Is it Time for a Social Media Sabbatical?
By the end of each year, most of us need a break from the onslaught of information available on our phones, tablets and computers. I’ve planned to take a carefully planned mini-sabbatical from online activity during the next few weeks.
Why a social media sabbatical is a good idea for professionals
- On an average day, we consume 100,500 words from digital and print sources
- Social media feels like it’s productive, but can often be a clever way to procrastinate
- The volume of information we receive is not necessarily correlated to the volume of information we need to do quality work
Why I need a break
I enjoy blogging, keeping up with news from my Twitter and LinkedIn communities and generally being an online busybody.
But lately I’ve missed face-to-face communication. I’ve also noticed that I’m spending more time on social media than is really necessary to gather news and information and to get work done. That time could be better prioritized.
A social media sabbatical plan
Being self-employed, I can’t afford to go silent (online or off) for too long. Nor would I enjoy it. I really want the perspective that can only come from time away, though. Here’s my plan:
- Two weeks of vacation. No work, no LinkedIn updates, no Twitter, no Facebook, no Zite. I will check email and phone messages, but limit the activity alerts from each social media app I use.
- Four weeks without personal social media activity, but continuing to use it as necessary for client projects
- Eight weeks without blogging, to draw my own conclusions about content strategy from in-person conversations with clients and contacts
My LinkedIn and Twitter accounts will be updated at the start of the sabbatical with an explanation for my absence.
I realize that this isn’t all that different from professionals who aren’t active on social media to begin with. But it’s a start. Thank you for reading my blog posts this year – I’ve appreciated the support and I’ve met some great people.
Happy holidays to you, dear readers. Here’s to a very successful 2015.
