A Day in the Life of a Social Media Manager

By Meg Bateman, KOTH Community Manager

When people learn that I’m a Social Media Manager, they think it’s really awesome and I probably live some glamorous life of vacationing and doing little work beyond posting memes all day.

In reality, I work just as much (if not more) than most… the only big difference is my field is changing daily (Facebook, if you’re reading this – please stop changing!!!), and I get to wear yoga pants instead of a pantsuit.

Many of you are probably familiar with my work, but don’t know it – I manage the Keeper of the Home social media accounts! I manage several other blog accounts too, and a few brands. Here’s what a typical day in the life of a social media manager looks like for me.

5:15 a.m.

My day starts off with waking up at 5:15 a.m. when my husband wakes up and gets ready for work. I feed the animals and get the dogs “dressed” for our walk. I make my husband’s lunch and we pray together before he’s out the door.

6:10 a.m.

We usually walk about 3 to 4 miles, and yes – that’s a stroller. Riley will only walk about 1.5 miles before she throws a tantrum and quits. Pebbles will only walk if we’re headed back in the direction of where we started. We’ve tried all sorts of things to outwit them, but gave up because I really need my morning walks!

7:30 a.m.

Back at home, I make tea and a breakfast smoothie. Lately it’s been three frozen apricots, half a can of coconut milk, water, two servings of collagen for protein, and some vanilla stevia. I do my devotionals during breakfast, or sometimes during an afternoon break.

8:25 a.m.

It’s time to buckle down and work! I usually tackle emails first, then whatever item is first on my to-do list. I set a timer for 45 minutes – this tends to be my magic number where I can concentrate and get things done. Then, I take a 17 minute break – away from screens, and on my feet. According to studies I’ve read over the last few years, this pattern of working for almost an hour and taking a break helps give the brain a good break so you can accomplish even more. It makes a huge difference for me, so I try to keep doing it!

9:10 a.m.

I take advantage of the breaks to get something done around the house – like food prep to make up some ferments like kombucha or fermented veggies. Right now I’m doing Stephanie’s 8 Weeks to a Less Cluttered Home Challenge to reclaim our house from the last few months of craziness running two businesses while my husband works full time!

10:30 a.m.

On this day, I had a Skyping session with a client who I coach. The majority of my work is curating and scheduling content to be shared on clients’ social media profiles, but I also coach people on how to do their own strategizing for their social media profiles.

One misconception about working from home or running your own business is that you don’t talk much to others. I do a LOT of communicating during the day – emailing with clients, Skype sessions with those that I coach, texting back and forth with Rebecca about KOTH stuff, networking – it really adds up.

11:30 a.m.

Around lunchtime (or really, whenever I remember to eat… we joke that I need to hire someone just to remind me about lunch!) I either throw together some leftovers or make something from scratch that I can also carry into dinner. Lately, we’re totally addicted to making artichokes in the Instant Pot. I make enough for the two of us for dinner, plus some for my own lunch.

12:00 p.m.

Back to work!

1:00 p.m.

I had another Skype call with a client, this one I’m helping her improve her site’s optimization for social media and search engines.

2:15 p.m.

I’m not afraid to admit it, but I sometimes take a power nap during the afternoon slump. The main reason I decided to pursue working from home instead of teaching was my health – I developed a spastic gallbladder in college from being undiagnosed with celiac disease. These days my health is light years ahead of where it was – but that 20 to 30 minute nap makes a HUGE difference for the final stretch of productivity.

And, as you can see, the dogs take advantage of the time too.

3:30 p.m.

The afternoon work time is spent making sure I have all the day’s tasks completely covered. The dogs usually try to “help” in the afternoon. If everything it taken care of, I read up on the latest social media changes to make sure my strategy for my different clients’ profiles is spot on to the latest changes. Or, I just work ahead!

4:25 p.m.

  

When my husband gets home from work, I’m usually still wrapping up my day. So, he wrestles with the dogs and cleans up while I finish up!

5:00 p.m.

As soon as I’m at a stopping point, we make dinner and enjoy the evening together! Jeff, my husband, has his own side business while also attending school part-time. So, sometimes our evenings are just spent in the same room – him working on school work, me reading or working or doing something!

7:00 p.m.

Sometimes we try to get out of the house for a quick break – since I’m home all day with no way to escape. This night we took the dogs to Sportsmen’s Warehouse, to see if they had some camp chairs back in stock. They didn’t, but Pebbles entertained us by trying to hop into the fishing bags! I’m disappointed that I didn’t get a picture 🙁

9:00 p.m.

Jeff usually turns on our TV to watch some YouTube shows on survival stuff and bush crafting before bed. That’s when I usually break open whatever book I’m reading, if I wasn’t already reading!

10:00 p.m. – Bedtime!

We try to turn in early, since Jeff has to be at work so early in the mornings.

We both work a lot, but we try to make the most of our weekends to recharge. Lately we’ve been traveling back and forth from his family’s land on the coast on the weekend; just getting out of Fresno’s heat and bad air does a LOT to revive us!

This last year, we learned the hard way how important it is to find something you love doing – and then balance work and home life. We’re both working more than we were last year, but it’s even more balanced because we’re both loving what we’re doing.

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