Awhile back it seemed the more I knew about social marketing, SMO, SEO and WordPress, the more of a workload I had and the more stressed out I became. One might tend to think that it would be the opposite – that more knowledge and experience would result in more efficiency of means and methods and less work. But, alas, it was not as such.

What I was experiencing is similar to, but not the same as, what drives the nameless Narrator insane in one of my favorite novels, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig. In his Chautauquas on the philosophy of science, the Narrator touches upon scientific theory, which is supposed to be a means to an end, moving from the general to the particular and ultimately to an answer, a truth. What the Narrator observes in reality is that scientific experiments actually result in generating more hypotheses and theories – not less – thus moving from the particular to chaos, which is a contributing factor in ultimately driving him insane. The guy gets really stressed-out and folds. So after some electroconvulsive therapy, he goes on a 17-day motorcycle ride with his son and friends to chill out, but not until after his personality has been permanently changed.

Just keeping up with the rapid changes and evolution of social marketing, SEO and WordPress – and the technology associated with all of it – is extremely time consuming in itself. Then you have to adapt to those changes or innovations on the fly while simultaneously keeping yourself and your clients happy and profitable so you can keep your family happy and put food on your table. Not a day passes without a new mobile or Facebook app appearing on the scene, or a stampede coming at you from Google Search (whether it’s Penguins or Pandas), or a new WordPress version and/or plugin that could make your life a living hell if you click “update” (I get the same anxiety at ATM’s: “Where’s the ‘money sound’? Where’s the ‘money sound’? There it is! Phew! YES!”).

So how do we mitigate the “chaos” and avoid having to undergo electroconvulsive therapy? What worked for me were two things, and they didn’t cost a lot of money. Nor are they related in any way, shape or form. The first was simplifying and organizing by using a good social media management tool. The second was much less techy: I got a hobby.

Let’s start with tech. JeffBullas.com likes to throw lists of things at us like the “5 Cool Apps to Save You from Social Media Overload” or “The 7 Best Mobile Apps for Cross-dressing Hypochondriacs” because it’s a proven marketing trick that people are more likely to read something with a number in the title than if there is no number in the title (which is why I put a number in my title – actually, I put two numbers in it because I like belts and suspenders). Also, he pretty much knows what he’s talking about.

The thing is, I don’t need 5 apps. I need one management tool (that includes a mobile app) to avoid social media overload. In the words of Thoreau, “Simplfy”. Find a social media management tool that fits the best with the way you work with your clients – don’t listen to what anyone else tells you, including me. Experiment! Look for something that’s mobile friendly and facilitates organization, automation, notification, reporting (social media channels AND Google Analytics), supports multiple channels and team members and – yes – scheduling. Regarding the latter, we all do it. It’s just that some of us know when it’s appropriate and how to do it better than others.

Hootsuite, SproutSocial (my personal favorite – but don’t listen to me), Sendible, Social Management Tool, SocialMotus, SoclPie and CrowdBooster offer some of the most comprehensive social management solutions. Buffer, SocialOomph, TweetDeck, Tweepi, SocialFlow, SocialBro, and ArgyleSocial offer more targeted and specialized social management solutions. Remember: Experiment! Simplify and organize. Most of the paid solutions offer a 15 or 30 day trial period. Take advantage of the trial periods. Beat the crap out of the tools. Bombard their support staff with stupid questions (support is a key factor in your decision on which tool to use). Then decide on a solution that works best for you. It’s rare you’ll find a “silver bullet” that does every single thing you want it to do. But I’ll bet one of these comes pretty darn close.

Now, on to the no-tech thing. Remind yourself why you work so hard at this stuff. You’re a human being, not a machine. Machines are tools. You are not a tool (well, maybe some of you are). You have a body and soul. You need to take care of your own physical and mental health. You may have a family. Pay attention to it, even if your significant other is a cat named Boris. What’s the best way to do all of this: find a hobby.

When I lived in Chicago in another life as a frustrated, overworked, underpaid, architect/indentured servant, I started to go a little wacky. So a relative hooked me up with a shrink who performed a psychiatric evaluation which included an interview and a written and multiple choice test. He followed up with me a few days later over the telephone when the results came in. He said I was extremely intelligent and resourceful – off the charts (I liked this guy). There was nothing wrong with me. EXCEPT… I really had no interests outside of work. Nothing to complete me. No diversions. And this was one of the reasons my career had become drudgery and I had become depressed.

He asked me what I liked to do. I jokingly said, “I like drinking beer.” He said, “Well maybe you should start making beer.” It was a seminal moment in my life. Each weekend for the next 9 months during the long Chicago winter I would brew a total of 72 cases of homebrew. For the following 3 blazing hot months of summer, I would consume it all with my friends. I did a complete 180. I was reborn. It cost me $2000, but I was reborn.

I live in Costa Rica now and brewing beer is out of the question. It’s just too darn hot. But everything grows here. So I planted 23 varieties of fruit trees and a killer garden. My 6-year-old daughter has taken a shining to gardening too, and the time we share together pruning, planting, watering, weeding and fertilizing is a priceless commodity. We grow flowers and fruit for my wife. My 5-month-old could give a crap, but he does enjoy being wheeled around in his stroller in the shade of the trees. The chaos is mitigated and abates. Life is good.

My point is, you need to find something to do outside of work that interests you. It doesn’t matter where you live or how big or small your home or apartment is (Hell, I crammed 72 cases of home brew into a two-bedroom walk-up). It doesn’t have to be expensive if you don’t have a lot of money (I also like taking pictures of sunsets an fill my Instagram feed full of them).

Frankly, no matter what your occupation, you must strike a balance between who you are and what you do. Social marketing and all things that touch it are currently moving targets. And that’s not going to change any time soon. So find the social media management tool that will help you gauge their movements, minimize mistakes and time wasted and maximize your overall effectiveness. Be the master, not the slave. Then go bake a quiche, tune-up a Volkswagen, pump some iron or take some pictures at the beach.

Do you have a hobby? What is it? Does it ease the social marketing fatigue? Do you exercise? What color underwear are you wearing? ;-)

Mike Poynton is Owner/Principal of Paradise Social, a digital marketing, SEO and website design company in Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste. He is also active in his community and serves on the Board of Directors of the Asociación de Vecinos y Empresarios de Playa Hermosa. He periodically contributes articles to the Costa Rica Star. He also likes beer.