The discussion is active and ongoing about the pros and cons about social media’s impact on various demographics. There’s so many stories about how to manage time, and energy and focus if you’re a social media end user, but how do you manage as a social media pro? There’s a risk of burnout. work/life balance, device or content fatigue I feel more stories, tips, and best practices could be shared!
I like to device detox from time to time, for set times when I’m “touching grass,” focusing on other hobbies or pursuits. (I try to minimize using smartphones to check accounts at 3AM, but there are times when that’s not so easy). Making time to read a good book or even an audio book forces me to slow down at times, which is grounding.
How do you reset and wind down?
Self-care tips for social media professionals?
Best answer by kate.meyers emery
Love this topic and so glad we’re talking about it! Here’s what I do to protect my mental health (as someone who is an in-house social media manager, but a team of one).
- Trading monitoring duties: when times are tough and we get a lot of rough comments/tags, we trade off who is monitoring. I’m the only person with social media explicitly in my job description, but the whole comms team helps when needed.
- Only monitor during working hours: there are no expectations to watch social outside 8 am to 5 pm; partially its due to the work we do which is not saving lives (which most brands aren’t) and its partially due to treating community management like customer service which often has clear hours.
- Separate work phone: I got an unlocked Google Pixel 7 that runs on WiFi only; a much easier argument to make than trying to get a phone with a monthly plan. It means when I’m off hours or on vacation I can leave the phone home, tucked away in my office.
- No personal social media outside working hours: I only do a small amount of social media for myself (mainly LinkedIn) on breaks, and try to avoid it otherwise. I even have an app blocker on my phone so I can’t open them on browsers. Not everyone needs to be that extreme, but it is what works for me. I find I’m able to stay on top of trends and what’s happening just fine during work hours.
For me it was first accepting something is going to fall through the cracks and that does not make me less of a professional. Once, I was ok and didn't feel guilty about not always being on. It make it easier to do my crafty hobbies. Also making time to commiserate with people who understand helps to validate if I'm off or the world if off.
Take time to get in to things that don’t need you to use your phone. Subscribe to a physical magazine, play video games on a console. Watch a movie but leave your phone in a different room. If you’re not on duty silence your notifications, they’ll still be there when your clock in next.
Oh and if you’re on holiday, don’t take your work phone. People can survive without your input for a few days.
+6Love this topic and so glad we’re talking about it! Here’s what I do to protect my mental health (as someone who is an in-house social media manager, but a team of one).
- Trading monitoring duties: when times are tough and we get a lot of rough comments/tags, we trade off who is monitoring. I’m the only person with social media explicitly in my job description, but the whole comms team helps when needed.
- Only monitor during working hours: there are no expectations to watch social outside 8 am to 5 pm; partially its due to the work we do which is not saving lives (which most brands aren’t) and its partially due to treating community management like customer service which often has clear hours.
- Separate work phone: I got an unlocked Google Pixel 7 that runs on WiFi only; a much easier argument to make than trying to get a phone with a monthly plan. It means when I’m off hours or on vacation I can leave the phone home, tucked away in my office.
- No personal social media outside working hours: I only do a small amount of social media for myself (mainly LinkedIn) on breaks, and try to avoid it otherwise. I even have an app blocker on my phone so I can’t open them on browsers. Not everyone needs to be that extreme, but it is what works for me. I find I’m able to stay on top of trends and what’s happening just fine during work hours.
+4I try my best to get off my phone and not check notifications outside of work, but it’s definitely hard. For me, the best way to not get burnt out is to get away from my phone. My go to is going to the gym or outside for a run. Even just having lunch outside on a nice day always helps me!
+3It’s so hard not to be “chronically online”. I’ve invested in lengthy offline hobbies like backpacking (no internet in the wilderness!) and running like
+1This can be applied to almost any field but a great supervisor I had a few years back encouraged me to keep a “kudos” folder. Any time I get positive feedback in writing, I screenshot it and save it to the kudos folder for a future tough day at the office. It’s a great reminder that the odd mistake does not outweigh the value of my work. The contents also ended up being very useful for my latest job search, haha.
Totally get where you're coming from, it’s such an ongoing juggle.
For me, resetting and winding down has become something I really have to be intentional about. I’ve realised that protecting my time is key. Working longer hours doesn’t always mean I’m getting more done. Actually, the more I started properly switching off, the sharper and more productive I became when I was back ‘on’. I used to overthink and overwork things a lot, and I’ve really tried to overcook things less. Often it’s the simpler, more instinctive content that ends up being the most effective.
