As marketers, we spend a large amount of time staring at screens all day. Screen time is at an all-time high and it leads us to question what effect screen time can have on our mental health.
A study undertaken by Research England has found that of 500 adults living in the UK, over half of these adults spend more than 11 hours or more per day looking at screens. From this same group, around 25% of people had a daily average screen time of 14 hours or more.
These statistics are scary. Think about yourself, how much time do you spend each day staring at a screen? The answers is probably a lot (as much as we can try to ignore this figure).
Understanding ways in which you can put your mental health first as a marketer and reduce your will allow you to live a happier and healthier life (both professionally and personally!)
On 10th October, we will be celebrating World Mental Health Day. This year, the theme is ‘Make mental health and well-being for all a global priority’ which is why our team have been discussing ways in which we can prioritise our mental health as marketers.
But how do you really prioritise your mental health as a marketer?
1. Look for a way to switch off (which doesn’t involve a screen!)
For many of us, we try to switch off from our work screens with another screen! In today’s day and age, it can be hard to put our screens away due to fear of missing out. We all know as marketers that pressure is even bigger… what’s the latest Instagram update? What’s the latest TikTok trend? How do you stop your brain from constantly searching for these things? Finding a way to switch off from work can make a difference to your mental health and productivity as a whole and reducing screentime is often when this starts.
2. Find a community that understands you
Feeling valued and understood is a huge part of looking after our mental health. There are lots of online communities that you can get involved with to find a space to share your problems and relieve some stress. Our membership is one of the places where marketers can connect with others in the digital marketing space, providing a space to relate with others and share some marketing-related problems.
3. Outsource or delegate some of your tasks if possible
Although it’s not always possible to offload some of your workload, try delegating some administrative tasks or outsourcing some work if you feel that your workload feels unrealistic or too much for you to work through. It is not always possible to be constantly productive as a marketer and that is ok. Your mental health should not suffer due to your workload – understand your limits and establish ways to set boundaries in place.
4. Prioritise communication
Communicating how you are feeling can make a difference in your mental well-being. Understanding your communication style and others working closely with you can make an improvement to your working style and therefore relieve some stress. If you are feeling a strained mentally, try speaking with a manager or colleague to access what support is available to you.
5. Set yourself a realistic workload
There is no point in setting your to-do list as long as your arm when you know it’s not realistic. By getting into the habit of creating a realistic to-do list you are so much more likely to actually get everything done and be more motivated to complete your tasks. A realistic workload is also likely to allow you to feel less stressed and provide small pockets of time throughout the day to breathe and pick up any ad hoc tasks that may crop up. Is there any worse feeling than having a jam-packed day with no time in the day to take a break?
6. Be kind to yourself
Being kind to yourself is the first step towards improving your mental health as a marketer. Sometimes it can be hard to put yourself first but by doing this, you are more likely to see and feel the biggest difference in your mental health. Factor in time throughout your week to focus on yourself. We all have varying amounts of spare time but it is so important to have time to reflect and be in the moment (especially when you work in marketing and everything is so fast-paced). Self-care is not selfish!
There is still so much work to be done around mental health. If you want to find out more about World Mental Health Day and how you can get involved with the movement, click here. If you are struggling with your mental health, please seek help.
