Setting Healthy Boundaries as a Digital Marketer
With the rise of the Internet and social media usage, businesses are more prevalently focusing their marketing efforts online. And who is making all of this happen? The likes of me and you! This love letter of self-care is for our fellow social media gurus, digital marketing professionals, brand strategists, and even those who do-it-all for your organization’s marketing efforts.
We all know firsthand how it feels to meet those grueling deadlines, work long hours, suffer through the editing and proofing process, and squeeze those creative juices until the last drop. Alexa, play Under Pressure by Queen!
With the risk of creative burnout, work-life balance being out of whack, and hectic work environments, setting healthy boundaries is essential. So, we’ll say it louder for the people in the back! Achieving great things for your clients and your organization is one thing, but taking care of your personal wellbeing is also top priority so you can perform and create at your best.
Read on to learn more about ways we cope with high-pressure situations to deliver excellent results.
HOW TO SET BOUNDARIES
The Creative Burnout is Real
Trust us, we get it. Staying active and at the forefront of trends on social media is crucial for success - so the pressure is ON. For example, Instagram’s hashtag strategies change almost monthly: from the amount to use, the types and placement. You must be in the know to apply those strategies to your work.
This constant need to stay on-top of trends is cause for burnout! And when creative burnout strikes, it’s hard to be present and create your best work. How to combat this? Go easy on yourself. There’s no way you can do your best when you’re stressing out about every last detail, new trend, perfect hashtags, or filters. Create realistic goals and timelines that are achievable without overloading yourself and your team.
Another way to avoid burnout is changing your frame of mind when you log into your social accounts, on the clock and off the clock. Go in with an intention and purpose. Think to yourself, am I logging in with the purpose to look for client inspiration or am I scrolling for myself? Make sure that you draw that mental line so you don’t have to ask yourself, am I still working?
Another hack? Set a timer for yourself and don’t let the algorithm suck you in further. You’ve got this!
Manage Work-Life Balance
There is a fine line between committing to your work and allowing it to take over your identity.
How to fix it? Set strict work hours for yourself! As much as possible, of course. Emergencies happen and in communications roles, we have to find that balance. However, making a point of signing out of company accounts outside of work hours so you don’t receive notifications and constant reminders, will help you to disconnect and unwind.
Give Yourself a Break
Another way to manage work-life balance is to set times to step away from your desk - no matter how busy your day is. Whether it’s for a walk around the office, 30-minutes to grab yourself lunch, or, heck, a 20-minute recharge nap. It is important to put your health and happiness as your priority. After all, you cannot expect to perform at your highest level when you aren’t feeling your best self.
Set an Away Message
By maintaining a healthy work-life balance will also feed into the office and work environment of your team. Keeping a positive attitude and encouraging others to do so will promote others to do the same. One of the best ways Sokos Solutions (our team) does this is through our online communications via Slack. We can change our status so others know what we are up to, working on and if they are able to be contacted at the time. This shows empathy, patience and understanding, as well.
Stop Being a “Yes Man”
Whether you are saying yes to your clients, coworkers, or your own expectations, learn to set realistic goals so you don’t overload and overwhelm yourself.
Yes, we all want to continue knocking out tasks and prevent ourselves from pushing off until tomorrow, but rushing through assignments lessens the quality of work. The saying quality over quantity speaks true in this sense. No matter your job or position, delivering work at the best quality and ensuring everything was done correctly and thoroughly, will save you time in the future of edits and back-and-forth.
Take a Moment to Reflect
Another way to set realistic goals for yourself is if the end of the workday is nearing, take a moment to reflect on the rest of work for the day and set a plan for tomorrow. Create a schedule to make sure you are cutting out the correct amount of time to work on each project. While doing so, you are evaluating assignments that are more time-sensitive than others. So, if something does need to be pushed back, it doesn’t miss a deadline.
If all else fails, we’ll leave you with this: