I recently came across an article that describes 13 easy tips to attempt to get a handle on social media overload. I feel that this article is very helpful because it provides tips on alternatives to constantly obsessing over forms of social media.
1) Schedule Your Social Life: Schedule specific times to check social media sites. Mark these times into your calendar and stick to them like they're a meeting.
2) Work Offline: Create a list of important jobs to do that day and complete them first before you even get online. Prioritize and learn to manage your job from a different location other than your inbox.
3) Just StayFocusd!: Use StayFocused by Chrome, where you can set your own limits for the amount of time spent on a website.
4) Find A Way To Concentrate: You can simply block websites that will distract you. It is also available to set a timer until you are able to access these websites. Save time by not switching back and forth between contexts.
5) Get Yourself A Nanny: By this I mean, Chrome Nanny, as well as the Chrome plug-in "babysitter" which automatically blocks certain websites when you try to type the URL address.
6) Push Those Notifications Away: Change those settings that you have where e-mails are automatically displayed on your desktop and notifications are sent directly to your phone.
7) Batch Your Tasks: Accomplish your important tasks first, and tell yourself that your Facebook friends will still be there next time you log on.
8) Cross The Finish Line Daily: Force yourself to accomplish a considerable amount of work each day. Once this limit is reached, then use the remaining time to observe social media sites.
9) Is It Time For Recess?: Divide your day into one-hour increments and play your day accordingly. For every hour, spend 45 minutes on work, and the remaining 15 minutes on e-mail, social media, and music.
10) The 'Billboard' Effect: Try placing your goals for the day on a giant white-board. Whenever you feel pressured to check a social media website, take a glance at this board.
11) Clean Out Your Smartphones: Remove the apps for Facebook and Twitter as well as other apps involving social media. This will make it more difficult to access these sites.
12) Go Unplugged: Turn the phone and internet completely off. If composing e-mails, write them out first, and then log in to send them.
13) Why Are You Insecure At All?: Find out what you are trying to avoid and what is driving you to constantly check social media sites. If encountered with a large task, try dividing it up into little pieces to make it more manageable.
Here is the link for these tools:
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/09/11/13-tools-to-tame-social-media-overload/
It's interesting Google Chrome has developed a "Nanny System" to help user's control their negative work habits. I know I constantly check my phone for facebook updates or twitter tweets. I recently discovered the Do Not Disturb option on my Iphone. Which effectively puts the phone on silence except for anyone who calls twice within five minutes. I follow step number 9, "Is it time for recess" when studying. When my brain has reached the point where it needs a break to consolidate all the information I'm reviewing I like to check my email, facebook, twitter, blogger, etc giving my mind some time to cool off.
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