yeeld.r

Hi, my name is Laura, and I’m addicted to multitasking. And I’m not ashamed to admit just how much I love it. I am one of those determinedly [read: obsessively] productive people who hates wasting time. I respond to emails while I’m on the train. I listen to podcasts while I’m out walking my dog. I watch tv while I get work done on the couch at home. Though my phone almost never leaves my hands, I try not to be rude when I’m having dinner with a friend, so I put it just out of reach and give my companion my full attention. But when I step into the ladies room, I take my phone with me, so I can make sure I didn’t miss anything without being rude. Gross. Sorry, this is who I am. Aside from the millions of bacteria partying on my phone screen as I type this, there are some dangerous downsides to living like I do. While it might feel wonderfully efficient to request your Uber while you’re waiting for the bartender to close out your tab, or to do some Duolingo exercises while you wait in line, hyper productivity can actually be...counterproductive. There is research emerging about how multitasking is bad for your brain, and mounting evidence that constant, instant gratification can have a negative impact on your emotional well being. So. How do I organize, and single track my life while also taking advantage of the incredible apps and technological innovations on the market these days? Here are a few very simple tips that might help you keep your head above overwrought water.

Organize your Apps

This is an obvious pointer, but maybe doesn’t occur to everyone. I often look over others’ shoulders to see their phone screens, littered with app options, all seemingly placed on their screens at random. It can’t be easy to navigate so many pages and options. I wonder how much time is wasted by people scrolling through pages of apps back and forth, trying to find the app they need. It’s important to do app diligence and eliminate the unnecessaries periodically. If you tried something out but don’t find yourself using it often - remove it. Additionally, organize your apps into specific categories according to what you use and how. Tuck the less commonly used apps into a category together, and leave the apps you tap most out in the open. For example, my Hootsuite app is not placed within a group, because I know I can look there to check various social platforms all at once. On the other hand, I really only use my Gmail app when I need to do a specific search for something I archived a while back (I prefer my mail inbox for regular check ins). I keep Gmail tucked away, and my inbox handy right at the main home screen dock. To take it one step further, personalize your app organization. Here are some great ways to do that. [Sorry android users, pretty sure that link doesn’t really apply to you.]  See? Organization can be fun! #imanerd

Put the Phone Down and Back Away

We all say that we spend some time each day away from our devices, but how long do you really go without your phone handy? ...You can quit whenever you want, right? There are so many great uses for smartphones these days, that it can seem downright foolish (or impossible) to go anywhere without the thing. You and your phone have a special relationship, but each of you might benefit from a little more space and independence. Next time you go to a party, leave your phone tucked into your purse or coat, and don’t bother with it until the night wraps up. You’ll suddenly be that hip person at the party that’s carrying on a conversation instead of buying their face in their phone in the corner. And if you’re worried that you’ll miss a photo opp, relax. Chances are, someone else will capture it and hey guess what?!? They can send you the picture they took. Because technology. Oh hey, are you going on a hike? Take scenery pics when you arrive at the trail, and then leave the phone in the car. You didn’t really go on that hike just so that you could gram about it, did you? See if you can spend at least one hour a day without your phone. Easier said than done. But when you spend a healthy amount of time off the grid, you’re reminded that you are an interesting, capable human, even without your device attached.  

Make Realistic To Do Lists

I hope I’m not the first person to tell you that it can be helpful to start your day with a list of tasks. But let’s take it one step further, and make sure those lists are actually useful to you. I sometimes set the bar too high, and make a list that I won’t be able to burn through before bed. Then I end up with unfinished lists, just looming over me and guilting me into feeling like a failure on what was, in actuality, a very productive day. So. I try to limit my to do lists to the immediate necessities, and then map out what can be done tomorrow and further into the week. This also forces me to prioritize, and get the most important, icky things done asap, instead of putting them off.

Do One Thing At a Time

Duh. This is an article about multitasking. Great, obvious, pointer, right? You’re welcome. No but really - try doing one thing at a time, for a long stretch of time, instead of many things in spurts. Instead of starting three emails and leaving them open, then checking instagram, then reading an article, then going back to that other task you were putting off before returning to your emails…..FOCUS. Do one thing for a designated amount of time. Give yourself a break after you’ve finished that task, or gotten a good chunk of work done it, not just because you got distracted when a Facebook notification popped up and you couldn’t resist checking it. Which brings me to my next point.

