Social Media Addiction: Productivity Killer?

“The boss challenged me to be more productive.  He accused me of spending too much time with texting and Facebook and not on work.  How would he know that?”

One possibility is covered by a study by MSN Healthy Living.  A survey of 500 female college freshmen found that the women in the group spent nearly 12 hours a day texting, posting, and surfing the Web.  Interestingly, the study also found that the more free time these women spent using online media, the worse their academic performance.

The question your boss is asking is:  “Are you spending more hours during the day on social media than on your productivity at work?”  Ask yourself the following questions to determine if your productivity killer is due to bad habits:

1. Do you drop everything you are doing, including your customer or project, to respond to a text message?
2. Do you prefer texting your friends at work because using the phone can be heard by anybody, including the boss?
3. Do you network with social media like Facebook, Linkin or other social media sites?  Have you acquired business for your employer while on the web?  If so, how many new customers and how much financial benefits resulted?
4. Are habits like using the web, answering and reading email, taking a break to play an online game, keeping you from your work?
5.  Have you tracked the time you spend on the web that is not directly related to your work?

Examine your work ethics.  Make note of the time you start and finish with the web, reading a blog, texting, etc.  It may surprise you to see just how much time you spend on social media.  Remember, you had more time at University than you do now.  It is a habit that is killing your productivity.  Leave your iPhone at home and watch your performance reviews soar!