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Yes, we’re talking about time spent on Facebook today! How much time have you spent on social media today?
In yesterday’s blog post we talked about the time we spend vegging out in front of the TV or computer and how that time slips away from us. Today, I want to tackle another big time sucker– social media. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing tool, but it can also be quite distracting. It doesn’t matter if it’s Facebook, Pinterest, Tumbler, Instagram, or your social media platform of choice.
The biggest problem with social media is that it’s everywhere. We check in from our computers, tablet, and of course the ever-present smartphone. We get alerts, we check in when we’re bored, or have a couple of minutes to kill. Before we know it, thirty minutes or more have gone by that we’re not getting back. Check out here what happened when I gave up my smartphone for a whole year.
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How to Stop Spending Too Much Time On Facebook
Here’s an eye-opening exercise for you. Carry a pen and paper around with you, get a click counter or an app on your phone and start keeping track of how many times you access social media per day. Include any and all devices you use and add to the running total even when you’re just looking at it “for a second”. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be a bit shocked at how high that number actually is.
This is one distraction that isn’t usually caught by the time log we talked about a few days ago since the social media interactions are so quick and frequent. Trust me though, no matter how briefly you access each platform, it all starts to add up and distracts you from other things.
As a blogger, I love social media and I won’t lie. I love our Facebook and Instagram communities, but if I don’t time myself on social media, I will easily get carried away and it will eat up all my time. So here is what I do, even though social media is part of my work, I deleted all social media from my smartphone and I don’t turn on my computer until homeschool is done for the day. Plus I scheduled my social media time so I can keep track of how much time I spend on it.
How Facebook Can Make Us Miss The Best Moments In Life
How often do you miss part of a conversation or a fun moment with your kids because you were busy commenting on a Facebook post, retweeting something, or pinning a fun craft idea that you likely won’t get around to trying? Is it worth missing all those important little moments in life? And think about what you would have time and mental energy to do if you weren’t constantly distracted by social media?
The goal is to live more intentionally and do things with purpose. We don’t want to let social media posts distract us from that goal. I’m not saying that there isn’t a time to use social media, far from it. They are a wonderful tool and a great way to connect with people. But they are also dangerously addictive. Don’t believe me?
Here’s another exercise for you. Commit to not using social media at all for 48 hours. Turn off or ignore the alerts on your phone and don’t allow yourself to go to the sites on your computer. How does that feel? Do you miss it? Does it make you nervous or anxious?
It’s time to take control over social media instead of letting it control us. What can you change starting today to make that happen? Let me know down in the comments!
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My Favorite Tool For A Life With Purpose
The Beyond Blessed Life Planner is the best tool to help you be more inspired, organized and purposeful this year! Download your dated or undated printable planner here.
Books I Recommend About Finding Your Purpose on Amazon
Life on Purpose: How Living for What Matters Most Changes Everything
The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?Life Purpose Boot Camp: The 8-Week Breakthrough Plan for Creating a Meaningful LifeWhat On Earth Am I Here For? Study Guide (The Purpose Driven Life)Living Life on Purpose: Discovering God’s Best for Your LifeThe Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?Daily Inspiration for the Purpose Driven Life: Scriptures and Reflections from the 40 Days of Purpose
Outside of logging into Facebook to interact with blogger support groups, I don’t spend any time on it. For the longest time, I didn’t even have an account when everybody else did. Crazy to think about. Instagram is my favorite when it comes to social media, probably because I’m a food blogger and cold look at the beautiful images all day long. But even then, I spend very little time browsing on my own in my free time. x
You’re wise! I love Instagram too, although this month I took a bit of a break from IG so I could focus on the launch of my new planner and run this 30-day challenge.
I unfortunately need to spend working hours on facebook. :/ I think as bloggers/influencers (others as virtual assistants, social media managers) it will not be easy to completely stay away from facebook (or other social media outlets)…unless we go on hiatus or leave. 🙂 At best, it is a wise thing to set aside time for work – “facebook work” and then set time for the family/kids and other important things. Planning and time management are the keys.
That’s what I do, Marie! I set time aside to go on Facebook and get work done, reply to comments and messages, schedule posts, etc. When I put my timer on, let’s say for 30 minutes, I know I cannot allow any distractions and I keep my laser focus trying to be as productive as I can. And I have three FB pages of my own and one that I manage for a client plus my FB 20+ groups. LOL
A whole year, that is quite impressive. It really depends on how much you previously used your device and what apps you needed to access on a daily basis. But you’re totally right, we have such an easy access to social media, I deleted Facebook off my phone to stop me from being a click away from opening the app and scrolling through useless posts that wouldn’t benefit me. Same with Instagram, I now started to unfollow accounts that don’t promote my lifestyle or give me anything that won’t motivate me to achieve more.
Nadalie, that’s smart! We can have laser focus and be a lot more productive if we don’t waste unnecessary time on social media. 😉
OMG… so much time!! I am a total addict and a lot of the time I’m just scrolling in a total zombie state. I really am the worst for it and my husband is always cracking jokes about my Facebook problem, lol. Being a blogger myself with two Facebook pages, I have a lot going on… hahaha, that’s my excuse but in reality, you’re absolutely right, I am missing out on real life with my kids. Put the phone away mama!! (That’s me talking to myself)
Katharine, I totally get you! I was the same until I read Hands-Free Mama, have you read that book? I got so convicted I gave up my smartphone for a whole year and I didn’t miss it at all. I was still able to grow my blog and I spent a lot more time with my family, my stress level decreased and I found a lot more balance in life. Here is the referral link to the book if you haven’t read it yet – so good! http://amzn.to/2mLGvwL
Thanks so much for this great list of books! I’ll admit, I have been spending A LOT of time on Facebook, but most of it is running a side business, updating posts, etc.
Oh, I know the feeling! A blogger’s work never ends. 😉
I spend a lot of time on facebook but mostly for my business. I usually have some personal facebook time before bed every night. But I know others are a bit addicted.
Sadly, this is so true for all social media, telephones, games, you name it! I have to spend a great deal of time on social media including Facebook for my work but trust me when I can shut it down I am all for that! I need my ME time! I rarely even visit my non business page on FB lol. I totally see this as an issue and admit when I DO go to my private page I can easily get lost in all the stuff in front of me! I will catch myself and close my laptop instantly!
Joely, me too!! I’ve been working timing myself and every time a distraction comes my way I just go straight back to what I was doing, otherwise, I will easily waste an hour or more just scrolling down the newsfeed.
This is so true. I am currently laid up after having surgery and I spend WAY too much on Facebook. I told myself I was going to get a lot of work done while being laid up. Nope. Netflix and Facebook have been sucking up all my time.
I try to stay off of Facebook during the weekends, unless I have alone time and feel like scrolling through it. It can be such a time suck. Finding that balance is a never ending process for me.