If you manage to go an entire day completely avoiding social media in every way, shape, and form, you must be in the minority. (Spill the secrets to your success, will you?)

But there is a growing number of social media users who are looking to cut down, even just a little. If you’re a casual visitor to platforms like Instagram, taking some time off might be tough out of habit, but it’s quite possible.

It might be quite impossible, however, if your profession has anything to do with social—which is likely the case for many business owners.

You think, “Okay, I’ve got to post this one photo to Instagram today about our store’s sale.” And then you do. And then you scroll through your feed, falling down the rabbit role while trying to locate that one picture of a koala wearing a tiara, and, somehow, you’ve lost 45 minutes. You step away to take care of other tasks, only to come back and respond to the questions and comments on your post about the sale, and before you know it, you’ve somehow purchased a new pair of organic cotton pants and healing crystals through Instagram’s new shop feature.

So not only has it sucked up your time, it’s gotten a hold of your wallet, too.

Of course, this is precisely what you want to happen if you’re selling goods on Instagram or trying to reach new potential customers. But on the days that you’re just trying to get things done, it’s a major distraction. A necessary, vital-to-your-business distraction.

So, apparently, you should be social media batching.

What is social media batching, you ask? Well, apparently, it’s like batching, but with social media.

Crickets.

It’s okay, I didn’t know what batching was either. But it’s pretty simple. Batching is a productivity hack that groups like activities together for scheduling on your calendar. The idea is that you dedicate a certain amount of time to these specific tasks—no multitasking allowed—for a distraction-free, productive span of time.

So, perhaps, from 11 a.m. until lunch, you’re to check inventory on your engagement ring selection, as an example. That means no checking social media, no reorganizing your gift boxes, no answering emails, and no getting up to go to the bathroom (just kidding about that last one).

Same goes for social media. An article on the subject from Entrepreneur exemplifies this idea well: “The same concept applies to your social media output. Spend two hours Monday morning (or whatever time is the best for you) creating and curating social content for the week. This time may be spent brainstorming your content calendar with your team for the entire year. Or, your goals may require and include engaging with influencers or customers twice a day.” As a matter of fact, the article referenced has some great tips on how to get started on this particular form of organization, and I, for one, am inspired.

You’ve got your set times to check in on Instagram (or Facebook or Twitter)—no more, no less. The other parts of your day, by this method, should be scheduled with other important tasks (less important ones deserve to be batched, too). Is anyone else already feeling more productive?

By the way, this method can be applied to your private social life, too—particularly if you feel like you’ve been spending too much time on social media.

(Top image via: Canva)

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