Running your own business is rewarding, but it is hard. There, we said it. With long hours, multiple elements to juggle – clients, staff, admin, enquiries, networking – it can feel isolating. Add the demands of social media into the mix, with its ‘always on’ nature and intrusive notifications, and you’ve got a recipe for burnout.
To mark World Mental Health Day, we’ve put together our top tips and advice to help entrepreneurs protect their mental health and ensure their long-term wellbeing and business success.
You’re the face of your business, but that doesn’t mean you should always be available, and this applies to both your work and your social media activity. Setting and maintaining clear boundaries for yourself and others, means you can give yourself a break from work and time to focus on you.
Set a posting schedule: set aside time each week to write and schedule social media content in advance, so you’re not always online scrabbling for post ideas. Use tools such as Agorapulse or Meta Business Suite to schedule your content with ease.
Set time limits: if you often find yourself jumping online to respond to one message and finding yourself still ‘doom scrolling’ an hour later, then using timers or apps that limit your usage will free up your time for more important things.
Turn off notifications: switching off notifications and performing community management at set times daily helps improve your concentration and removes the addictive element of social media, whilst still maintaining your brand reputation and levels of customer service.
The number of Likes and Follows you or your business have on social media are not a measure of your worth. The algorithms are frequently changing, what racked up the views a month ago may fall flat today. Don’t take it personally, remember that tracking follower numbers is just a vanity metric, and instead look at your engagement, your conversations with customers, and the outcomes in terms of sales and bookings.
What you see on social media isn’t the full picture. It could be a brief glimpse of reality, or a highly curated feed of standout moments. It’s important to remember what you don’t see – people are rarely posting their worst moments on Instagram or sharing their career mistakes on LinkedIn. Focus on your own journey and successes without comparing it to others to avoid impacting your self-esteem and mental health.
Our top tip? Unfollow or mute accounts that make you feel inadequate. You are in control of your own space on social media.
They say it’s lonely at the top, and as a business owner there will definitely be times when this rings true. Finding people you can talk to about the ups and downs of entrepreneur life is so important, whether this is your family, fellow business owners, friends, mentors or therapists. Having a network of support in place ensures you never feel alone when faced with challenges.
Prioritise regular screen-free time or digital detoxes with no emails, calls, social media scrolling or annoying notifications. You will soon notice the difference in your focus and your mood as your brain has a break from information overload and the constant dopamine hit of social media use.
It’s ok to take breaks – even prolonged holidays from social media. It will always be there when you return, and your mental health will be all the better for it.