If you are a social media manager how do you stay on top of everything you need to know and to do for your own and your clients social media AND stay on top of the continuous change in the social media world?

@richardmclaughlin Love it. Clicking like multiple times right now.

@juliaharris My answer is going to seem weird, but when I find myself completely overloaded with work, be it preparing a TV spot, or dealing with a database, or Facebook/Google+/Twitter/LinkedIn/evenmorethatneverstopsfloodingmyinbox…. I get up and walk away.

Seriously! When you’re mired down in a problem you switch from organized processing gear to survival stress gear. In survival stress gear you are not operating at your best, just your “good enough.” And as a result, the quality of the work you produce goes down hill. You are just putting out fires, and not really engaging the work. Getting up, disengaging your brain from the work (go for a walk, run, exercise, get a bit of fresh air, pound your head to a Martin Solveig song, whatever) resets your brain and lets you approach the problem fresh and ready to go.

I hope that helps!

Love @Jason Reilly response.

I also have patience with myself that things do quickly change in social media that you can’t know everything the second it happens. So don’t be afraid to learn from your clients or someone that you feel you should have known that before them.

I pretty much only read and participate with Social Media Examiner. Because I found early on when I became a Social Media Manager I would get bombarded by blogs and things to read. I was reading more than I was working and I always believe that you learn a lot by just doing. I find that SME provides news when things get updated quickly and everyone involved community wise is fantastic.

And long walks on the beach are fantastic

Hi Julia.
I do a couple of things that help:

• I automatically route junk mail to an inbox that gets deleted without reading. If something is mistakenly routed there and it’s important. That person will reach out some other way. 
• If an email is urgent or easily dealt with in a 30 second phone call, do so. Don’t be tempted to email back and add to time delays and inbox clutter.
• If you get backlogged with email, sort by subject and read starting with the freshest. Usually after the first 1 or 2 you can delete everything else. 
  
• I don’t automatically follow every Twitter connection back. Pick who adds value and ignore everyone else.
  
• Make up a monthly or weekly calendar. Stick to it.
  
• Time block your days for major chunks of work, exercise & rest. Stick to it.
• I don’t pick up phone calls unless I recognize the number. If it’s important, they’ll leave a message.
  
• I pick up my phone messages in the time block allocated to that and respond immediately or delete.
  
• Pick your favorite blogs. Read those, only those and X interesting articles recommended to you by followed Twitter connections. The size of X will be determined by your time block allocation. 
  

Play with it. See what works. Most importantly, stick with it. 

Thanks guys, some great ideas there.  I love the SME forums