Successful business owners are some of the most pro-active, empowered people in the world. It takes courage to put your own money on the line, to take the risk of failure — especially if you have a family relying on you! — and to venture into what is often unfamiliar territory.
Pro-active, empowered people are focused. They have a holistic view of their world and of the people around them. They don’t go with the flow; they create the flow.
And yet many of us spend far too much time in a disempowered, passive state that brings no value to our personal or professional goals: frequently checking e-mails and social media.
According to research from Zarvana published and analyzed at Harvard Business Review, the average professional spends over 150 minutes per day checking e-mails — 28 percent of the workday. Only one-quarter of those e-mails require responses. The Harvard Business Review piece noted that production is lost to checking e-mails due to lost time and because of the human brain’s limitations in efficiently refocusing itself after changing tasks.
On the social media side, a survey of U.S. adults by EMarketer found that we spend an average of 75 minutes per day on various platforms, though Mary Meeker’s annual state of the Internet report indicates the worldwide daily average is over two hours per day. A lot of that time is spent checking social media at work.
It’s not what we do, but why we do it
Checking e-mails and social media are not objectively bad. Two generations ago, the complaint was that people spent too much time watching television; today, people who watch a nightly program or two complain that youngsters spend too much time online!
For most businesses, e-mail and social media are critical to organizational success. Mark Cuban would rather read 1,000 e-mails per day than do meetings because e-mail is a far more efficient use of his time, and many people keep in touch with old friends and keep an eye on the news through social media.
The real question is why is one spending so much time checking e-mails and scrolling through social media? I rarely do either on productive days. When I’m in client meetings, accomplishing client work, or engaging in business development or marketing strategies for Proven Media Solutions, I get a lot of work done. I feel more accomplished. My brain is clearer, and I’m more in tune with the needs of my family, my company, and myself.
However, there are days when I’m out of sorts — distracted, tired, discouraged, etc. — and I find myself clicking through social media or e-mails hoping that something productive will come my way. Instead of being productive and goal-oriented, I’m wasting time and money relying on others to make me feel validated and accomplished.
Of course, all that does it cause less productivity, greater stress, and more discouragement. I don’t think I’m alone.
Let’s look at solutions
We all need breaks during the workday. My favorite office-based strategy was to work for 30 to 60-minute periods, then take five minutes to say hi to colleagues, walk in the sun, or grab some water or coffee. Then it was back to work — a little more refreshed and relaxed.
If checking social media or e-mail offers you that break, great. If it allows you a laugh you need or the fond memory that relieves stress, have at it.
But if you you’re spending too much time on social media or e-mails, let’s look at five ways to change that:
- Block social media and close out your e-mails. It’s simple enough to unblock and reopen, but the extra second or two it takes to do those tasks can be a good reminder that you’re in work mode, not break mode. If this doesn’t work, get off the Internet when doing tasks that don’t require Internet access.
- Structure your day. I know people who only check e-mails or social media at specific times — and then they focus on work the rest of the time. Contrary to the idea that one must always be accessible, most e-mails or social media posts will bear with a one, two, or three-hour response time. (Again, depending upon your company’s needs.)
- Think about how much sleep you may be losing if you check e-mail and social media at night. There is generally no need to check social media or e-mails — or even be on one’s computer or phone — late at night. Late use of technology can be the cause of worse quality of sleep and certainly causes fewer hours of sleep, neither of which allows a business owner to be at maximum capacity.
- Use other ways to relax or take breaks. A five-minute walk outside to get the mail, or a break to say hi to my wife and daughter, work great for me. Take a nap over lunch or run some errands mid-day.
- Unsubscribe from every e-mail you can. It saves time when you check e-mails and, at least for me, removes the slight emotional high of expectation when new e-mails arrived and the slight emotional low of disappointment when the e-mails were a waste of time. I’m no longer incentivized to check my e-mails because the false hope is removed.
In the end, it’s all about productivity. Are you producing as much and as fast as possible for your personal and professional goals? Are you an empowered, pro-active member of society, or one who is passively seeking others’ validation through their involvement in your life? As a business owner, there can only be on right choice.
