Social media managers are becoming easier prey to burnout, as the barrage of rapacious social signals spur the pupils into R.E.M.ing across an assortment of social platform commands dozens of times a minute. Fighting becomes futile when there are too many requests to dodge: How many times can you be asked to join social circles, virtual events, and to respond to comments before the one eye involuntary blink begins.
According to this About.com article, “Learned helplessness occurs when an animal is repeatedly subjected to an aversive stimulus that it cannot escape. Eventually, the animal will stop trying to avoid the stimulus and behave as if it is utterly helpless to change the situation. Even when opportunities to escape are presented, this learned helplessness will prevent any action.”
The poor animal that’s headlocked into submission time and time again, without chance for escape no matter the struggle, will no longer attempt escape even when the grip is loosened. Social media managers are obviously vulnerable to the same paralysis, but most go on posting through the day as if nothing is wrong, and then comes the big crash and burnout!
Stepping out of a cycle is like fighting the force of a high-torque whirlpool, making it almost impossible to swim against the current. Our advice isn’t fighting the force, but going with it. Though counter-intuitive, these three steps will release the eye popping squeeze, so those powers of creativity can channeled with confidence and sanity.
1) Acknowledge that you can’t be on every channel all the time. Either delegate your duties or pick a few of the dozens of platforms on which to market. A multitasking proficiency proves only that you can switch tasks efficiently–it guarantees nothing about finishing them well. Even a juggler does one thing: juggle.
2) Plan when and what you want to accomplish on each platform and then create a road map to make that happen. Don’t stray from the path without good reason. Take time to evaluate your efforts, or else you’ll be thinking a year later: Is this madness working??!!
3) Take breaks. That means no social media a few minutes every hour, for the greater portion of the weekend, and especially during Caribbean vacations or wherever you take your two weeks. Sure, you’ll go on having impulses to check the iphone, but resist and give your mind a break.
Tell us what you do to escape the “headlock.”
