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Tips To Keep Social Media Use Healthy

Nov 13, 2019 | Social Media Support

Social media is bad for our mental health – we hear that a lot.

But is it always bad for our mental health?
And if you do spend a lot of time on social media, how do you manage that?

 A question I ask myself for two reasons: whenever I’m working, I’m on social media. It’s a huge part of my business , and I love it. But I also know there’s a balance and being constantly ‘on’ isn’t good, so here’s a few tips to keep your social media use healthy. 

Running your own business is generally not the easiest and most stress-free route if you want to improve your mental health – no sick pay, the pressure to always keep working. It takes mental strength, the ability and tenacity to keep going and keep showing up. That’s not for everyone, and you need to learn a lot about balance.

I’m also the parent of a teenager, and as social media is often blamed as a leading cause of depression, mental illness and anxiety in the young, how do we manage those risks?

How do you limit the chances of becoming addicted or affected by social media when it’s essential to your business?

Now I’m pretty lucky (and I don’t for a second take that for granted) but generally, my mental health is on an even keel and I know that’s probably more luck more than good management, but all the same, I do try to have good online habits.

I put a lot of it down to being a bit older and having grown up before phones were everywhere and the pressure to live up to an ideal Instagram account wasn’t a thing!!

But lifestyle is probably also a factor – we’re in the countryside, we don’t always have great mobile reception when we’re out and about, and we have plenty of things to do that means we’re connected to nature and the elements rather than the network.

We’ve also got the sea a few hundred meters away and fresh air by the bucket load, so a refreshing break is, quite literally, on the doorstep.

But I do also have a few family members and clients who need to pay close attention to their mental health, and they know that better routines and habits can make a huge difference. That’s not always easy, I know, it’s a case of constant monitoring for some.

So with that in mind, here’s a few everyday tips we can all put in place to keep in the loop on social media at the same time as not neglecting our own health and wellbeing.

 

Set  Boundaries

  I’ve learned to set boundaries over my 5 years as a business owner, it’s not something that came naturally, to begin with, but it’s most definitely something I know you’re going to need if you want to stay the course. You cannot always be ‘at work’ and social media accounts are always just a click away on your phone. Set yourself some limits – check in on your accounts and reply to comments in the morning/before you finish for the day and leave them through the day.

 

 

Set Good Examples

For clients and for family, equally. If you’re always on a device and instantly accessible, then it’s no wonder that people get into the habit of expecting an instant reply. Have your cut off points and non-negotiables when it comes to how/when you reply to messages. It’s unrealistic for me to stick to a 9-5 working routine, but I do have a cutoff point in the evening where I’m not going to reply to business calls anymore. Set your good examples, communicate them and stick to them. People appreciate that you take your business and your health seriously – I’d rather work with someone who did this as I’m assured they’re looking after their long term health and are not going to burn out by taking on too much.

 

Outsource

Even better, outsource and pay someone (shameless plug, like me!) to manage them for you. That way – you know the times your social media is covered and you don’t need to look at it, and you know the times you might need to check in on your accounts yourself. I never recommend the ‘set and forget’ approach, you need to engage and talk to your audiences, but you can absolutely limit that with a good social media plan, knowing what’s being posted when and knowing when you might want to pop in and comment yourself. Making this work well takes some really good expectation setting and clear communication, but once you’ve cracked that, it works really well.

 

Batch Your Social Media

This morning, I’ve been working on curating content for some accounts and doing some social media scheduling. Now I’m writing this blog, I’ve no social media accounts open. I’ve also been out of the house for a couple of hours at a friends house (with no phone in hand). I’m checking in on any messages from clients as I go and I’ll check emails before I finish for the day, but once I’m finished, I’m finished. No checking in after that.

 

Automate Replies

If you panic that potential clients might go elsewhere if you don’t reply straight away, set up some automated replies. That way, people know that you’ve seen their message and they know when to expect a reply from you. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll be delighted to see someone who takes their messages seriously enough to acknowledge you and who values their time away enough to not reply instantly.

 

 

Set Limits and Breaks

Put. The. Phone. Down. Walk away, leave it in another room, don’t touch it for a few hours each day. This one can feel hard if you love the ping of those notifications, but it’s crucial to your long term health. And it’s one for our kids and teenagers to pay particular attention to, and for us to set an example on.

Make some time in the day where no device is in use or within reach. Unless of course, you need to be contactable, you could look at using two SIM cards, so your ‘work’ number can be switched off and you can still be contacted on the other number by family etc.

My daughter is one of the few people in her year who doesn’t take a phone to school with her each day and she’s lucky she can do that – school transport from home to school and being on school grounds all day means she’s always contactable via the school. Don’t think for a second that makes her technically or socially deprived, she has plenty of tech and she has a phone she can take if she needs it, but it’s one of those breaks we agree works for now. It’s not set in stone and she can take her phone any days she needs to, but generally, there is no real need. She herself says it’s noticeable in school that having a face to face conversation becomes harder with people who never look up from their phones! Now that can’t be good.

Mealtimes at the table are another ‘no devices’ time, and no devices in the evenings or in bedrooms either, although I totally breaking my own rule on this just now, so……

 

 

Get an Alarm Clock

Absolutely a note to myself! I’ve just ordered a new alarm clock as my phone has increasingly become a replacement for my alarm clock, and that means it’s easy to pop on for a ‘quick scroll’ late at night or early in the morning. But no more, as soon as that alarm clock arrives the phone will be staying in the office overnight.

 

 

Ditch the comparisons

100% essential. If you find you’re getting caught up in ‘they have more followers, a cleaner house, nicer figure, clothes, car, life than me’, then you need to switch up who you are following. Social media is NOT real life. I love to follow real-life people who share their shit days and best days, messy houses and tidy houses. Not to make myself feel better, but because they keep it real, they are genuine and they are the people I can relate to. If you’re falling into the trap of not feeling good enough, that’s a red flag for you to take some action sooner rather than later.

 

 

Find Your Support

I work from home on my own most day, and that suits my lifestyle brilliantly. But a lot of people can find working remotely isolating and lonely, I guess that depends partly on your personality as much as it does on your network, community, family and friends. If you find yourself lonely or struggling, there are lots of places to find support and that is where social media can be an absolute godsend.

Twenty years ago you did not have access to groups and support networks where you could share your struggles with others and receive support from people who absolutely get it. You don’t even need to physically say the words. I’m in a number of groups where I’ve seen people reach out to someone struggling – whether it’s as direct as ‘I’m a half-hour away from you, PM me your address and I’ll come over’, to a simple private message where you can talk to someone one to one. I love to see that on social media – real connections and real support being offered.

I’ve several paid groups that I’m in that are all about building community, connection, support and sharing knowledge for business owners like me. Some people find that odd – that people who essentially could be in competition with each other are part of a community, but it’s such a good way to do business! We all have the same struggles, same questions about how our businesses are set up, how they run day-to-day, and in an emergency, it means we can absolutely have cover too. It’s a win-win and I’ve made some fabulous lifelong friendships in these groups as much as I’ve made business connections. That’s definitely a plus, being able to be in the loop with lots of other business owners whilst physically I’m hundreds of miles away.

 

Get Out!

Physically and metaphorically! Get outside every day. Do whatever works for you, but do something that get you physically active  and away from your devices. Leave your phone behind for a bit!  Sometimes it surprises me that 3 hours away from my phone wasn’t the end of the world. It’s a wonderful moment when you realise none of those pings you check needed dealt with straight away.

 

 

Allison Christie is an online marketing expert, and helps businesses scale and improve their sales online via Facebook/Instagram Ads, email list building and Pinterest marketing.