Social media is fun, but it can also be a time sink. And, with the state the world is in, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that people have retreated to its enemas. It’s a convenient distraction from everything else and a good way to keep in touch with the outside world while it gets itself in order. Left unchecked though social media usage can get out of hand. It will leave you unproductive and behind on the things you should be prioritizing. That’s why we’ve put together some tips to help you get your social media filled and stay productive.

Social media usage and being productive is that the two can go together. The idea that social media as far as productivity goes is a no-no is a dated one. You can safely discard that notion and not think about it twice.

Now more than ever you need more ways to stay in touch and keep connected. You also need to be getting a lot done and making sure you’re keeping pace with all the changes. And if something won’t give then you have to find a way to make it work.

How can you use your social media and still be productive?

Here’s a couple of things you can try to make sure you’re staying on top of your to-do lists and not skipping a beat on your socials.

If you’ve got some handy tips and tricks of your own then be sure to let us in on them via Twitter. Otherwise, you can pick up a few here and start being more productive.

Have fun

This might not be obvious but if you’re going to be productive in your social media usage then you have to have fun with it. It’s pretty easy to go down the rabbit hole of fearing mongering news reports and get lost in self-despair comparing your situation to pixels. Avoid it.

Unless you’re going to enjoy the time you spend logged in to your social media skip it all together instead. If going through feed will sap your energy, it’s not worth the time spent looking at it. Better yet, change what you’re looking at.

It’s easier to be productive when you’re inspired. Your social media can help you de-stress, get ideas and leave you feeling motivated. That does wonders for your productivity. if your social media isn’t helping, quit it.

Read – Twitter toolbox: 32 tools that will improve your Twitter experience

Connect

Human contact has been dialed back quite a lot since the year began. Social media can help maintain your ties with family and friends. Check in on them and find out how they’re doing. Positive human contact will leave you energized and upbeat. Spending time nurturing your bonds will motivate and inspire you to get about living. You do better when you feel better. And, being productive won’t feel like such a chore.

More than that, with much of the world in the same boat, you can find all kinds of interesting and cool people online. You can make new friends, expand your circle, and create opportunities for yourself. If you’ve been on Twitter lately then you’ve seen the “How it started, How it’s going” trend. Start connecting now and you could be reviving the trend a while on from now.

Learn stuff

Social media is a great way to learn stuff. You could be a marketer, content creator, entrepreneur, or scrolling through the timeline for fun. Whoever you are social media allows you to learn stuff and pick up some new knowledge.

You could spend your time on social media doing market research, setting up a brand, or picking up a new skill. With so many people online it’s a great time to be studying them, understanding them, or getting them to teach you things. Follow the right people or look in the right places long enough and you will learn enough to get results you never thought possible.

If you can’t go out as much as you’d like and have more time than usual on your hands, it’s not such a bad idea to spend some of it learning stuff.

Generate a side income

This might come as a surprise to you but using your social media to generate a quick buck is one of the most productive ways you can use it. Building a brand, making a product, running a blog, or providing a service is something you can easily do to keep your social media use turning toxic. Making money online isn’t just for established brands. Anyone can do it. Even you.

Spend enough time on Twitter and you’ll come across the question “how did you make your first dollar online?” a couple of times. Challenging yourself to make your first dollar is a great way to expand your thinking. You’re forced to build new skills and make all sorts of new networks for yourself. If you’ve already passed that bridge then focusing on scaling and growing your online income is a great way to keep you productive.

Have a purpose

In episode 1 of the podcast Hypefury presents with LifeMathMoney, the theme of having a purpose for your social media usage comes through strongly. You learn why it is important to attach purpose and meaning to what you share and consume online. LifeMathMoney’s purpose is to help people live meaningful lives, to help young guys find the direction they are so lacking today. Every time he logs on or shares a post he’s able to have a positive impact and change someone’s life for the better.

