Plan 365 days of content in 5 hours!

Words By Tara Wagner

5 Social Media RULES to Save You TIME

Tara scrolling through her phone

Alright we’ve all been there. We have businesses to run and social is a part of that, but it’s also a TIME SUCK. So I’m going to share my 5 social media rules I follow that help me get in, connect in a meaningful way, and move on with my day.

Watch here or read below.

5 Social Media RULES to Save You TIME Share on X

Today we are talking about social media rules because we all have this love/hate thing going on with social.

It obviously meets a real need in our lives and in our businesses.

But it can also be incredibly draining of our time, of our mental and emotional energy, OF OUR TIME and, you know, when you get sucked into the Scroll Hole, it’s frustrating and then you bring that frustration with you into your day.

I know I’m not the only one who goes through this.

Drop me a comment with “SCROLL HOLE” if you know what I’m talking about.

Now let’s talk about the five social media rules that I use that have really helped me transform my experience around this, take control of it, and use it in a meaningful way, but not really let it use me.

Woman working on laptop in cozy space

SOCIAL MEDIA RULE #1: WORK FROM YOUR DESKTOP

Rule number one is to “work from the desktop” because it’s faster to type from a desktop than your cell phone.

Homegirl, you’ve got goals, I have goals, and we don’t have time to waste time on inefficiency.

This is actually why I love my MacBook with the touch bar because it still allows me to do emojis (no, this video is I’m not sponsored by Apple, I freaking wish, I just really love emojis.)

By the way, I do still have the social apps on my phone, I just don’t usually work from them very often because of Social Media Rule #Two…

SOCIAL MEDIA RULE #2: SET BOUNDARIES

Rule number two is to “set boundaries”, and I mean this in a few different ways.

For starters,I set boundaries on the times of day that I will check my phone and I set boundaries on the days of the week.

For instance, Sundays are a boundary for me.

I don’t get on my phone; I don’t even usually touch my phone on Sunday.

Actually, from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning, my phone usually stays plugged in.

That’s a boundary for me.

Another boundary that I have is around notifications.

I get ZERO social notifications on my phone, I don’t see them until I open the app.

When I go there and choose to engage in social, that’s the only time I’m going to see my notifications.

So no little red dots, nothing on my screen, no push notifications, nothing is coming through to distract me throughout the day or pull me into social when I don’t want to be there.

This really helps me to focus on one thing at a time and not get distracted, because remember, these little things were designed to be addictive.

All the little flashing lights and the chimes and all the colors, everything is there to suck you in.

Don’t let it do that!

Social Media was designed to be addictive. All the little flashing lights, chimes, and all the colors, everything is there to suck you in. (Tara Wagner) Share on X
close up of female hands on phone

SOCIAL MEDIA RULE #3: SET AN INTENTION

Rule number three is to “set an intention.”

I take even just 15 to 30 seconds to set an intention for why I’m going on social.

  • How do I want to show up?
  • How do I want to feel?
  • What am I’m really trying to do in a meaningful way “such as connecting with people or supporting people or encouraging people?”

This allows me to practice and set my mindset and my emotions so that I’m using social media in a very intentional way versus allowing it to use me.

Which leads me into Social Media Rule Number Four…

SOCIAL MEDIA RULE #4 – MAKE A LIST

Rule number four is to “make a list”. Check it twice. Prioritize it like a boss.

When I get on social, I know exactly what I’m there to do and I know what needs to be done first so that if I run out of time, I know that the most important things got done.

  • So, for instance, on Facebook, when I jump on the very first thing that I do is go and check my messages.
  • Then I go over into the Boss Lady Breakthroughs Groupwhich, if you have not joined our group, you need to go and join it.
  • Then I jump into our private Oily community.
  • From there, I check my Mastermind groups and then I have a list of other favorite groups, listed in priority that I’ll check after that.

Then and only then will I check my notifications.

Also, just a little pro-tip here, when you go to check your notifications from your desktop, be sure to hold down the Command key or the Control key (if you’re on a PC) and open up each new notification that you want to check in a new tab.

