Q: Do you have any advice on how to stay productive and focused when there is so much distraction from social media? How can we avoid multi-tasking?
Shawn Chhabra, host of "Winning the Game of Life" podcast
A: Having run my consulting business full-time for 10 years before coming to the University of St. Thomas, I know about the challenges that come from distractions. Social media represents just one more of the things that needs to be managed, and can often be the thing that becomes "urgent." The key is being able to discern if "urgent" is actually "important" and how that ranks against your task at hand.
One of the attractions of running a business for many entrepreneurs stems from the rush that comes from dealing with urgency. The addition of social media can fuel that rush.
Certainly, for some businesses, consistent engagement with social media plays a significant role, but for others, it may only be perceived as a dominant necessity.
Once the degree of importance of the firm's social media vigilance has been established, perhaps the real questions are: How much time and minimum response time should we have for social media conversations, and who should be engaging?
Yes, some businesses will need to respond to some posts almost immediately, but arguably, many smaller organizations might have time to take a breath or even get some lunch before responding. So, in those instances, set specific times to check and respond so you can focus on the other aspects of your business without concern.
The more difficult thing for some business founders or owners may be delegating the responsibility for social media monitoring to someone else. The best cure for multi-tasking is divesting tasks. Give the job to someone competent enough to respond quickly to the general issue, but with enough knowledge to know when to exercise the permission you have given to interrupt when you are focused on something else.
Michael Porter is the director of the master's in health care communication program at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business.
