Managing Instagram Burnout: Tips

If you use Instagram for business purposes, burnout is a cause for concern. Burnout happens when you feel mentally, emotionally, and even physically exhausted due to stress. While burnout can happen in various areas of your life, Instagram burnout occurs when you spend too much time on the social network.  

At first, you might enjoy devoting time to the site, but it can drain you eventually. Thus, it’s important to know how to deal with burnout.
 

Unplug for a Bit

Thanks to mobile devices, you never have to spend time away from Instagram. Because of that, alerts or post ideas likely interrupt your day-to-day life. For instance, you might be settling in to watch a movie with your loved ones, only to get an Instagram alert. Then, you drop what you’re doing to handle that before resuming the movie. When the next alert comes, you pause the movie to check it out and respond.

This is a surefire way to end up with burnout, so disconnect for some time each day. First, you can take 10-minute breaks during the workday. This will give you a chance to refresh a bit before going back to the social network. Also, set aside time in the evenings and the weekends where you don’t look at your account at all. While a speedy response is needed when people interact with your posts, you don’t have to respond as soon as you receive a comment or message. As long as you respond within 24 hours, you can keep the conversation going. Thus, carve out some time each day to disconnect and stick to it. 
 

Have a Backup

Disconnecting for a few minutes to several hours will help you refresh. However, you also need to set aside some time to take a longer break. First, train a backup who can take over when you’re away for a bit. Then, plan a vacation or staycation that lasts for several days or a week. During that time, don’t check Instagram or contact the office. Instead, keep the time to yourself. 
 

Limit the Number of Social Networks You Manage

You could be suffering from burnout by spreading yourself too thin. Do you find yourself devoting hours of the day to managing Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and other channels? If so, you probably don’t have much free time to spend doing anything else. 

As important as social media marketing is, you don’t want to spread yourself so thin that you eventually can’t keep up. If you’re experiencing burnout, it could be a sign that you’re handling too many accounts. Limit yourself to Instagram and one to two other networks. Then, you can free up some of your time.
 

Set Boundaries and Prioritize Your Tasks 

Managing an Instagram account is a full-time job. In fact, it can often be more than that. Sometimes, social media managers are expected to put in 12 or more hours a day to keep everything running. 

If you’re overworked, burnout is likely to happen. Thus, set boundaries regarding your schedule. Commit to working for a set number of hours, and then prioritize your tasks so you can complete the most important items first. Let the rest of your team know that some other tasks will have to be done later. Assign a due date for the less-important tasks, so you don’t put them off completely. 
 

Plan Ahead

It’s easy to feel burned out if you’re constantly tasked with coming up with new posts or marketing strategies. The stress can wear you down and make you feel like if you stop for a moment, your entire strategy will tank.

You can avoid this problem by planning your strategy in advance. Then, create Instagram posts and schedule them for certain days and times. This will give you some breathing room when managing the account. 
 

Turn Off Notifications

It’s impossible to concentrate on other tasks when your phone is buzzing, which can lead to burnout. Thus, turn off notifications so you won’t receive alerts with every new comment or message. Then, set aside time each day to go in and review your notifications. You’ll find that it’s much easier to handle them at once instead of taking care of one here and one there throughout the day. Then, you won’t feel a constant pull toward Instagram to find out what’s happening. 
 

Find Balance in Your Life

Managing an Instagram account can be all-consuming. Whether you’re trying to sell products or promote yourself so you can get influencer deals, it can seep into every area of your life. That, of course, can cause burnout.

Thus, it’s important to find a work-life balance. When you are off the clock, enjoy spending time with family and friends. Also, engage in hobbies or learn something new. The more enjoyable your offline world becomes, the less burned out you’ll feel when you log into Instagram.
 

Have an Objective Each Time You Log In

Social media burnout tends to occur when people spend hours on Instagram and other sites. You can limit your time on Instagram by setting and completing an objective each time you access the app. For instance, you can set the objective to handle notifications. Then, you can log in and complete that task. Once you’re done, log out of Instagram instead of doing anything else. By handling one task at a time, you’ll limit your time on the site, so you’re less likely to burn out. Plus, you’ll discover that you can create better comments and posts when that’s your sole focus. 
 

Handle Burnout When It Happens

As much as you love Instagram, burnout can happen. If you notice that you’re irritable, angry, losing sleep, or feel emotionally tired, you could be dealing with burnout. Follow these tips to overcome burnout. Then, you can effectively manage your Instagram account without feeling emotionally and physically drained. You’ll discover that it’s much easier to manage the account when you don’t feel burned out.