5 Tips on How To Use Social Media and Be Productive
Stop feeling guilty for scrolling and use it to your own advantage
Every now and then a new article pops up on the subject of social media.
“I quit social media, and it changed my life.”
Or
“While you’re scrolling through social media, others are getting rich.”
And so on. While these articles are probably meant to inspire you, what they end up achieving is quite the opposite. We feel guilty.
Successful people don’t use social media, right?
Wrong.
They just know how to use it to their own advantage. So can you.
Here you can find a few tips to help you organize yourself and reap the benefits of scrolling.
Organize, Optimize and Reap
1. Create a folder designed for social media
By removing apps from the home screen, your fingers won’t be drawn to them. You’ll forget to check your TikTok because you won’t be tempted.
Humans are creatures of habit.
2. Turn off unnecessary notifications
A messy home screen with a million notifications spikes up my anxiety.
I open an app to get rid of them, and end up using it for one hour.
Instead, what I did was disable all notifications that don’t need my immediate attention. End result: I open the app once a day for a minute and check the things I find interesting.
3. Don’t use social media as a mean of distraction
Instead of opening apps when you’re bored or waiting in line, assign a time for social media. Maybe you like to go through Instagram with your morning coffee. Or to relax on Twitter before going to bed.
By taking the time out of our day for a specific task, no matter how short or long that time is, we tend to focus more on the information in front of us.
Let’s say you decide on 2h a day. In a few days, you’ll see that you’ve developed preferences on which apps you want to spend time on.
Listen to yourself. You know what you like. Scrolling through photos or reading an article, it’s up to you.
Let it be a conscious decision.
4. Treat Social Media as A Learning Tool
You’ve noticed that you’ve spent a lot of time watching cooking videos. Or looking at photos of cars.
Don’t scroll to the next thing.
Keep a notepad open on your phone, or take a pen and paper and write those interests down.
These could be your hobbies. Or your future source of income.
So many times I’ve heard people say: “I don’t have hobbies.” Yes, you do! You just keep them on a screen. Change that.
Social media can be a powerful tool. It’s completely up to you how you want to use it.
Want to feel bad about yourself? Follow people whose only content is flexing their wealth.
Want to learn something? Follow scientists, accountants, DIY experts. For the first time, we can interact with the people we want to learn from, through various social media platforms.
Use Instagram, LinkedIn, Earneo, Twitter…
Find that person who inspires you.
5. Tailor social media to suit your needs
Are you looking to change your career?
Look up someone who works in the field you want to switch to and follow them. You could learn, or even reach out to them. A number of successful people love to share their knowledge. Networking is the easiest way to make a step forward in your professional life.
Do you own a small side business?
Try studying someone’s marketing strategy by following their Instagram or TikTok.
These tricks could boost your sales and create your online presence. There are plenty of creators who offer classes and other tips with huge discounts to their followers.
You never know what could happen. You might learn enough to leave your 9–5 job and do what you enjoy the most.
In the end, you might just want to use social media to be entertained, and that’s perfectly fine. Nothing wrong with that. As long as you get something positive out of it, you do you.
Just check in with yourself every once in a while. Does this content make me feel better?
If not, keep this article as a reminder that there are other options.