time

Where Do You Find the Time?

By Mark Evans in Social Media 7 Comments Tags: , ,

One of the many things about social media that is fascinating and intriguing is how many people find so much time to be so engaged. It got me thinking about the following questions:

- How can they be on Twitter day and night? It’s not just posting tweets, which can be scheduled, but engaging in active conversations, answering questions and retweeting?
- How do they generate a steady flow of blog posts, many of them longer think or opinion pieces as opposed a 200 to 300-word riff on something?
- How can they have an active presence on Facebook with regular updates, Likes and comments?
- And how can some people also be active on Posterous, Tumblr, LinkedIn, YouTube and other social media services?

If social media consumes so much of their time, what has to give? Is it the amount of time watching television? Do they not exercise as much, if at all? Do they not read books or have hobbies? Are they less social?

There is only 24 hours in the day – some of it is spent sleeping, some eating and then there’s working. When work is busy, social media seems like a luxury. There are days when social media isn’t an option at all but it is not something that I miss or feel that I’m missing out on.

So all you digital and social media animals out there, where do you find the time? What aren’t you doing now that you used to do?

Social Media is a Balancing Act

By Mark Evans in Uncategorized 1 Comment Tags: , ,

Social media is addictive and time-suck.

By its very nature, social media lends itself to spending too much time in conversations, and reading and writing blog posts, tweets, updates, Likes, etc. If you’re not careful, hours can disappear, which is one of the reason some companies are so recalcitrant about letting employees use social media during work hours.

This is why balance is such an important part of using social media. The use of social media needs to be weighed against other things happening in your professional and personal life. It work is getting busy, the time spent with social media needs to shrink or disappear. When this happens, there needs to be a recognition that the world goes on, and that Facebook, Twitter, et al will be waiting upon your return.

The need for balance has always been a personal reality. When work or life gets busy, social media takes a back seat. While I enjoy Twitter, I don’t miss or crave it when I’m doing something else. Twitter is like a parade; if you miss a you float because you went to buy a hot dog, it’s no problem because there are lots of floats still to come.

My thoughts about social media and time management were piqued by a post by social media consultant Chris Brogan, who talked about a “social media crash” and how many hours social media can consume. While there are dangers in being too involved with social media, keep in mind Brogan is a social media animal who’s completely immersed and engaged in the landscape. In other words, he’s an extreme example who has carved as a high-profile reputation for being a social media tour de force.

For the rest of us, social media should and can be far less of a time-suck. Like anything we consume, moderation is the key. Being able to know how much and when is a key to enjoying and getting value out of social media.

More: Speaking of balance, here’s one of my favorite posts on how to simplify your life from zenhabits. For anyone who wants to get a better handle on how much they are spending online and using software, RescueTime is a good tool to track it.

Life Before Smartphones?

By Mark Evans in Main Page 2 Comments Tags: , ,

As I was leaving a downtown meeting yesterday, I saw a women running a hot dog cart. That in and of itself wasn’t interesting but what caught my eye was that she was intently checking her smartphone, oblivious to the hustle and bustle around her.

It got me thinking about what life was like before smartphones? How did we fill in the small gaps between meetings, during coffee breaks or lunch, waiting in line-ups for groceries or movies, commuting or stuck in traffic?

Today, many people instantly reach for their smartphones to check e-mail, watch videos, surf the Web or play games. While these devices are terrific, what’s been lost in the process? Are we reading fewer newspapers? Are we reading fewer newspapers? Are we spending less think time just thinking with no distractions?

There is a price to be paid for using a smartphone because the time it consumes means that something else has to give. For the gains they offer, there is also a balancing loss.

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