So much to do: How to not feel overwhelmed
So when it comes to working for yourself or to trying to build your brand to be noticed by a potential company there’s A LOT to do. I have been working part-time at my cooking job for almost a year, so I can devote the other half of my time working towards becoming a fill-time videography…and at the beginning, the amount of things I had to do just to get started was enormous.
First, I made a website, then I focussed on creating a social media presence - Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Youtube are the ones I chose to focus on more regularly, with Facebook coming in a distant fifth. Each platform is different in it’s own way:
Instagram, if you’re approaching it professionally, has many facets to it, mostly by putting well edited and thought out photos, with context or a story attached - keep the videos tight and well edited. I will be using Instagram TV for the first time this year which I am hoping will be a fun journey that I’ll be sure to tell you about.
Twitter is again more of a platform for conversation, so to find the conversation you must dive into hashtags and see what the community that you want to be a part of is talking about. On top of that, it’s important to put out organic content on that platform that relates to your niche.
YouTube is similar to Instagram in that it’s a conversation through art and creativity…and in this case, video. The videos can be a little longer than other platforms but also same thing applies to all: you must tell a story.
LinkedIn is very much a professional website and so pictures can be posted as well as videos but only your best that you want showcased. It is a wonderful place to find people in your field to interact with and to get your foot in the door to get noticed. The big thing on LinkedIn is to ask questions and to always be interacting just like Twitter, follow hashtags and comment away!
So, as you can see, just keeping up with my website and trying to generate regular, unique, social media posts was already a little daunting, not to mention all of the other things that I thought I should be doing like taking pictures and video regularly, editing photos, making videos, doing research, making connections, etc. I was overwhelmed and didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere even though I was always doing something..
My solution? I made a spreadsheet that tracks everything I want to accomplish - from social media posts to website updates to taking video. I also made sure to make realistic, tangible goals for myself so that I could feel the satisfaction of meeting my goal with the intention of revisiting them every few months to see if I can push myself more. I also decided to not be so hard on myself, because this is hard and scary (that’s for another post…), and it takes time, but I am trying, and I am going to celebrate little victories as I work towards my goals!
So, let’s all be more kind to ourselves and enjoy the journey while we work towards what we want!
I am…
Joseph