#MotivationMonday: 15 Minutes

The most common complaint I hear about learning new skill sets (not just Social Media) is:

"I don't have enough time to...."

Now, when someone says that to the Queen of Procrastinators (*ahem, *cough-cough*), it takes an entire engineering team from NASA and some Russian hackers to prevent my eyes from rolling into the back of my head.

Here's an analogy: in the early 2000's I REALLY wanted to learn to knit. Like, badly. All the cool kids were doing it (get on my level of coolness), and I really, really wanted to MAKE/Create something for myself, something very specific. Knitting isn't easy, for me. It's a breeze for some of my friends, and I would stare open, gaping mouth at them as their fingers nimbly twisted yarn, fiddled with needles and essentially created something from STRING. That was something I wanted to do.

With great humility, I struggled, asked what I only imagined were the dumbest questions on the planet, greatly revered these men and women that (In My Mind) coveted such witchery, such skill.

During this time, I worked long hours, 3rd shift, had a one-hour commute back and forth, was working with a publisher for my first poetry set, and starting my first craft blog.  Basically, I was using 27 hours out of a 24 hour day.  <---My math skills are on point.

But. I made time. I found time where I could.  When I got stuck, I found resources.  I worked nights, so many of my knitting friends weren't available. I looked online for resources. I would walk up to old ladies in the store and ask their opinion on needles or yarn.  I made time and I made the effort.

The above photo is a VERY OLD photo of me knitting during my lunch break. In front of a keyboard. There's a packet of crackers to the left, a recent review from my boss to the right, and a work project pile in front.  And that's the point of this blog.

Social Media is already a skill set most people have. Believe it or not, you're what most people call an "End User".... You already use the basic aspects of it during your daily life, so spending a tiny bit of extra time each day can actually amplify you as a Subject Matter Expert, establish credibility, build a reputation or presence for a project/idea, and bring your voice to a larger audience.  If you WANT all those things, the TIME and EFFORT are there for you to take.

So, why the weird title?

See Above. Nearly everyone in a developed country has government mandated breaks at their job, and almost everyone on the planet has 15 minutes.  

Let me break it down for you this way:

15 Minute Smoke Break at Work: ONE thought out, well-crafted Instagram Post.

15 Minute Break (non-smoking):  A quick Tumblr Post, A Facebook Fanpage update, responding to customer emails/messages.

30 Minute Lunch Break: A quick Blog Post with 1-2 pictures.

10 Minutes in the School Parking Lot waiting to pick up your kids: Post a Tweet and reply to other Twitter Users.

20 Minute Dog Walk after dinner: Talk to people in your Facebook Group, reply to comments on Youtube. Make sure that Tweet you posted earlier didn't go VIRAL.

3 Minutes waiting for that Expense Report to print out at work: Check comments on your blog post. 

That annoying 1 hour before bedtime while your spouse watches that show you HATE: Literally anything man...Make a quick Youtube Video, Upload a Youtube Video, Create an Entire Blog Series. Start a Pinterest Account. 

The 13 minutes before falling asleep: This blog post.

I only had 15 minutes to spare a day to learn to knit. And I was terrible at it. I was sooo bad, it took me 3 months to make my first pair of socks, and one of them was too small. I'm pretty sure it was soo embarrassing I didn't even take pictures of them. But I did it. And I went on to learn to knit other more difficult things. I failed at some of them, but at least I made the time to learn, fail, and learn again.

Oh! I forgot to emphasize, find your resources and make time to find those resources. If you spend that 15 minutes asking questions or reading up on something, GOOD.  

One of the things I suggest is a book I'm jealous I didn't think of (but hey, I probably still can). Check out this Interesting Social Media Marketing for Business Book sitting in my Amazon Cart RIGHT NOW: