I am an early adopter of social media and a technology enthusiast. I've been a social media and strategic marketing consultant since 2007 and have over 20 years marketing experience. I am based in Montreal.
Hi! Remember me? I was the one that used to blog about marketing and social media on a reasonably regular basis. Ringing any bells?
Those of us who’ve been practitioners in social media for a while are familiar with it, struggle with it, scratch our heads and wonder how others do it: How do you keep everything balanced without burning out?
The number one question that I’ve had from people curious about starting in social media is always about the amount of time that is needed to participate. It is a time suck, for sure. That’s not to say it’s not a worthwhile time suck, because it most assuredly is. But, let’s be realistic, it does take time and commitment to keep all of those balls in the air.
As a sole practitioner, delegation is not always an option for me (yet). So, between maintaining business/social networks, keeping up with industry developments, creating content, doing client work, nurturing new business and collaborating on some exciting new service offerings, my plate has been full.
Let’s add some life to that too. There’s my my responsibility to being a full participant in my family, because they will always come first. And, the need to maintain a few offline friendships, hoping that those whom I don’t contact regularly are understanding. Notice here that I haven’t even touched on any “me” time for personal development. You know, like taking a course in juggling.
I was headed towards a lethal combination of entrepreneur and social media burnout. Not good when you consider that my livelihood is dependent on being a marketing entrepreneur specializing in social media.
Something had to give. Actually, a few things did. This blog was one of them. But the break from trying to do it all was good for me.
In the meantime, the folks at Hubspot have revealed what I always suspected about how Chris Brogan can do so much.
Now it’s time to get back to this blog and other things left undone (thanking the Google gods for the Mark All As Read button). Learning to keep a balance and maintain perspective is an ongoing process. For those of you along for the ride, thank you for your patience.
If you have any tips or wisdom about balancing business, social media and a personal life while maintaining your sanity, please share!
8 responses so far ↓
1 Otir // Apr 30, 2009 at 1:39 pm
My only tip about balancing business, social media and personal life is to throw guilt and perfectionism away.
2 Adele McAlear // Apr 30, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Otir - you got me in two! GREAT advice. Thank you.
3 Belinda Darcey // Apr 30, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Try setting your update/refresh buttons to once an hour (versus whenever). Or turn off your twitter app completely for a block of time. Fewer spontaneous interruptions = more productivity and focus.
4 Donald // Apr 30, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Hi Adele
Good to read that you’re striving for a balanced work load, and posting.
Being very busy here and not quite in the same industry as yourself, yet needing to read much techy stuff, has meant I’ve wandered away from tweets. I am reminded as I write that it’s a very rich source of ideas and inspiration, but as winter’s eyes are upon me I’m going to yoga practise 2-3 times a week. And when the sun shines I wander shuffling through the golden and brown leaves proliferating. It’s all simply healthier for me, and even getting an iPhone for work does, I find keep me nicely away from visiting the keyboard out-of-hours!
So all the best to you and yours
Cheers
Donald [southernlight]
5 dotcomexpert (Abd Essamad) // May 1, 2009 at 10:03 am
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A Well-Needed Break [link to post] http://friendfeed.com/e/2b2df926-7199-4a17-b35c-50026e9df852
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6 dotcomexpert (Abd Essamad) // May 1, 2009 at 10:04 am
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A Well-Needed Break [link to post] http://friendfeed.com/e/744e5034-d391-4030-b9a7-ae99e35d11c1
- Posted using Chat Catcher
7 Adele McAlear // May 5, 2009 at 7:13 am
Belinda - thank you for your tips, they’re good ones to add to the list.
Donald - It’s so good to see you! Thanks for the update. It sounds like you’re doing well balancing life (must be the yoga lessons!). As your winter approaches, I am looking forward to my summer.
8 Karen Swim // May 13, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Hi Adele - I nodded and laughed in complete sympathy. As you can see you wrote this two weeks ago and I’m just making my way over. Your life sounded very familiar. My biggest tip is be kind to yourself. When I could not keep all the balls in the air, I was consumed with guilt which stressed me out. We can’t do it all and we were never meant to. You tap into what is important and if the other things slip, life will indeed go on.
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