Do you wish you could take a vacation from the digital world? What about your social media accounts? In today’s digital world it is easy to get overwhelmed with all the responsibility of being responsive, socially and politically correct 24/7. Hiring a brand manager is one answer, and we can certainly help you with that! But, that isn’t for everyone.
As a brand, (and, yes, you are a brand whether you are one person or a big company), you can’t just decide to ignore your email or social media for a week. The world is digital and unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do about it. No matter how big of a blindfold you put on, technology is still there to make your life is easier, but also demand your time and attention.
You can plan in advance and take digital breaks!
Take A Digital Time-Out
- Leave the smartphone at home and go out to dinner
- Turn your ringer to Do Not Disturb for an hour every day
- Read an actual book or magazine, not a digital one
- Write in a journal with a pen
- Go visit a neighbor or friend
Control Your Email Instead of It Controlling You
- Don’t let the beep alert on your email summon you
- Assign specific times to read your email and respond
- Be strong enough to ignore the email app on your smartphone
- When you go out – go out!
- Train your email inbox using filters
Create a Social Media Vacation Plan
- Write your social media posts in advance and schedule them via 3rd party tools
- Use smartphone apps to get notifications when someone posts on your social media accounts
- Assign someone to monitor your social media accounts and brand name
- Educate them on your standard responses and escalation process
- Be available via text message for emergency situations
How do feel now? Any of the items above motivate you to make a change in the way your respond to the digital world. Remember, you can’t ignore it, but you can control how you respond. Digital breaks are absolutely necessary and important.
One more tip before I close: Turn notifications and alerts off for unimportant items.
Take more time for yourself and you’ll be fresher and clearer minded to complete more tasks. You control your time; don’t let time and technology control you!
I am curious, comment below which tips above you are going to implement and which ones you already do?