I try to be quite disciplined with downtime. Getting outside is a big one, even just a quick walk or some time away from devices really helps clear my head. I’ll often step away completely to do something that’s not screen-based and hands on like gardening, it breaks the loop a bit and feels properly refreshing. It’s definitely a conscious effort, something I have to keep working at and remind myself to do. But, always worth it for the headspace it gives me.
I put a set time on my cal to have a device free moment to decompress and reset. my top thing to do right now is to go on walks in the AM.
+5Love this topic and so glad we’re talking about it! Here’s what I do to protect my mental health (as someone who is an in-house social media manager, but a team of one).
- Trading monitoring duties: when times are tough and we get a lot of rough comments/tags, we trade off who is monitoring. I’m the only person with social media explicitly in my job description, but the whole comms team helps when needed.
- Only monitor during working hours: there are no expectations to watch social outside 8 am to 5 pm; partially its due to the work we do which is not saving lives (which most brands aren’t) and its partially due to treating community management like customer service which often has clear hours.
- Separate work phone: I got an unlocked Google Pixel 7 that runs on WiFi only; a much easier argument to make than trying to get a phone with a monthly plan. It means when I’m off hours or on vacation I can leave the phone home, tucked away in my office.
- No personal social media outside working hours: I only do a small amount of social media for myself (mainly LinkedIn) on breaks, and try to avoid it otherwise. I even have an app blocker on my phone so I can’t open them on browsers. Not everyone needs to be that extreme, but it is what works for me. I find I’m able to stay on top of trends and what’s happening just fine during work hours.
I would also add - a mentor one time told me it was essential to dip in and out. While Sprout is always open (along with the native social channels) I do not have the screen constantly open. Since I am no longer in the agency world and work for a nonprofit as inhouse social, I am a team of one -- this is essential for my mental health and well being.
I check social. like I do my email - at set times during the day. I also have two set times on the weekend to check in, and since our largest community for patients and caregivers are on Facebook, make sure I have it set up so that when we are hit by spammers for hours (like we were earlier this week) the posts are hidden until I can come back to my desk during working hours to ban those users and tag them in my Spam report so they understand the time that community management can take for a SMM.
+6This can be applied to almost any field but a great supervisor I had a few years back encouraged me to keep a “kudos” folder. Any time I get positive feedback in writing, I screenshot it and save it to the kudos folder for a future tough day at the office. It’s a great reminder that the odd mistake does not outweigh the value of my work. The contents also ended up being very useful for my latest job search, haha.
I started doing this last year as well, and it is such a great reminder! I toss screenshots of great comments, emails that highlight my work, slack message kudos, conference talk banner images, and anything else that shows that my work is having an impact.
It’s also super useful for year end reviews!
One of the best things I’ve done is implement a no social media rule when I’m on vacation. This gives me a true break, resets my brain, and helps me be more present while I’m traveling and with family.
Of course, I do a lot of work to prepare the accounts I manage and my team before I’m out so everything is taken care of. But as soon as I log off of work for time off, I delete all of the social media apps on my phone.
Love this topic and so glad we’re talking about it! Here’s what I do to protect my mental health (as someone who is an in-house social media manager, but a team of one).
- Trading monitoring duties: when times are tough and we get a lot of rough comments/tags, we trade off who is monitoring. I’m the only person with social media explicitly in my job description, but the whole comms team helps when needed.
- Only monitor during working hours: there are no expectations to watch social outside 8 am to 5 pm; partially its due to the work we do which is not saving lives (which most brands aren’t) and its partially due to treating community management like customer service which often has clear hours.
- Separate work phone: I got an unlocked Google Pixel 7 that runs on WiFi only; a much easier argument to make than trying to get a phone with a monthly plan. It means when I’m off hours or on vacation I can leave the phone home, tucked away in my office.
- No personal social media outside working hours: I only do a small amount of social media for myself (mainly LinkedIn) on breaks, and try to avoid it otherwise. I even have an app blocker on my phone so I can’t open them on browsers. Not everyone needs to be that extreme, but it is what works for me. I find I’m able to stay on top of trends and what’s happening just fine during work hours.
These are fantastic practices! Treating community management like customer service and having a separate work phone are game changers.
Some great ideas and feedback in this thread. Thank you for so much helpful, insightful engagement!
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