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The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Time Management

Time Management

Too Much Social Media?

By Steve Laubeon October 25, 2021
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The following article appeared in Forbes Magazine in June of this year: “Americans Spent On Average More Than 1,300 Hours On Social Media Last Year.” In the article it said:

Last year, driven in no small part by the pandemic, Americans spent more than an average 1,300 hours on social media according to a new study from Uswitch. Facebook led the way, where Americans spent an average 58 minutes a day on the app – or 325 hours a year.

I wrote a blog post on this topic in November 2009 when studies showed users spent 72 hours a year on Facebook. Think about that for a second. In a little over a decade the hours spent on this particular platform has quadrupled!

I don’t want to join the predictable throng saying how dangerous this is. I suspect most of you have common sense and understand that already. Facebook and other social media are a wonder of technology and allow for unique ways to connect. We have also written here about the importance of platform and specifically showing engagement with your readers is of particular importance in getting the word out about your ideas and your book.

However, not all writers are full-time. Some must juggle day jobs or home-life responsibilities around their writing. So let’s say the average writer is cramming 20 hours a week of actual writing into their craft.

Thus if you are a writer AND you “Facebook,” this would mean the average writer is spending nearly a month’s worth of work time on Facebook or other social media.

In 325 hours, a nose-to-grindstone writer could produce 50,000 words on their next work-in-progress (that is about 1/2 page per hour). A motivated person could memorize the Constitution and the Epistle to the Galatians. An avid reader could consume at least a dozen of their favorite books.

Don’t get me wrong. I know there are tremendous benefits for the author in connecting with readers via social networking. And I’m not criticizing Facebook or Facebook users. My concern is with the amount of time authors spend on something other than making their next book a masterpiece.

Social media or social networking is something being “added” to our lives. And if something is added, something is usually subtracted. My question is, “What has been subtracted?”

An entire generation is growing up with social media as something embedded in the fabric of their lives. Not an addition. The irony is that in their case, subtracting now means subtracting social media! Not adding it.

It is also true that some of us have “addictive” personalities, and the snare of social networking can become an addiction if one isn’t careful.

It is also true that if we didn’t have social media, it may be that we wouldn’t spend the extra time writing. We’d find some other distraction to avoid having to write! (Like sorting your bookshelves by color.)

Next time you enter the social networking world, time yourself. Then ask if it was beneficial to you personally, professionally, spiritually, emotionally, or otherwise. As with all things, use common sense, discipline, and moderation. I’ve heard there are software programs (article about a few linked here) that can help by literally turning off your access after a certain period of time.

It will also keep your agent or your editor from posting a comment on your feed like “What are you doing here? You are on a deadline!”

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Category: Social MediaTag: Facebook, Social Media, Time Management, Writing Craft

Meet Writing Goals Like a Pro

By Bob Hostetleron October 23, 2019
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Gregg LeVoy, in his book This Business of Writing, says: All achievements begin as pictures in someone’s mind, and the more clearly they are held there, the more easily they can be hewn onto paper, stone, and playing field. Businesses are no different. They work better when you have a picture to work from. If you can hold solidly in your mind the picture of what you want your writing business to …

Read moreMeet Writing Goals Like a Pro
Category: time managementTag: Time Management

The Automatic Writer

By Bob Hostetleron August 15, 2018
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My coffee maker is on a timer. My thermostat is programmed to different temperatures at night and by day. My computer screen even dims to a softer hue as the day progresses. I try to automate everything I can, believing that the fewer tasks I have to remember every day, the more I can focus and achieve. That may or may not be true, but I’m convinced that automation has helped me—and many of my …

Read moreThe Automatic Writer
Category: Social Media, Technology, The Writing Life, TrendsTag: Technology, The Writing Life, Time Management

How Much Time Should I Budget to Write My Book?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 26, 2018
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New authors have a distinct advantage over established authors under deadline: no deadline. As a new author, you may have fiddled with your novel for years. Perhaps you’ve entered contests and incorporated feedback. Maybe you’ve read books about writing and attended conferences. After all this effort, you landed a contract. Congratulations! Now you may have another happy problem: estimating how …

Read moreHow Much Time Should I Budget to Write My Book?
Category: Career, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Deadlines, The Writing Life, Time Management

How To Decide What You Will and Won’t Do with Your Time

By Karen Ballon March 22, 2017
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I hear it all the time: “So many things are vying for my time. How do I decide, and how do I do it all and still write??” Many of us struggle to know what we should be doing with our time. And there are so many things we can do, most of which seem right and noble and even godly, and many of which take time away from being able to do this task of writing. Before you decide where to spend your time, …

Read moreHow To Decide What You Will and Won’t Do with Your Time
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Faith, The Writing Life, Time Management

Ever Had One of Those Days?

By Steve Laubeon August 11, 2014
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You are going along with your tidy t0-do list decorated with empty check-boxes waiting to be marked. And then, WHAM! You get hijacked like the rhino in today’s picture and carried off to some unknown destination. Hours go by and you are tossed to-and-fro by this new crisis and that new task. Before you know it, the day is done and your eyes find that tidy to-do list. Still pristine as the …

Read moreEver Had One of Those Days?
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Interruptions, The Writing Life, Time Management

The Elephant’s Goin’ Down!

By Karen Ballon September 19, 2012
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by Karen Ball

You remember the old adage:
Q: How do you eat an elephant?
A: One bite at a time!
As I’ve reviewed my calendar this week, I’ve realized that’s what I’ve got on the screen in front of me. An elephant.

Maybe two.

And they’re reaaaaallly big.

SO many things to get done before I board a plane early Wednesday morning and wing my way to Dallas for the ACFW conference. As …

Read moreThe Elephant’s Goin’ Down!
Category: Book Business, Career, Writing CraftTag: Career, Time Management

The Perils of Social Media

By Steve Laubeon January 9, 2012
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Facebook. Twitter. Shoutlife. LinkedIn. Dopplr. Google+. Plaxo. Blogger. WordPress. Shelfari. Goodreads. Writer's loops. Conference loops. Endless loops.

By the time I finish updating my status, writing my blogs, tweeting, pasting my bulletins, my newest pictures, my URLs and YouTube links, recruiting friends, recommending friends, sharing reads, rating reads, ranking reads, ranking friends, …

Read moreThe Perils of Social Media
Category: Book Business, Get Published, Guest Post, Humor, Marketing, Social Media, Writing CraftTag: Agents, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Time Management, Writing Craft

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