BiZ WiTCH : Schedule A Weekly “Social Media Sabbath” For More Peace, More Pleasure, And (Surprise!) More Productivity...
"I am not here. I'm somewhere else, which means that this is another one of my scheduled posts..."
That’s how I often start my Saturday morning Facebook posts, because they are, in fact, scheduled, and I am sooo NOT there when they go live.
I am off somewhere far, far away from my computer having a life.
This is something that I started doing for myself last fall and knew immediately that an important business practice had been born :
The practice of doing NOTHING once a week.
Oh yeah- it's revolutionary, Baby!
Or not, but sometimes I have to discover these things for myself.
I had, in the past, played around with taking social media breaks here & there, and that did always feel good, but making it a regular part of my schedule seemed risky somehow...
What if someone needs something?
What if someone has a question?
What if someone posts something super nice on my Facebook page or gives one of my online programs a lil' Tweet Tweet, and I do not immediately shower their Tweety Bird feet with lavish virtual kisses?
What if? What if? What if?
And a big fat.... so???
I mean- KiCKASS WiTCH is super kickass & all, but, let's face it... it ain't brain surgery, and no one is going to die if I don't immediately get back to them.
Don't ask me why it took over 2 years to figure this out.
It probably had something to do with an over-inflated sense of self importance and a dash of insecurity.... Ya know- "the need to be needed" ie. a clown-like case of BiZ WiTCH codependence.
Do you know what I'm talking about here? Is this something you can relate to?
If so- GOOD. This post's for you! And let me just say right now...
You need to knock that shit off!
Quit it.
Give it a rest.
Give YOURSELF a rest.
And hey- while you're at it, give your people a rest too.
Do they really need to have you all up in their faces every second of every day?
Give 'em a chance to miss you!
There are so many awesome tools for scheduling social media posts these days (Hootsuite, Buffer and Facebook directly) that you can literally promote your biz round the clock and while you're sleeping.
But should you?
Many biz gurus will say YES, but I'm not so sure...
As a customer, I enjoy a personal touch.
I like to know that a real live flesh & blood human is hopping onto my feed because they have something thoughtful to share.
If they are just slapping me around with recycled memes & blatant self promotion every 2 hours, I will eventually start tuning them out or, more likely, unsubscribe.
What I do love about this ability to schedule posts is that it's awesome for letting people know when I'm taking another one of my Social Media Sabbaths.
I use these scheduling tools to remind my friends & fans that I will NOT be around that day, I am NOT ignoring their posts, and I will be back soon.
Most importantly, I do it to give them permission to do the same...
It's okay to take a break from social media.
In fact, it’s not just “okay”. It’s one of the greatest things I did for my BiZ & my mental health in 2014...
Running an online biz requires a strong sense of self. You have to be inwardly motivated and have a certain level of discipline, routine, and drive to meet the demands of the day.
And- social media is, in most cases, a necessary component to the daily BiZ WiTCH grind.
It might even be fair to say that, in many respects, it IS your biz.
It's how you find resonance with your ideal clients, promote your
latest offerings, and let the world know that you exist.
But
it's also devilishly designed to keep you engaged, and it is sooo very good at doing that.
Therefore, you may find it harder & harder to log off when it's time to focus on other tasks or to just recharge your batteries by living your life OFF line.
(tweet tweet)
There’s a scene toward the end of The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (Have you seen it? LOVE!!!) in which Sean Penn’s character, a photographer for Life magazine, has been stalking an elusive snow leopard high atop the cliffs of Afghanistan's Himalayas...
When the leopard finally steps into frame, Sean, despite whatever effort it took to arrive at that fleetingly precious moment, chooses instead to NOT take the photo. He chooses instead to just savor the moment for himself.
And- THAT, my friend, is what scheduling a regular Social Media Sabbath is all about.
It's about living your life in the moment, rather than watching it through your iPhone or documenting it on Instagram or turning it into some witty biz-related lesson (which you can always do later).
You've got to live your life if you are to have anything of value to say.
And- this is what I am asking you to do for yourself (and your customers) once a week...
Live your life.
And then- come back to tell us all about it some other time...
