What To Do When Social Media Keeps You Too Busy
The time spent on social media can take up a lot of our life, even if we don’t use it for work. It seems like there is always a reason to spend some time there, and it can be tough to pull away and take a break. It is such a part of us these days that it seems strange to think that we could go an entire day or week without using it.
So, what do you do when social media is taking up too much of your time? You aren’t getting much done. You are not productive, and you wish you were. Or maybe social media is making you feel unwell, lethargic, irritated, sad, or otherwise just not very good.
Then, you look around your home or your work and see that very little is being accomplished. What can you do to fix the situation? Here are some ideas.
Taking a Social Media Break
The first and best piece of advice we want to give you about improving productivity and fixing the situation when you are spending too much time on social media is to take a break from it. Call it a social media detox or a social media fast, or whatever you like, but this is a very common tactic people will use to make their days more productive and to ensure that they are not becoming obsessed with social media.
You can do this in a few ways. The most effective method is to simply delete social media apps. Don’t worry, you can always download them again when you are done with the break.
Another method is to set timers on social media apps and websites to limit your time there. You could also set aside one specific time of day to use social media, like in the evening when you are not working. It is helpful to put your phone aside and shut down electronic devices at times when you are not supposed to be on social media.
These are just a few suggestions, but you can use these and other methods to separate from social media for a while and focus on the things that are important to you.
Set Priorities
If you look around at your home and you realize it is a mess because of how much time you spend on social media, then you need to do something about it. Here is what helps- create a list of priorities.
Decide what is most important to you and then place it at the top of the list. Keep writing things on the list until you have everything listed that is important to you. How far down the list is social media? Is it where you want it to be? Are you being truthful with the list?
With your list written out, be sure to number the items in order and then place the list in a location where you will see it every day. You can put it on your fridge, next to your computer or beside your bed, for instance.
The reason we ask you to write out a list of priorities is because this gets you thinking about what is really important. We tend to spend a lot of time on things we don’t actually value that much that we would say are not very important. Setting priorities and trying to keep them in the right order can help to change that.
Hire Help for Big Jobs
You may have some catching up to do if you have been distracted by social media for a while. That’s a pretty common situation for people who have been stuck in their apps for a long time. It may be necessary to get some help in order to catch up.
So, if your house is a mess, then you could hire cleaners and ask for customizable house cleaning packages NYC. You can get a cleaning package that suits your needs and get your home back to where it should be.
There may be other jobs you could hire professionals for as well to help you get caught up. If you have landscaping to do or some repairs to take care of, then this is the perfect opportunity to hire the right people for these jobs. Once you get some time away from social media and start to catch up on some things in your life, you will probably notice all sorts of tasks that need to get done. Try not to get bogged down or feel overwhelmed by them. Instead, look for things that you can handle on your own and tasks that you can hire others for.
Talk to Someone
Social media can become such a problem in our lives that we cannot control it on our own. How do we get back control if it has become that bad?
The answer may be to seek professional help. You can talk to a counselor or therapist about your obsession. It is possible that your social media habit has turned into a full blown addiction. Some people have a lot of trouble breaking free from it. They may need help in order to cut down on how much time they spend there and become more productive.
Maybe you don’t need to take the step of going to see a therapist and you can get help a little closer to home. Try talking to a friend or family member who cares about you and see if they can assist you. Tell them about your social media obsession and what you would like to do and ask if they can help you. They could become an accountability partner for you, keeping you honest and away from social media. For many people, this method works very well. Simply bringing the problem out into the open can make a huge difference.
If social media has taken over your life and you need to pull back, then these suggestions may help you do that.