When You Feel Lost Online & What To Do About It

Do you feel like you have been on and off your phone all day, but really didn’t accomplish much?

Maybe you open up your laptop with the goal of producing content – an hour later you followed ten new pinners, retweeted everything Jen Hatmaker said and pressed all the tabs in your Facebook Page insights trying to magically decode it.

Or perhaps you finally do create something. But all your ideas don’t seem so great anymore. You aren’t sure of the tone you should use, or which message to focus on. You over analyze all the past posts if they’ve had too much or too little this or that.

There is something happening here.

You are feeling lost, online.

When you are lost online you aren’t clear on your purpose. You aren’t clear on how best to use your voice (maybe you don’t even feel like you have found ‘your voice’ yet). You find yourself flopping between social media platforms, between tones in your posts, between messages. You wasting time online but eager to produce something. You are letting the chase for numbers dart across your path, distracting you from any certain direction.

How can we find our way when we are lost online?

Remember that it is ok to be lost sometimes. When we are lost we get to try different things, different ways to write, share all types images, make products. I’m sure some of the world’s best cheeses were made by people ‘just trying’ things. When we put ourselves in a place where we get to try out things, we get a feel for what fits our skills and serves our audience.

But eventually, we need a plan. We need a purpose. We need His purpose.

I encourage you to pray about it. Ask God for guidance in how you use your online platform. That He will burden you with His purpose for you. That you will no longer chase your own desires when you are online (cause they usually end up two hours in and you’re still watching food videos on BuzzFeed); but that He will fill your heart with His desires. That He will inspire you. That you will be obedient in all He calls you to do even when it doesn’t result in going viral.

Then take time to explore ways you can use your online platform for a purpose. Start putting a plan IN WRITING! (try this one). Because you can say the ‘safe and quick’ answer in your head – but make yourself write to your comfort level and push yourself for a little more. When we pull out the ‘more’ we are able to draw out a longer path before us.

Focus on just one or two social media platforms. Don’t worry about being everywhere all the time. Just get settled into a couple great platforms. Ideally the one that brings you the most traffic and one that brings you the most engagement.

Give your thoughts some breathing space, some room to learn and explore. It is okay to slow down and study those things that call to you. To meditate on things you have learned or created. We feel pressure to post instantaneously that sometimes we don’t let ourselves settle into a circumstance and point of view before we press ‘submit post’.

Always be deliberate in how you spend your time online.  Don’t just mindlessly grab your phone and start checking all the sites. Even if your plan is to find the cutest cat video ever to exist, or to read your favourite blogs, or to respond to comments. Never go online without a plan. 

Then…..just do.

Don’t wait for inspiration, permission, or confidence. This is usually the result of work, rather than the pre-requisite.

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