I think everyone is in agreement that social media clutter in the head is a real thing in our world today. By clutter, I mean those annoying “PiTING!” sounds from your tablet, cell phone and other devices from every email and social media account you have. It’s about getting stuck on Facebook reading and posting for hours. Have you ever been on Twitter for so long that you dearly wished something would kick you off? So you sleep with a laptop with the blue lights glaring right next to your bed? Then, you wonder why you can’t sleep. Hmmm …
Dissolving Social Media Clutter from Your Head
How it Begins
About 10 years ago, I promoted a few of my former websites through LinkedIn, Pinterest, MySpace, FriendFeed, Plaxo, Tumblr, YouTube, Vimeo, and about a dozen Ning niche network sites. Whew! Can you spell burn out? After keeping that up for about four years I realized that I had to streamline.
“Every decision you make requires resources. Neurons are living cells with metabolisms. When they work, they need to replenish themselves with glucose, and that’s not in unlimited supply in the brain. So, whether you make a tiny decision or a big one, you’re using up those resources.“
— Daniel J. Levitin, The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload
Given the usual reverse rubber band effect of too much followed by too little, I stopped for a time. Then, Facebook became my main stop with infrequent trips to LinkedIn. It’s as if Facebook became my comfort zone in which I could escape from all the rest.
However, the best solution is to purposely be more mindful about how you spend your time. Once you take a good look at how you spend your time, you will see the value in some of the venues and the ones that don’t work so well for you. Then, you can spend your time on the social networks that are the most responsive to your needs. So, streamline your process and lessen the buzz of clutter.
It’s how you use it that counts.
The really wonderful part about social media is that you can connect with long-lost cousins, old friends, and made new friends all over the world. And, that’s definitely something of value. But the rest needs a business plan and a budget to succeed.
The point is, the use of social media deserves a well-thought-out plan of action. Each social venue has its value and it’s up to the member to decide what they need for their business and to use the appropriate social media platform for that purpose.
Turn off the blue lights!
Blue lights are emitted from our cell phones, laptops, radio dials, and more in our modern world. Do you know that some truckers use blue lights to stay awake on their long hauls? The issue is that blue light interferes with the production of melatonin in our bodies. We need melatonin to induce sleep.
So, instead, routinely turn off your printer, screens, laptop, and tablets before you go to bed. You might also turn off all devices about an hour before bedtime to allow your body to produce the melatonin it needs to sleep. A good night’s sleep will calm the clutter in your head nicely but little or no sleep makes it much worse.
Don’t let them tug your heartstrings.
Emotions of every kind run rampant on social media. Good marketers know that emotions are a very effective tactic. But, to be continually barraged with tear-jerker posts confuses your own emotions and contributes to the clutter. So, perhaps the best and most enduring posts are those that state their message simply and carry a quiet impact.
You’re probably tired of ads and images that are purposefully designed to tug at your heartstrings. In addition, you may also be fairly ‘social wise’ and have a thick skin in comparison to when you first signed onto social media. However, you must still be aware of the amount of time you spend looking through the feeds because it’s emotionally draining and counter-productive.
Meditate daily to dissolve clutter.
When you meditate, clutter naturally dissolves and flows away. There cannot be enough emphasize about how important it is to take time in the morning and again in the late afternoon for 20 – 30 minutes of quiet meditation. Until the world stops and there are no more stressors to be found, we need to meditate.
Sometimes your head might be buzzing so much that you can’t relax enough to meditate. When that happens, do deep breathing (in through the nose, out through the mouth) and stretching. That usually helps enough to relax enough to enter into meditation with good results. Though sometimes, it’s impossible so then I try to think “above the clutter.”
“… It’s tempting to think that, in order to meditate, you need to clear the clutter away. There’s logic to that, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work. At best it creates a temporary vacuum that quickly gets filled with pretty much the same clutter. Instead, you need to bring into your meditation efforts something more attractive than the clutter, something that can lift you above the level of clutter. Make God that “something.” Meditate with God as your partner. Ask Him/Her to guide you, to show you how to reach for a higher octave of your own being. Cultivate your devotion to God, because that will lift you above the clutter, into the light.”
— Gyandev
The influencers.
Next, let’s examine a daunting yet motivating phenomenon of our social media times which is the ‘influencers.’ I’m impressed when people put their heart, soul, and hard earned money into building their presence on social media. It’s not easy. When someone reaches the status of ‘influencer’, they have my respect. But, anytime we compare ourselves to someone else, we put ourselves in a poor state of mind. So, let’s see if I can put this into perspective.
First of all, there’s a lot of people out there who buy their followers and appear to be influencers when what they are is ingenuine. Then, there are those public celebrities who post and have huge followings but they follow no one. There are, of course, lots of levels in between but everyone puts their heart and soul into achieving their own level of influence.
For the ordinary Joe, however, it takes a long time to build those followers. However, there are steps you can take to be successful. Learn to build relationships and take them seriously. Market regularly and consistently. Of course, that is a lot easier said than done but with self-discipline and a desire to win, set up your schedule for winning.
Ok. But, what about social proof?
So, that’s a tough topic because we need ‘social proof’ that we are viable members in order to successfully promote real statistics, products, philosophies, or whatever. Numbers are important on social media. They’re a ‘first impression.’ It’s a simple fact that people are drawn towards the most numbers.
Rest assured, however, those who purchase followers will soon be disappointed. Social media technology is catching up with this little trick and putting the kibosh on it.
If you’d like to get a brief outline on how to drive more social proof than the number of followers, take a look at this excellent slideshow from Mark Schaefer. Additionally, you might want to check out his new book, The Content Code: Six essential strategies to ignite your content, your marketing, and your business (Paperback)
Conclusion
It is our wish that you find this post enlightening and helpful. If you have any questions or suggestions, we love to hear from you in the comments below. Also, kindly accept our invitation to join our group on Facebook to surround yourself with kindred spirits and post your encouraging messages.
