On approximately September 23, 2015 I made the decision to go on a social media fast, essentially totally deactivating or extremely minimizing post and viewing on all platforms. “Why?” you might ask would one want to do such a thing? The answer is quite simple: In addition to the ability to communicate with friends and family, digitally network with potential clients and partners, and get infinite amounts of information social media can be just plain distracting and absolutely not the best use of time and energy.

Why Social Media Can Be Distracting

The greatest potential problem with social media is the never ending amount of content and information that it allows us to easily consume. Such consumption not only takes our focus from our primary priorities but has the tendency to be some what addictive, leaving us waiting for the next update, like, comment or picture. These micro transactions combined will cost you big in terms of time and productivity.

As an entrepreneur having full control and flexibility of your time is both the best and worst thing, because without the discipline to properly manage your time and attention you are not likely to be successful. Social media gives the promise of extending one’s brand or increasing their business thus many business owners, entrepreneurs and marketers are drawn to the possibility of the millions of people they can reach by going viral.  Unfortunately, many are drawn by the promise but then soon consumed by the distractions and lack of strategy to make best use of social media.

Social media also gives us a certain visibility into what others are doing (or supposedly doing) that we would not other wise have. This visibility if unchecked can cause us to begin to be reactive to the actions of others, or simply placing too much focus and concern outward on things that we have no control of.  Some times tunnel vision, is the best vision for execution.

I personally am not immune to the many challenges of balancing social media, as my brand has begin to change and evolve I’ve found myself not effectively using my time on social media, not coherently keeping content in alignment with brand objectives, and spending time socializing and chatting. Out of which is too great degree how this 1 month social media hiatus was born.

Things I noticed while on my hiatus:

  • It’s not likely that you will miss anything life changing by not logging on.
  • People aren’t as likely to miss your presence as you think they are,
  • Some people will show serious insecurities as a result of them thinking you deleted them.

A few quick tips for making effective use of your social media.

  • Determine your primary reason for using social media.
  • Align your post with that reason.
  • Set a predetermined amount of time to use social media daily/weekly.
  • Determine a specific time each day to use social media.
  • Based on your reason for using social media, you can utilize tools to schedule your social media post.
  • Prepare content in advance.

There is great power in exercising discipline; start with some time off of social media, and if you are really brave take a day or 2 without your cell phone.

It may be hard to believe now, but there was a time before Facebook, Twitter , Tinder & Instagram;  a time where people built real relationships with real people, a time before our meals together had to be photographed and shown to the world, a time in which we saw real value in people vs accumulating social media stats.  While it wise to leverage new technology and methods and resources, some times we need to revisit the basics of human communications and the simple dynamics that help us build lasting relationships.

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By: Jarvis Brown – I’m at my best when I’m helping others become better | Entrepreneur | Consultant |Executor | Problem Solver | Motivator| All Things Tech – IamJarvisBrown.com