Burnout? But the Year Just Started! Five Steps to Being More Productive

We’re firmly entrenched into the New Year—the stress of the holidays is over, we’ve marketed like crazy to get to all those new device owners and the last thing we want to do is look at another social media tweet, blog, post or anything—especially, if you have to generate the content.

Burnout is serious business. It can kill your motivation and even leave you with a negative attitude toward the things that are an integral part of your overall writing/publishing career. So today, here are a few tips to avoid and even attack social media burnout.

1. Disconnect. Yep, that’s right. Let go for an entire day. No Facebook, Twitter, Socl, Pinterest, Google+ or any other platform. It’s just one day! Even give up your e-mail and blogs (Don’t tell the Evil Mastermind and make sure it’s not on a Saturday!)

2.  Analyze why you feel this way. Start with the amount of time you’re spending on social media. Are you participating on numerous sites? Do you focus too much on just one site? Are you bored? Are you not getting the results you want?

Once you figure out why you’re burnt out, you’ll be able to redirect your focus to more productive activities. If you feel like you are not getting results with a particular platform, change what you are doing—shift to paid ads or free book campaigns with Amazon or giveaways on Goodreads.

After all, the definition of insanity is Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

3. Set boundaries. Schedule parts of your day where you don’t allow yourself to participate in social media or even answer e-mails. Do you realize that you lose four minutes every time you stop what you are doing to look at e-mails? That’s two hours a day if check your e-mail every fifteen minutes or so.

4. Set goals. You’ve heard me preach about this before on this blog. It’s so important to set goals and write them down. Schedule your day with specific blocks of time for each activity. You’ll find a whole new freedom with a schedule. You’ll be more productive and have time for everything, including social media.

5. Focus. This goes hand-in-hand with number four, but when it comes to social media, don’t try to be everywhere. Make sure you have quality posts and alternate weeks where you focus on different social media platforms. Divide the month into four segments where you focus on a particular platform. For example: Week one-Pinterest, Week two-Goodreads, Week three-Google+, Week four-Socl. You figure out what works best for you and schedule it into your overall plan.

You might think that once a month is not enough for a particular platform, but don’t worry, it will still be there when you get back. Figure out for yourself which ones are the most important and make that your primary, the lower tiered platforms are the ones that you divvy up for the month.

With these simple steps, you can avoid burnout, organize your day better and be more productive in 2013. What are some of the keys you have for making your week productive?

Author: Jim Devitt

Jim Devitt’s debut YA novel, The Card, hit #1 in three separate categories on the Kindle Bestseller list in early January and was a finalist in the Guys Can Read Indie Author Contest this past summer. Devitt currently lives in Miami, FL with his wife Melissa and their children. Learn more about Jim at his blog and his Amazon author page.

19 thoughts on “Burnout? But the Year Just Started! Five Steps to Being More Productive”

  1. So right, Jim. It’s all about finding and keeping our balance. Sometimes that’s tough but if we don’t we get burned out, as you say. In a way we are on the same wavelength. Check out my post Monday morning. 🙂

  2. Basically, I plan on improving productivity by focusing the majority of my time and effort on new words. I’m planning something like an 80-20 split, so I need to spend at LEAST four times as many hours per week working on new material as I do participating in social media. I find this to also be an effective way to avoid social media burnout. 😉

  3. Great post, Jim. I’ve been coming to some conclusions along the line of your #2. Some things I’ve been doing aren’t giving me the payoff I hoped for. Time to try something else, I think.

  4. Just what I needed to read today Jim. I have turned off FaceTwit and scheduled some time today to get on with some “proper” writing. Some days I feel like I am drowning under the weight of it all. Your post is full of common sense suggestions. I just needed someone to remind me to follow them through. Thank you.

  5. A great post just in time for my burnout session. Really, I have been walking around in circles thinking how much time media is sucking the strength out of me. Excellent advice on setting boundaries. I hope to write more in 2013, tweet less, however IU is a morning mainstay. Thanks again JIm!

  6. “You lose four minutes every time you stop what you are doing to look at e-mails? That’s two hours a day if check your e-mail every fifteen minutes or so.” I even find that I lose two hours every time I stop and check email! Just say no.

  7. That’s the hardest thing for me to do, that’s why I need a schedule blocked out with segments of activity. Thanks, Krista!

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