Avoid Distraction

I work in social media, so checking Facebook is part of my job description. However, I know that when I go to the company page for a brand I manage, I will inevitably end up popping back to my newsfeed and scrolling through a few things afterward. Instead of letting that site eat up the time I don’t have to spare, I’ll save my (professional) Facebook check ins for times when I’m about to take a break anyway, so that I don’t end up going too far down the rabbit hole. And even though Facebooking is part of my job, I don’t keep it (or any other guilty pleasure sites) in an open tab while I’m doing other things. Too much temptation.

Due Diligence

I am awful about letting my inbox get cluttered. With so much storage space available, it doesn’t really make sense to delete most things, and I always hesitate to archive right away,  because I may well need to grab that email again sooner than later. But with the incredible search functions on email platforms these days, there’s no urgent need for clutter. Making a point to regularly clean up inboxes and organize lists (say, at the start of each week), is worth the time investment. Not only do you make sure that no balls were dropped or messages left unattended, but you’ll just feel fresher knowing you can kick things off with a clean slate.

Hope this has been helpful. Find more productivity tips and tricks, as well as advice on the job hunt, at Yeeldr’s LinkedIn page.

Put Your Party Pants On - We’re Going Social Media Strategizing

Many brands, when using social platforms to share content and engage customers and users, tend to go for quantity over quality - more noise, more engagement. But different social networks attract different kinds of users, and each major social platform has an unwritten code of conduct. Each site hosts its own subculture, or throws its own kind of party, if you will. A fantastic little piece made the rounds a while back, that compared the largest social media sites to different kinds of people - LinkedIn is the opportunist, always with a business card in hand, while Instagram is the unattainable hipster hiding behind oversized sunglasses… Well, if you’re looking to make a friend at a rooftop party in Williamsburg, maybe you shouldn’t open with a firm handshake and the key points on your resume. Not only is it important to think about the demographic you’re appealing to, but what kind of environment you’re meeting them in, and how they’re cruising the room too. Below, we’ve laid out some tactics to try when trying to make an impact at each different kind of scene.

Facebook

As it originally emerged in an educational context, Facebook can sometimes feel like a high school reunion. It’s supposed to be a fun social event, but everyone seems to be there to prove something. Try to avoid constant advertisements or links back to your site - use different kinds of content - photos and reposted/shared articles can help build out your page. The nice thing about facebook is that long(er) form posting is acceptable. But keep things engaging and clean, and post consistently but only occasionally.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the digital embodiment of a professional networking event. Everyone’s business cards and resumes are handy, and if you’re gonna ignore the “business casual” attire recommendation, you’d better have the credentials to back up that devil-may-care attitude. Otherwise, your colleagues might mistake you for a kid who accidentally wandered into the hotel’s convention rooms on his way to the pool. Humor and hip lingo doesn’t fly here the way it does on other networks. The people that frequent LinkedIn take it pretty seriously - they’re not here to mess around, they’re here to capitalize on opportunities. Feel free to pepper a joke in here and there, but you’d do better to cater to the enterprising gogetter, than to the class clown. Instead of posting pics and pick me ups, share articles that discuss strategy and offer pointers relevant to your industry. No fluff, more function.

Instagram

Instagram is one of the trickiest apps for brand’s to effectively tap into, because it is so visually driven, and often more intimate than other social platforms. You wouldn’t show up to a small, mellow social gathering trying to sell something, so brands pushing their products on Instagram can be grating. Instagram is a great place to personalize your company image - photos of team members, retreats, and illustrations or graphics are helpful here. Keep the content short and sweet though - don’t flood anyone’s feed with too many pics, only favorites every so often.

Twitter

Yeeldr Co-Founder, Curtis Smith, solving your business challenges - via Business.com. 

Excellent stuff from our friends at Jigawatts Agency. And featuring some input from yours truly: