Social Media + Holidays = STRESS! 7 Ways To Cope? | The Online ...

Onetangi Beach ? 2.4km of golden white sands on Waiheke Island, New Zealand

It?s Monday and I?m recovering from a cracking weekend away on Waiheke Island with one of my besties.

You see, my bestie ? Sharon Stephenson ? is a travel writer who was commissioned to do a piece on Waiheke Island, a gorgeous sub-tropical island north-east of Auckland, New Zealand. As it turns out, I also own a holiday rental?there (?What a coincidence!? she says in mock surprise).?Hence my?rubber arm got twisted and I stumbled along for the ride. Our itinerary included lots of wine tasting (in other words, ?drinking?), lots of eating, and lots of laughing till the cows came home. Plus I got free PR for my holiday rental too!

While being a poser, my Tweets and posts were still going out. Awesome!

But being my first weekend away since starting this journey, I?ve discovered that leaving my business (my baby) behind can be really stressful.

Last week, I was in panic station as I rushed to have everything ready before I left. This included fixing issues with my email subscription system (more about this in another post), writing and delivering my blog post, topping up my Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts to cover three days away, as well as organising loads of different things for my holiday rental. I knew the weekend would leave no time but to eat, drink, play and sleep (yes it was hard work!). Plus WIFI access was few and far between.

Which got me thinking? How would I cope on a longer holiday? So here?s what I reckon:

1. Only go places with internet access.

Yep, sad but true. The unbeaten track and untouched islands are fabulous holiday spots, but as an online marketer you need good, reliable internet access wherever you go. For me, it?s goodbye to?Koh Kood?- one of my favourite remote islands.

2. Back up your laptop.

In my haste, I forgot to back up my laptop before this trip ? an omission that could?ve been disastrous if my laptop got stolen, dropped in the sea, or got damaged in some other way. Oh the thought of it gives me the heebie jeebies!

But when I do remember to back up, I use my Mac?s built-in Time Machine system and a 60Gb external hard drive. I reckon if you?re going away for long periods you should always take your back-up drive with you, and store it separately from your laptop ? NOT in your laptop bag.

3. Be WIFI savvy.

With the internet being a key part of your business, scope out the local WIFI spots ahead of time to avoid last-minute panic while away. Also check out this great article about security when on a public WIFI.

4. Get a local SIM card.

Mobile roaming prices are ridiculously expensive so the next time you?re overseas, buy a local SIM card for your smartphone.

To get internet access, simply hook your iPhone (with local SIM card) to your?iPhone personal hotspot, which you?ll find in your phone ?Settings?.?With Android phones?you can download an app that will turn your phone into an internet hotspot.

It may mean losing access to your standard SIM card for a while, but a little swapping and changing when required can save you a whole lot of dosh in the long run!

5. Use an online document sharing tool or two.

I?m currently using?Google Drive (ex Google Docs) to save all my important files and documents online ? which means I can access them from pretty much anywhere with internet access; at an internet cafe, or on a friend?s computer for instance.

Everyone?s also been raving about Evernote?lately. Evernote is a software that makes it easy to take notes and manage your files.?Apparently once you?ve stored the info on your computer or phone using Evernote, you don?t even need internet to access it. And it synchs with all your hardware too.

Evernote?s next on my list of tools to check out. You should check it out too! Check out Evernote

6. Get a back-up computer.

A friend of mine was recently in Bolivia when his laptop died on him. In Bolivia, good technicians and late-model computers are hard to come by so he was left without a computer for weeks.

Because my laptop is the hub of my business, not having one would feel like having my right arm chopped off. So I?ve got my eye on an iPad as it?s light and easy to carry, and I can use it as back-up in case anything happened to my laptop. Do you have a back-up computer?

7. Chill?it?s not the end of the world.

Starting an online business is so full on I?d become a bit of a stress bunny?

But what I?ve come to realise is that missing a (self-imposed) deadline or losing a few Twitter followers isn?t the end of the world.?Holidays are supposed to be fun, and as long as I top up my social media, connect with others every couple of days (which I do enjoy), or perhaps write a blog post once a week, I?m probably doing better than most people.

So if you?re a stress bunny like me, why not take a deep breath and chill a little? I?m already finding life a little easier with that tiny change of mindset.

So what do you think??How do you keep your business running while on holiday? I?d love to hear your thoughts.

- The Rookie

Source: http://onlinemarketingrookie.com/social-media-holidays-stress-7-ways-to-cope/

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