8 Work-Life Balance Tips for Social Media Managers
Anne-Sophie Blais
Because of its impact on our daily routines, we have talked a lot about work-life balance since the start of the pandemic. After all, most people saw a drastic change in their work habits when they suddenly had to work from home. Even though we gradually returned to our previous ways from before COVID-19, work is one area that remains permanently changed. Don’t get us wrong : sometimes, working remotely is truly a blessing. But other times, it can make the line between work and your daily life kind of blurry.
Working as a social media manager can also make that line blurry. Like working from home, you don’t “leave the office” or “close shop” for the day.
The internet will always be alive and buzzing, whether you are on the clock or not. This around-the-clock activity has its impacts. Where social media makes a lot of us feel more connected than ever, that connection can be quite demanding for those who work in the field.
If this hits close to home, don’t worry! Read on to discover our 8 best work-life balance tips when working in social media.
Having a good work-life balance, what does that mean? It means that you are able to be productive and have fulfilling days at work, while still having time for yourself afterwards.
At Casa, we believe that you shouldn’t live for your weekends! We are convinced that by being able to equally prioritize their career and their personal life, employees can be happier and perform better.
That all sounds well and swell, but how does one prioritize in a field that never sleeps? By following these simple tricks.
First and foremost, you need to set clear boundaries with your employer and your clients. You shouldn’t be expected to be reactive and available 24/7.
After all, just because your social media accounts never sleep doesn’t mean you need to follow suit!
Make sure to let them know what your work hours are, and that is when you can answer their demands. If possible, you can also give them an alternative contact if they need any last-minute changes.
By doing this, you shift the responsibility in their hands to be proactive at the right time if they need something from you.
Our social media manager, Jade, shares her experience : “Working with many international clients across different time zones, it’s super important that your clients are aware of your working hours. Since THEY might still be on the clock, it can be easy to turn your brain back onto work mode with these notifications popping up in your personal notifications. Something I like to do to help with this is applying “quiet mode” on Instagram, allowing me to be more focused on my personal life and interests outside of my career.”
2. Don’t Set Unrealistic Expectations
When working in a job as exciting as social media, it’s easy to get swept up and wanting to be everywhere at once. Even more so that the world (and your work) is mostly at your fingertips.
However, be sure to rein yourself in as to not make promises that will be taxing to fulfill later on. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to answer every comment the minute they are posted!
While your client will be grateful, this can set a precedent that will be hard to maintain in the long run. If they are expected to respect your previously set boundaries, you should as well.
You’ll see, it will be a big help when it comes to achieving a good work-life balance.
3. Plan Your Content Ahead
Planning ahead should be a social media manager’s best friend. Creating, posting and managing a community online would be an endless job if done day-to-day.
Although you can’t precisely predict nor control when the consumers will interact with your accounts, scheduling your content is something you can control.
Prepare the material you want to post in advance, and use programs to set up a time when it can be posted.
At Casa, we love using Sprout to make sure all our content is scheduled and ready to go. Jade expands a bit on this : “Here at Casa, we plan all of our clients’ content a month in advance. This is so our day-to-day are not occupied with last-minute post planning. It allows us to be more creative, innovative, and to learn with all this time freed up!”
This will not only free up a ton of your time, like Jade said, but it will also be easier to make changes and adapt your posts if needed.
4. Plan Your Work Days
More than just planning all your content in advance, you should plan your days as well. A work-life balance means work days that aren’t stretching beyond belief, which means you need to get everything done in a timely manner.
Working in social media, we know the job needs you to be a master of all trades. You have to brainstorm content, create some of it, post it, answer demands and questions from clients and consumers… It can all get quite intense, quite fast.
To make sure everything gets done, we recommend you use the time blocking method. In short, divide your day into blocks of time, and only concentrate on a specific task per block.
This will help boost your productivity and lower the stressful component of your to-do list(s).
5. Use a work phone and/or computer
This tip might not be possible for all our social media managers out there, but if the option is available to you, we encourage you to make use of it.
Work devices are perfect for drawing a line between your career and your personal life. It is quite simple really: keep everything work related to those, and yours only for your free time.
This will separate your career from your daily life, as well as free you from the curious urge of checking up on your job notifications.
6. Place Restrictions to Free Your Time
Talking about urges to check up on work-related notifications : you can take it one step further and place restrictions on your phone.
Use do not disturb, or screen time blocker apps to help prevent work distractions. We love Forest : Stay Focused for that purpose. Not only does it help you stay productive, but it also helps the environment while you do it!
7. Take Some Breaks
Nobody can work at 100% efficiency, 100% of the time. And with the true roller coaster that is social media and its constant clamour, it is quite easy to feel in need of a break.
So, we encourage you to take one! Yes, you heard us correctly. If you can’t make sense of your priorities, sometimes, a quick walk around the block can help you clear your head and start again with a better vision.
Everybody needs a helping hand from time to time. Don’t be afraid to let your bosses know when you are feeling out of your depth or overwhelmed.
It is their job to make sure your responsibilities are realistic, just like it is yours to perform with a level head.
Don’t wait too long either : as soon as the pressure gets to you, let them know! They’ll be happy to see you know your limits, and are proactive when it comes to setting healthy boundaries.
When you’re working in social media, the hours that you put in on-the-job can easily feel endless, since “social” never sleeps.
However, at Casa, we truly believe the key to performing and being happy is keeping a good work-life balance.
These tips and tricks—along with a healthy amount of discipline—will hopefully help you to better manage your time when you’re working in social media. Good luck and happy social posting!
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