As sites like Digg, StumbleUpon, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk & MySpace infiltrate the internet – thousands of hours are wasted daily.

Thousands of teenagers flock to their computers to see who’s left them a new MySpace comment, and Tech Geeks & “newsphiles” across the globe spend countless hours using Digg & StumbleUpon to promote and bookmark the latest articles, videos, and images popping up on the internet.

Granted – it’s important to stay connected to friends, family, and news through online services, but when do we acknowledge that our online behaviors can be managed in a much more effective/efficient manner?

My Story of Time Wasting Habits

At the pinnacle of my “time wasting” activities on the internet – I was spending more time on the computer, yet accomplishing less. Almost hourly I was checking my Affiliate Advertising earnings, I answered every email as soon as it popped into Microsoft Outlook, and I visited my favorite message forums online periodically throughout the day. Something needed to be done – as I was suffocating in the amount of work that was piling onto my ToDo List.

After analyzing my daily work habits, I realized social media sites were the biggest factor in causing my shortage of daylight hours.

Eureka!

The first thing for me to realize was that no matter how many times I checked into my slew of social media accounts – it wasn’t going to change their outcome.

More people aren’t going to magically Digg my sites if I view my Digg counts, my website reviews on StumbleUpon aren’t going to increase if I check the reviews thousands of times daily – and I’m not going to become increasingly popular if I check my MySpace messages throughout the day – like the addicted social media user I had become.

Realizing these simple truths brought a light into my online work life.

Creating success as an online web developer is much about effective time management skills. Though I may have become swamped with an increased workload – by cutting out ineffective social media management – I gave myself a few extra hours each day for important web design work.

The Doctrine of “Check Only Twice”

The motto & method I now live by to effectively manage social media sites is, “Check Only Twice“.

What does Check Only Twice mean? In short – Check Only Twice is the practice of only checking into social media sites twice daily, AT THE MOST! Instead of drooling over Digg counts, checking StumbleUpon reviews, Plurking randomly, and Twittering ravenously – make use of that extra time, and produce more content.

By using this special time management technique – I am able to accomplish all the various tasks of a busy webmaster and manage my social media accounts in a more streamlined, efficient manner. I check all sites in the morning, and before I go to bed.

Social media is an incredibly powerful/important tool for web developers – but it shouldn’t be allowed to consume the majority of each day.

Use this technique not only for social media sites, but for checking emails & advertising accounts.

Just remember – no matter how many times you check your Adsense earnings, Digg counts, and MySpace messages – it isn’t going to change their overall outcome.