Managing social media

I love social media. I probably spend way too much time on it, but since I am still getting everything else done, I assume it is OK. I find it entertaining and I get value out of it.

But, it is easy to go down on a scrolling spree and spend too much time on Twitter or Instagram. And then I do feel like I’ve lost time that I can never get back.

To solve this, I’ve tried out a number of things.

I’ve gone on a social media hiatus in the past, and I figured out I felt that being active on social media does add value to my life.

I’ve set time limits on my use – either based on times during the day that I block social media websites, or based on a maximum number of minutes per day. This strategy worked based many years ago, when I was less aware of when I wanted to just run away from a difficult task as compared to taking a break and catch up with what is going on in the world.

What I’m using at the moment is the following: I check less frequently during the day, simply because I’m very busy. When I check, I want to focus on interaction, so I try to engage with 10 posts. I simply mark my 10 interactions, which usually give me a good idea of what is going on anyway, and then I consider myself “done” with my social media check.

How do you manage your social media interactions?