Here's how you can balance work and life as a social media marketer.

Boundaries? I didn’t know that was a thing in this field of work. We are on 24/7 let me tell ya ?? Holidays? Nope, we’re working on a national holiday graphic. Christmas? While we’re still recovering from Black Friday we have the last launch of the year to support. We don’t have one, but multiple phones to be able to stay logged in to all accounts at the same time.

What I do is designating specific work hours and avoiding work emails and social media notifications outside of those hours. I made time for activities that nourished my mind, body, and soul I also prioritized self-care and take breaks when needed, listening to my body and mind and taking time off when I felt overwhelmed or exhausted. I don't have to be constantly connected or responsive 24/7. I can take a break, step away, and come back when I'm feeling refreshed and ready. By prioritizing my well-being and setting boundaries, I've been able to maintain a healthy work-life balance and avoid burnout. I'm more productive, creative, and present in my work and personal life. And that's a win-win for everyone!

After every workday, I ceremoniously hurl my smartphone into the nearest river or lake. You can't doom scroll when your phone is 20ft underwater.

As a social media marketer, it is difficult to have boundaries because social media audiences are active 24/7 Even when you are off work, you can't help but wonder what's happening in your community. But no matter how hard it is, having boundaries is important. No just for your mental health, but also because your creativity will thrive the best with an emptier mind. So give yourself the privilege of being bored every once in a while.

I follow the "rocks" method for prioritization. I tackle two big rocks and fill my list with smaller rocks that fill in the gaps. When I have too many "big rocks" or tasks for a certain day, it means I either need to re-apportion the assignments or delegate more efficiently. I also allow room for timely requests, often occurring with social media management. I find that sitting down at the start of the day to plan out a list and then checking in after lunch on progress is the best method for me.

Plan and Schedule: Develop a content calendar to map out your posts weeks or months in advance. Schedule your post using automated tools. Regularly review your content calendar and scheduled posts, and adjust your plan based on performance metrics and changing priorities. Identify High-Impact Activities: Focus on tasks that directly contribute to your goals, like creating high-quality content, engaging with your audience, and analyzing performance metrics. With this, you can avoid the stress and maintain the quality of your work.

I utilise every hour/half hour of my working day on my calendar for client work. Once that’s finished I move on to the next priority in that slot. I have to be that disciplined.

This is a game-changer for social media marketers. And it's the best way to avoid burnout. Keep track of deadlines, identify tasks that need immediate attention and focus on them.

Since digital marketing is the way to grow brand awareness, it can quickly become overwhelming for someone - specifically a solopreneur - to try to manage this and understand the trends and data while managing other roles in your business. As the saying goes - "Do what you do best. Outsource the rest." While it might seem like an unneeded expense for your business, it will pay off in the long run.

Social media management and marketing can be overwhelming, especially if you run it solo. You are the social media manager,content creator, video editor, copywriter, graphics designer, and so on. That's a lot, and when you have multiple clients to attend to, it becomes a headache. What do you do? Just outsource. Handle some tasks and outsource the rest

Use marketing and work management automation. Employ tools like Zapier and Outlook rules. There are so many robots just waiting to take mundane work off your hands. Learn how to create workflows for your daily tasks and ops, then build a bot or automated workflow that takes care of that repetitive work for you. You'll be amazed at how much this frees up your admin time for more important things like (gasp!): social media strategy!

I’ve built up a small network of fellow business owners that I can (when I’m ready) to outsource. I’ve taken time to get to know them and I certainly won’t ask them to fill out application forms. I’ve already got enough detail for them to be my support.

Try to build a team you can trust, so you can step back and focus on managing rather than solving every problem yourself. It's crucial to get the right people for the right jobs. With the right team, you can ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently.

Two things I've found helpful while embracing downtime as an SMM are: 1. A judgement-free creative hobby. Giving yourself the space and freedom to create without feeling the need to be attached to whether or not it impresses someone else. Make something for you sometimes. 2. Take your vacation. While you're on vacation, try to limit your screen time and social media use. Use this time to connect with your environment and the people around you, and don't forget to make time for the things you love. Being chronically online will impact your mental health, so go out and touch some grass when you can! :)

Take some space from the social platforms. One challenging thing working in social media is that we are the kind of people who enjoy spending time consuming content on social. But, I’ve realised that spending my downtime on the platforms puts me back into work mode. Try taking some time away from the platforms to give your brain time to switch off and recharge. Read a book, go for a walk, catch up with friends. You’ll come back more creative and energised.

