Going a little crazy??

A bonus post! 

I’ve read through all the responses to the course and the most common challenge facing people is time management.  I totally understand.  I am facing the same challenge. Social Media is time consuming.  If you learn nothing else in this class, you will have learned how much time social media takes up and why it is a full time job at some companies!

That being said, there are some things you can do to make it easier.

One is utilize some social media tool to help streamline your process.

1.     If you can use an RSS feed like Feedly for reading blogs (most of them anyway), that make following the blogs a little easier.

2.     Using the hash tag #4Dracam should also help us follow one another more easily.

3.     Using a tool such as HootSuite to manage your posting can also help.

4.     We will be covering some approaches to your posts that can help save time in the next week or so as we discuss quality posting (and moneymaking J)

Your organizational approach to your social media can also make a big difference.  Be sure you are organized. Have a place, either digital on your phone or pad or physical on a notebook you have with you, and write down ideas for posts when they come to you.  You should also keep you posting schedule here. Plan ahead on your posts so you are not creating them at the same time you are posting them. Try to plan your posts at least a month at a time. There are some tools that will let you write them up and then publish them when you say to! 

Finally, mental attitude can be a major help or hindrance.  If you feel overwhelmed and out of control with your social media or the course assignments, that is going to stress you out, make it harder, and make it less fun. This isn’t really that hard.

Each week

1.     You follow the posting schedule YOU created.  If it’s too much (many people underestimate how much time it takes which is why there are scheduled times to reassess your schedule), change it!

2.     You have a reading, which you read and write up a short report on.

3.     You follow other people media and make some comments. (You do not have to comment on every dingle one).

4.     You let me know when you did these things.

5.     You create plans to put what we are studying into practice.

Keep in mind you do not have to do all of the assignments!!!!!  There are more assignments than there are points needed. This is intentional so you can pick the ones that appeal the most to you. Don’t freak yourself out thinking you have to do every single thing. Do the math. Be strategic.

Remember that this is a blended class. That means you get a class period a week, at a time of your choosing, to do all the social media following.  You should be spending two hours per week per hour in class on homework. So that’s 4 hours a week on homework.  With the added “Wednesday class,” that’s 5 hours a week to do this and it is totally doable in that time.  But not if you just try to squeeze it in here and there. You need a planner and a schedule.

I know this can be a lot of work but communications is hard and time consuming.  It’s also fun.  Don’t lose the fun in the stress.