This means when you get to the bottom of the list, you can mark all as read and then start going through the tabs one at a time.

I cannot tell you how much time and energy this saves me from just minimizing those rabbit holes that we fall down.

SOCIAL MEDIA RULE #5 – SET A TIMER

Rule number five is to “Set a timer” and I will admit, I’m not very good at this rule yet.I actually just started doing it

I used to try to set a timer in my head, and then I had this A-ha moment that I can’t comment and count at the same time and so two hours was going by and I was like, “Why isn’t this working?”

Duh. I needed a real timer.

I also like to gamify things so I like to challenge myself to be done before the timer goes off (which I have not yet once been able to do) but what I will do when the timer goes off is finish up what I’m commenting on and then I will bounce.

AND I HAVE A LITTLE BONUS TIP FOR YOU:

Figure out how you can outsource more of this.

I have an assistant who helps me to create graphics or schedules posts.

I have moderators in my groups to help me manage those groups.

You might not think that you can outsource everything, and you might not want to outsource everything, but you can probably outsource more than you realize.

So ask yourself, “Can I teach someone else how to do this” or “Can I create templates, to help someone else help me do this?”

Even if you’re creating the posts, it’s easier for you to sit down in a Google Doc and create ten posts without the distraction of Facebook notifications in the background, and then have your assistant go in and schedule those things, then it is to try to do these things one at a time.

So, look for ways that you could be batchingtime blocking, and outsourcing because there are ways that you want to show up on social, but you don’t have to be doing every single thing on social.

All of these rules have really helped me to master my energy and free up time for what’s called Big Rocks, or priorities.

I explain what Big Rocks are in the What Is Time Blocking blog.

I hear from so many women who feel like they don’t have time for their big goals or projects, or for things like self-care, but almost every time this really comes down to, not that they don’t have enough time, but that they’re wasting precious time on things that they don’t actually need to be doing at all or don’t need to be doing themselves.

Social media is important in our business. I’m not going to say that it’s not, but it’s not priority number one.

Priority number one is to take care of your most important business tool, which is YOU: your physical health and your mental and your emotional state.

Priority number one is to take care of your most important business tool, which is YOU. Your physical health and your mental and your emotional state. (Tara Wagner) Share on X
IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU’RE STRUGGLING WITH, I WANT TO RECOMMEND MY SELF-CARE IN SECONDS TRAINING.

This is a free training that I put together just for busy female entrepreneurs who are tired of being tired, overwhelmed, and not having the time for themselves to fill their cup.

It’s going to walk you through some really powerful mindset shifts.

It’s going to teach you a couple of strategies to start making time, LEGIT when you don’t have time, cause I get it and I understand, I’ve been there too!

But when you don’t have time, you’re going to find some strategies to help you do that easier and you’re going to find a ton of ideas for ways that you can start filling your cup in as little as 30 seconds.

No joke!

Again, it’s 100% Free.

You can check it out by clicking the button below or by clicking here to learn more!

WHAT ABOUT YOU, BOSS LADY?

Drop me a comment below letting me know your best social media rules that have helped you save time and energy and maybe some frustration.

Scroll down to comment!

xoTara

Love it? Share it?

*This post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. You can read my full disclaimer here.

Categories

Wanna hear when fresh posts land?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About the author

Picture of Tara Wagner
Tara Wagner
I’m Tara Wagner, creator of the Breakthrough Boss®. I help small biz owners overcome burnout and create part-time schedules with full-time profits. Not with some new marketing strategy, but with a holistic approach to how you operate.
Let's Connect On
Instagram!
[instagram-feed]

Wanna hear when fresh posts land?

*Make sure your email is real + correct to receive your updates via your inbox!

By submitting your info, you’re agreeing to my Privacy Policy. I will never share your info in any way (I hate that too), and you may opt-out at any time.

Is your business burning you out?

👇Here's Your Free Fix👇

🚫 Spending hours per week creating content?

👆 Click to learn how! 👆