The Social life: Living in Social Media

I was in conversation the other day with someone who defined my work from home lifestyle as relaxed and easy. I asked why they thought that and was met with a response of less pressure, how much stuff I can get done in a day, just sitting and being on Facebook & Twitter all the time.

Hmmmm….

It took a lot not to tell them to go suck an egg.

In some ways, 100% yes it is fabulous.

You get the flexibility to define your schedule and your life but it also means you don’t have such a thing as a set schedule.

Working in social media doesn’t happen from 9-5, and being a parent while working in social media means finding that precious balance between the work you have to do and making sure you are there (& present) for your family.

If you are an entrepreneur, a business owner, active in the influencer world or social media space, your world looks a fair amount different than other people’s.

So I thought I would give you an inside view of what its like when I “sit and do social media” all day.

1) You have had conference calls as early as 5am and as late as midnight.

2) Your posture sucks and your chiropractor has been actively calling you chicken neck.

3) On a good day, you take that as a great opportunity to create your own perfect day with a mix of work, knocking off errands, working out, lunch with a friend and quality time with the kids.

4) On a bad day, you just cry.

5) You have had conference calls while waiting at the gyno office, the coffee shop, getting your Visa for Africa (I will own that one), picking out lice, grocery shopping, cleaning the house, folding laundry, skiing, at the hockey arena, dance studio, having sex (I will own that one too…sometimes if the kids are away, you just have take advantage and its too late to reschedule the call), on the road, in many an airport, this list could go on forever.

6) You are now smitten with brands that in the past have wouldn’t have been on your radar and have now become part of your every day language. Special shoutout to Canadian Lentils & Manitoba Hemp Hearts on this one. (Discovered them both at BlissDom Canada).

7) Your brand affinities and loyalties are greatly determined by the interactions you have had with said brand on social media. Special shoutout to West Jet, Via Rail, Tim Hortons, Intrepid Travel

8) There is a dent in the comfy chair in the living room because that is where you get up early mornings to write, where almost all of your computer work even though you have a desk.

9) You have rules about putting away your phone during certain times at home.

10) You can jump on a Skype call or Google Hangout with a nice top and make-up and Goofy Disney pajames on under the table.

11) Your water cooler is Twitter and part of your job is being social on social.

12) You can be a volunteer at your kid’s school anytime you want.

13) You can get the kids to school every day and the only time pressure is to make sure THEY aren’t late for school not whether you ARE late for work.

14) You can take a day off and just play hooky, but it is kind of like cheating at solitaire …

15) If you started a blog/work from home while on mat leave, you mastered the ability of balancing boob, baby or bottle in one arm while simultaneously typing, tweeting or texting on the other.

16) Location: You have had business calls in the bathroom, car, laundry room, lobby, in the corner of an event, at Starbucks, and wherever there is a decent quiet place and reasonable wifi.

17) You have had Skype calls/Google Hangouts where your kids jump their faces in and introduce themselves or say Hi and usually wave at the kid on the other side of the Skype call /Google Hangout.

18) Your kids understand what a Twitter Party is and if you are running one, they (most of the time) understand that hour Mommy is typing frantically, can’t move from her computer and will chat/yell from the living room.

19) You can pick up the kids from school as early as you want or grab them for lunch..cause that’s how you roll.

20) Your car (most likely van) is your mobile office and you have perfected the charging station of plugging in your computer to charge your phone because inevitably you have lost the square plug piece to put the cord into AGAIN.

21) Your local food bank, day care, school, good will have received many donations from you of extra food, toys or products.

22) You can usually put a great basket together for raffle prizes because you have a schwack load of this-does-not-make-sense, why-did-they-spend-money-on-this branded schwag you received at an event.

23) You question whether something you are about to put out on social media is over-sharing, risks affecting your kids, your privacy, will it bring out trolls (those mean, anonymous types on social), yeah pretty sure it will bring out trolls and hit publish anyways.

24) You have met some of your closest friends because of Twitter and couldn’t be more grateful for those in your life. I could write a list of all the amazing people I have met through the years because of Twitter and BlissDom Canada but the list is actually far too long. Too all you social awesomes out there…see you at the Water Cooler.