Having a purpose for your social media will keep your consumption in check and help you stay productive. By refusing to scroll aimlessly through the timeline you’ll keep yourself from wasting away your time. The purpose could mean any number of things to you but having one clearly defined in your mind will change the way you post, consume, and engage with content. It’ll also help you conserve your energy for more important things during the day.

If you need a hand building an impactful and purposeful social media presence then check out Hypefury presents for all the help you’ll ever need.

Set aside social time

One of the most productive ways to use social media is to be away from it completely. Most people are mindlessly compelled to log in and lose themselves in their feeds. They use social media as a distraction and an escape from reality. For some, it’s even an addiction. They can’t help it.

If you’re going to use social media productively then you have to actively choose the times you’ll be on it. Your feeds, timelines, and messages should serve you. You can’t allow yourself to be just another impression on someone else’s posts. Setting aside time to go through your social media will help you focus on what you’re consuming. It will also show you what kind of effect it has on you.

More than that, when you actively choose to log in at set times you allow yourself to focus completely on your other tasks. You free yourself to get through your to-do lists, enjoy real life, and interact with all the people around you. Setting aside times to be online will also help you build discipline and wean you off the harmful effect of the push notification.

Push notifications are the worst thing to happen to our ability to focus since internet porn.

Automate

Lastly, you can increase your productivity and still enjoy your social media by automating the content you share. As a starting point, you want to produce generally more content than you consume. That’ll keep your mind in production mode and you’ll create value for yourself and the people that follow you.

Once you’ve mastered creating more than you take, automating your social media will help you get even more productive. Automation isn’t just for marketers and brands to bombard you with endless info about their products. You can use automation to help you share your message better, free you up to go about your daily tasks and it can help people interact with your content more.

Automating content requires sitting down and thinking intently about what you’ll share. It will give you time to dwell on what you’re sharing and the impact you’re having. That way your followers will enjoy the best of your content. And, when it’s time for you to log in you can focus on getting back to them and helping them by sharing your insights. You’ll be able to connect more and engage better with the people you follow, and those that follow you.

On top of all that, you’ll be able to focus more on your commitments away from your social media. Your productivity will increase and you’ll have even greater control over your social media usage.

Automate how?

Hypefury is a clutter-free Twitter Automator designed to help users’ creators share their best content. The sleek platform design means you can focus on crafting your posts in a distraction-free environment. You get to extract the best of your thoughts away from the never-ending siren song of the timeline.

Once you’re done creating your posts Hypefury has a bunch of features made specifically to help improve your reach and engagement. That way you can have fun, share your skills and thoughts, and connect with more people. And, if you decide to go the making a dollar online route, Hypefury can also help with that.

With Hypefury you can create, consume, and engage with content in a much more productive way. It will help you manage how much of your day you give to social media. And you’ll be freer than ever to focus more on the important things away from your timeline.

When you’re done automating your posts, you can walk away from the screen. You can mingle with the world, and do other stuff all while your followers interact with the best of your thoughts. Then you can log in and interact with your followers without feeling you could be using your time better.

Using your social media doesn’t have to make you lose your productive edge. You can get a lot done, stay connected with your social media, and never have to feel like you’re sacrificing one for the other.

TL;DR

Here’s how you can use your social media and still be productive

Have fun

• If you’re not having fun, what’s the point? Log off and go do something else.

Connect

• Social media implies getting social. Don’t get lost in pixels, connect with people, and build relationships.

Learn stuff

• There are a lot of great minds roaming the internet, you might as well pick up a few things from them.

Make some dough

• For some social media is a time sink. For you, it could be a money machine. It’s all about what you focus on.

Be purposeful

• What do you want to achieve online? Give yourself a goal to work towards. You can have an unimaginable positive impact.

Set boundaries

• Set times to go through your feeds and leave enough to get other things done. There’s more to life than the timeline.

Automate

• Automating your posts can help you speak more clearly, get productive, and bring you closer to your fans. You can have an impact even when you’re not online.