How To Use Social Media to Increase Productivity

We’ve all been there. Stuck in a Twitter vortex for upwards of an hour, or worse, the Instagram sink hole.

Most people think that ‘wasting’ time on social media is bad for productivity and wastes time. Well, ok fine — I agree. BUT it doesn’t have to be.

Our culture is completely obsessed with obsessed with sharing. We share our pictures, thoughts, locations, accomplishments, and more every single day. As much as some of this sharing is unnecessary, you could actually be providing something valuable to your friends/followers/subscribers/whatever without even realizing it.

I was recently thinking about the people that I follow on social media and I realized that the people I find myself going back to are people that motivate me. Flooding my social feeds with productive and inspiring people was actually making ME more inspired and productive in my work.

It made me realize — we all just want to be inspired. We all want to find that motivation, that push to work harder, to achieve goals, to be productive.

In social media, just like in ‘real’ life, we are what we surround ourselves with.

So the first step is easy — use social media to be inspired and motivated to work towards your goals. For example, if you’re an aspiring photographer, follow photographers on Instagram that are creating the kinds of things that inspire you. If you want to be a writer, follow other writers that are consistently putting quality work out there. Make this your community, and immerse yourself in it.

The second step is using your own social media to simultaneously motivate others while holding yourself accountable. Motivate people by showing them how to work hard and make this something that people expect from you. When you’re feeling uninspired and unproductive, use these expectations to get you out of a rut.

Don’t pay attention to the people who are pretending, and focus on the people who are doing. Surround yourself with positivity, creativity and productivity, and you’ll be amazed by how much you can get done. And as a bonus, you never know who you’re inspiring in the process.

Have you ever found inspiration using social media? Do you find yourself motivated by watching others who are working hard and being productive?