The Fine Art of Procrastination, or Getting Over Your Social Media Fears

Confession: I was asked to start contributing to the AAR blog many months ago.

Reality: I’ve started and stopped several posts, and there’s no evidence that I’ve done anything.

Sound familiar?

Yesterday, I was on a home tour bus lamenting to Janine Brown, major league association volunteer, about how I was experiencing a severe case of writer’s block, and maybe I should just write about procrastination.  She thought it was a great idea.

So, here goes…

We all have busy lives, with commitment to family, work, community, friends, ourselves.  It seems like an overwhelming list sometimes.  And that’s really what procrastination is all about, being overwhelmed.  It’s not a lack of commitment.  It’s not a lack of inspiration.  It’s an internal conflict with what you want and what think you should do!

I started blogging three years ago.  This week I went back and looked at my first post, and had to laugh.  It was about road closures for the upcoming weekend.  Nothing earth shattering.  Just a simple little post.  But that was all it took for me to get started.

And with this guest blogging opportunity at AAR, I started thinking about all the IMPORTANT or COOL or INSIGHTFUL things I could share, and I got STUCK!  I wanted to be helpful, but really I like to write about things that stir my soul.  Sometimes, readers will connect with them and other times not. And that is the reality of blogging.

Social media is a many-faceted “beast.”  It’s a great way for people (e.g. REALTORS®) to connect to others and the way the world of communications is going.  At the same time, it can be daunting for many agents to get started or stay involved.

The options are amazing.  You can jump onto Twitter if you like a little chaos in your life, or Facebook if you prefer a more connected conversation, or create your own blog to create “online capital” for years to come.  If you prefer photos or video, Flickr or YouTube are mainstream options.  Foursquare is yet another way to stay connected and share about your community.

For a glimpse into a few more of my thoughts on Social Media in Real Estate, I’ll share this recent interview, created by Stephen Murphey for  a communications class project at ASU.

The key point, I’m really trying to make here is that getting started is only as hard as you make it. Be brave, be bold, be you.  Focus on your community. Get to know your audience. Offer value.  And what you will find, are connections, ideas, and friendship… and a whole new way of doing business.