It's important to know when to put down the phone and pick up life. When your job revolves around being plugged in, disconnecting becomes even more important. Take advantage of your free time. Touch grass. Go on that vacation. Learn that it's okay to pause and recharge your phone and yourself.

As a self employed social media manager you can feel guilty for taking time off but that downtime is so important. No one can work 24/7 and with the right processes in place you shouldn’t feel like you need to ??

I’m responsible for my own calendar so if I want to have some downtime in the afternoon, I’ll block that out and have it. It just means I’ll pick it back up later in the evening and I’m ok with that. It’s on me.

Things happen and as much as you try and stick to a plan and be organised, things get in the way. Allow yourself flexibility with your day/week so juggle things about if a last minute urgent comes in or family /life event happens.

I have tried so many different tools over my almost decade of social media experience, and nothing compares to what ClickUp can do. I use it to create social content creation workflows that make creating content actually feel FUN and easy. Unlike spreadsheets, you can move posts through your process by setting up different views for where it is in the process. For example, I typically do an "ideas" view, then a "calendar build" view, an "execution" view and a "client approval" view, and each post flows through using custom status'. AND if you create content for multiple people, you can create a view with ALL your social posts to see where each one is at in the process without clicking around.

Use tools to keep you organized. Notion, Buffer, Asana, Hubspot, Trello, Zapier...all these tools have free versions that can give you a taste of organization without the enterprise level features or pricing that will likely scare you away, especially if you are a team of one.

Being organised is vital when you are working in social media. It can all become too addictive and time consuming so blocking out a couple of breaks in your working day and time out at the weekends is a must!

While you are trying to provide results for your clients, don't forget your me-time. Don't forget your hobbies and your leisure activities. Taking care of yourself will make you more productive and fit

I personally block out self care time, time for me, exercise or just a spot of gardening. It's impossible to be on the go 24/7 and if you are, burnout will catch up with you eventually.

Especially if you work remotely, which many SMMs do, set yourself a goal to take a walk or reach a certain step count every day. Even just setting a goal of going outside can do wonders for mental health. Additionally, it's helpful to determine your least busy or productive times at work and use that time for something more productive for you, like a workout class or a virtual or in person standing coffee date with a colleague.

Self-care is so important, and when you have your headphones on and plugged into the social machine, you can spend hours and hours working away before you know it! I use a standing desk to help increase my mood, improve focus, and I swear for me, it helps me reduce caffeine intake. But take breaks! Go outside and get some vitamin D and fresh air, and if you're just too busy, take the laptop outside and grab some sun while you work!

14 years into this industry and my two best hacks are: 1) Having a finstagram for work things 2) Setting screentime limits at 15-minute increments at a time

It may start of tough but once you learn these things: 1. Urgent priority 2. Priority but need some time to work on 3. Things that can wait 4. Not urgent now In this role, you’re gonna have to use your creativity and time to truly articulate the right visuals, copy and video, while scheduling your calendar. On top of that you wanna have the luxury of having some me time, going out with friends and doing something fun. Learning how to master those 4 things both as a social media marketer and an individual living life, there’s nothing more you can complain about

Working in many different industries in the last 15 years, I try to remember and practice a few things: 1. You are an expert! Just because someone who does not live and breathe this every day says they know more, remember that they are not sitting in platforms and seeing the nuances of each. 2. When you feel imposter syndrome coming on, take a step back. If you can, take a day off. Write down the five or 10 things that have solidified you as the expert and stick to that. Go interact with other experts that speak your language and build up your confidence. 3. The data will do the work. Lean into it, even if you don't love what it says. Question it, but think hard about what it's telling you. It's critical to make room for this.

Plan ahead, schedule as much as possible in advance. Create clear boundaries with clients and save those last minute requests for extremely important/priority tasks.