What do you want to say today?

A recurring theme in my life – and apparently in many others – is how to manage social networks and still get any work done.

Now I’m going to date myself.  I remember having these identical conversations when email first came into use. Remember…every workplace was terrified you were going to spend all your time surfing the web and responding to emails and production of any useful work would come to an end. Guess what?  It didn’t.

We adapted. Tools became available to help us manage the onslaught of incoming information. Yes, the world moves a little faster now. Yes, the bar has been raised a little higher. Companies and individuals have learned to manage the flow instead of the flow managing them.

I suspect the same will happen with social media. Already tools are beginning to emerge…if you have time to search them out and figure out how to use them. In the meantime, I’m treading water and working on making some changes.  Here are some tips I’m trying out as I try to find the balance…

1. Realize that you are not alone. Most people involved in social media are facing the same challenge. To prove it, I sent out a note to my Twitter and Facebook friends asking just how they’ve tamed the social network beast. Only one person answered. Outside of that….vast emptiness.

2. Schedule. Set aside certain times throughout the day to check up on social networks. For me that’s before the kids get up, in between project work and after the kids go to sleep. Set a timer so you don’t get sucked in. When the timer goes off, stop.

3. If you miss a scheduled time, feel like you’re stopping in the middle of something or can’t get on your social networks for a whole day or two, it’s OKAY. The world will not come to an end. You don’t even have to go back and try to reread everything you missed. Let it go. Move forward. Tomorrow, the sun will come up.

Now, true confessions. I’m awfully good at preaching. Not so good at practice. I find it very hard to disconnect. And it does sometimes start to feel like quicksand.

But last night, I found a picture my son had hiding in his drawer. He was probably about 2 years old. Glenn was holding him. I just looked tired. As I held the picture, I glanced at my now 11 year old climbing into bed. In the fall, he starts middle school.

When did he grow up? Did it happen with my head immersed in a press release or a Twitter post? What did I miss along the way because I had to finish that one last blog post that is archived deep in some folder somewhere?

I’m making a change. Hold me accountable, okay? And if you want to make a change, too, let me know. I’ll be right there by your side.