Digital Well-Being for Marketers: Four Steps to Stay Strong Online (& Still Do Your Job)
For the seventh Monday of sheltering in place, things were looking pretty good.
I woke up with tons of energy, added an extra 1.5 miles to my morning run, hammered out some major to-dos, and coasted through two hours of video calls. After a quick lunch and light text banter with some friends, I hopped onto Facebook to check in on the Company Pages I currently manage.
That’s when the good vibes came to a screeching halt.
Before visiting the Company Pages, I was compelled to mindlessly scroll my news feed for “just a minute”. (We’ve all been there.) Within a few seconds, I was bombarded by posts that weren’t exactly uplifting. A screenshot of an outrageous tweet, a doomsday article — you know, the usual.
I quickly navigated away before getting sucked too far down the rabbit hole, but the damage was already done. Now distracted and disgruntled, my Monday went from magical to moody.
Negativity Landmines Galore
Even before stay-at-home became a mandate, a huge portion of our lives have moved online. But for most of us in the marketing and communications world, spending time online is our J-O-B. As long as there are social media pages to manage, followers to engage, and reputations to protect…we’ll be there, scrolling and typing the day away.
As such, most of us are schooled in managing negative content that impacts our employers or clients. But what about the negative content that pops in and out as we innocently do our jobs or simply take a mindless break?
“The problem is that now, negativity bias has scaled exponentially.”
If you find yourself getting pulled into the negative, outrageous, and scary, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, none of us are immune to these Negativity Landmines. All of us — you, the folks you follow, and the media — are more than happy to oblige that good old negativity bias. This ancient instinct to tune into the probability of danger around the corner protected our ancestors from disaster.
The problem is that now, negativity bias has scaled exponentially. The enemy doesn’t come in the form of a predatory mammal today, or a warring tribe tomorrow. It comes as a second-by-second digital parade of real and perceived social, political, and natural dangers. And the more we take in, the less energy we have for other tasks like tackling work challenges, or just having a positive outlook altogether.
Demining Negativity Landmines When You HAVE to Be Online All The Time
So how can we as marketers do our jobs, remain aware of the world around us, and still preserve our positive energies for work and life? Getting rid of screen time altogether simply isn’t realistic, nor is it healthy — ignorance is NOT bliss after all. But we can manage and minimize its effects on our mood and behavior.
Step 1: Start deleting what you don’t need.
Begin with the low-hanging fruit. If you can do so without impacting your role, delete apps, unsubscribe from lists, and remove bookmarks that are draining the most time and emotional energy from your day. Start small. A year ago after deciding I could manage my Facebook Pages perfectly fine on my laptop, I deleted the mobile app from my phone. It hasn’t removed the site from my life completely, but it has radically preserved not only my time, but also my energy — and it hasn’t impacted my ability to do my job.
Sometimes it’s the people we like, love, and respect who are the biggest culprits — the “Chicken Littles” and “Negative Nancies”.
Once you clear out select apps and sites, don’t stop there. It may be time to tune out a few individuals as well. We’re not just talking about the obvious offensive types like the uncle who spouts conspiracy theories, the racist high school classmate, etc. Sometimes it’s the people we like, love, and respect who are the biggest culprits — the “Chicken Littles” and “Negative Nancies”. Don’t judge them — their feelings are their own, and they’re only human. But their constant venting and criticizing doesn’t solve anything, and it certainly doesn’t help you. So give yourself a break, and unfollow these types for now.
Step 2: Don’t eliminate scroll time — schedule it!
It may seem counter-intuitive, but purposely scheduling time to scroll actually saves time. Think about it like a diet: Typically, when we start to radically restrict food, at some point we end up face first in a pile of donuts (or whatever, pick your poison). The same is true for restricting your screen time. Ultimately, restriction rarely works, and sometimes makes our habits even worse.
While apps like Freedom or Screen Time can be helpful — it’s too easy to find a work around and then hours later, find yourself seething on Twitter. So instead of placing massive restrictions on mindless scrolling, give yourself an allowance. That may mean 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night for scrolling through news and social. Schedule the time, set a timer, and then scroll away. Over time, having that scrolling “fix” enables us to fully focus on the task at hand without getting taken under by distracting content — even if that task involves social media or other online activities.
Step 3: Scroll mindfully.
This step is a little more complex, but SO worth it.
Once we schedule Scroll Time, we finally have the space to fully focus without judgement or worry that we’re “wasting time”. This in turn allows us to thoughtfully consider what we’re reading versus reacting to it in the moment.
How does this work? Imagine someone you follow on social posts an article along with their own commentary that paints a pretty bleak picture on the potential Coronavirus vaccine.
First, without judgement or overthinking, note the emotion and conclusions that immediately come to mind. Resist the urge to judge or filter. The goal is to simply notice and accept our thoughts — even if they seem illogical or silly.
“I feel hopeless and fearful. They’ll NEVER find a vaccine!”
Second, run through this series of simple questions. I use a series of questions based upon Byron Katie’s The Work, and they’ve been a game changer for me:
Is it true? “This is one person’s take on a quickly developing and complex issue, so…is it?”
Do I know it’s true? “Well, I’m not 100% sure. No one can predict the future. Anything is possible.”
How do I react when I believe this thought? “When I believe this thought, I want to lament this hopelessness with everyone I know. I want to share this post! I want to throw my hands up in the air and think, “what’s the point?” It distracts me and I can’t do my best work for the rest of the day. It puts me in a funk…”
What would I do without this thought? “Without this thought, I could focus more on the work in front of me. I might feel empowered to spread the word about a charity supporting research for a vaccine, and maybe even start a fundraising drive among my small circle of friends and family. I’d be in a better mood. I wouldn’t snap at my partner…” The list goes on!
As you practice this process, the point isn’t to walk away with answers to the world’s challenges — it’s just there to offer up options for different thoughts, feelings, and solutions. Over time, this practice allows us to take in info, consider it, walk away with a little hope and grace, and continue on with a more focused and productive day.
Step 4: Binge on the problem solvers (and become one yourself).
Seek out the people who inspire you to do your best work every day so you eventually become a problem solver yourself.
The challenges we currently face are very big and very real. No one can or will deny this. While it’s extremely important to be aware of these challenges, it’s just as important give attention to those who are creating solutions — no matter how big or small. So start adding content that celebrates the do-gooders and problem solvers. Seek out those who inspire you to do your best work every day so you too can become a problem solver yourself. You are the company you keep after all, even when that company is digital.
To get started, subscribe to, follow, and/or bookmark sites like:
· Great Big Story for amazing human interest series
· TrendWatching for incredible (definitely not boring!) business innovations
· aSweatLife for mindfulness, wellness, and empowerment
· Earn Your Happy podcast for light-hearted fun, inspiration and motivation
· Positive News (self-explanatory)
· Some Good News, John Krasinski’s YouTube Channel
· Upworthy
Every song has different parts. Let Bad News sing a verse — DON’T let it take the refrain.
Listen — a healthy dose of outrage, skepticism and criticism are essential and acceptable human emotions. Without them, we wouldn’t be compelled to improve or change the world for the better. But it’s important to find a little balance. Remember that every song has different parts. Let negativity sing a verse — but certainly don’t let it take the refrain.
