If we’re being honest, we have two lives we lead. The one on social media: where everything is perfect, the sun is always shining, and our kids never misbehave. And real life: where the kitchen floor never gets mopped, laundry doesn’t always get folded, and ketchup counts as a vegetable for your toddler. When you’re a small business owner, it can be a challenge balancing social media and real life. We want to present a professional face for clients – but then, well… kids. Enough said!

But that really begs the question: how do you find that balance?!

And with people now spending 8+ hours on social media every day, it is REALLY hard to unplug… regardless of whether or not you’re a small business owner!

Balancing Social Media and Real Life

Take Weekends Off

As much as I am humanly able to, I don’t work on weekends. Obviously if we have a wedding, we go and shoot it. But otherwise, I try really REALLY hard not to schedule work on the weekends because I want to reserve that time for spending time with my hubby and our sweet little shrimpies.

And when I explain that to clients (that I try and put family first as much as possible), they are usually super understanding and will work with us.

Dedicate Specific Social Media Time

It is so easy to get lost in the Facebook hole… you go to check one thing and suddenly, it’s been 3 hours and you’re watching a video of people singing on the subway.

Figure out when you are the most productive, and dedicate a set amount of time to make your posts, browse your news feed, and connect with others in a meaningful way. For me, I’m most productive first thing in the morning, right after my kiddos go to school, so usually from 8:30am-10:30am I’m working with my social media accounts.

Schedule Posts

Most platforms allow you to schedule your posts, and that is a major lifesaver for balancing social media and real life. Companies like HootSuite and Buffer allow you to schedule important tweets and Facebook updates. Plus your web platform (like WordPress or Squarespace) will usually allow you to set specific times for your blog posts to go live.

No Work After “X” Time

At our house, we have a rule that there’s no work after 9 o’clock, because it’s so easy for us to get caught up in working until 10, 11, 12 o’clock at night (and still have plenty left to do!). However, I encourage you to take that one step further and institute a “no electronics at all after ‘X’ time at night”. It sounds drastic, but it will really give you a mental margarita and help you sleep better at night.

Discipline

As with anything else, a new plan is only as good as how well it is enforced. I hope that you take some of these tips and are able to implement them in your everyday life. If you find yourself drawn to constantly checking your social media, ask yourself “why?” Is it the fear of missing out? I promise, there isn’t anything you that important that you need to be online all the time.
Remember, you only have 24 hours each day, so make them count!

Take Your Business to the Next Level!

If you are a photographer in need of business mentoring, I would love to help you out in your photographic journey! Fresh Look Photography offers private mentoring to help with any aspect of running your business, and we’d love to chat with you! Feel free to drop a comment below or click the { Contact Me } button and we will get rocking and rolling!