, you could sell you goods to friends, neighbors, online or at local farmer's markets. 4. Blogger Blogging is inexpensive and easy to start doing. It could be as simple as you just writing about ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Did you know What are the 10 skills you need to do online marketing.

  To promote your business effectively, you need the right marketing skills you can’t afford to ignore if you want your online business to succeed. Search engine optimization (SEO Conversion rate optimization (CRO) Video Marketing Social media marketing Paid marketing Copywriting Data analysis Content marketing Email marketing Research From a 30,000-foot view, marketing is the process of promoting your products and services. The internet is where a lot of that happens, but the internet has become so noisy that you need outstanding digital marketing skills to succeed.  That’s the kind of noise you need to cut through if you want to be found online. Even with the best product in your industry, your customers will never discover it without the right marketing strategies in place. In this guide, we’re going to share several marketing skills and knowledge you need to grow your online business. 1. Search Engine Optimization SEO is the process of ranking website pages organically on ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Top Tips for Working Remotely

  Working remotely can be a major pain for your productivity, especially if you have to work from home suddenly. Here, we discuss some tips for how to make a remote work setup work in your favor. 5 best tips for working from home effectively: Adopt the right mindset Take care of your health Know your most productive hours Be comfortable using online tools The coronavirus pandemic has forced millions of people to work from home and many small businesses to create remote work policies to clarify who does what, where, and when. Working away from the office is a welcome change for many employees, all things considered. But for others, particularly those who haven’t done it before, not so much. Although the remote work setup offers numerous benefits, such as no commute, more time with the family, a flexible schedule, and the ability to work from anywhere, there are downsides, too -- as you’ll see in a graph later. So if you’re new to working remotely, here are several tips you...
Post a Comment
Read more