We are all spending an increasing time online and I am the first one to admit that my life on the web is an integral part of both my working and leisure spheres.

Here are the rules I have applied to my daily routine in order to make my online/offline balance work for me.  Please do feel free to share your tips in your comments.

Photo by  ~sage~ on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Twitter:

Once you have constructed the community relevant to you, allocate 15 minutes a day to it.  Whether you are using it for research or engage make sure you don’t get distracted by too many online conversations, if you need to get engaged in one  I suggest taking it to Skype.

Facebook:

5 minutes should be enough to allow you to check on your friends latest updates, posts and comments.  I love the casual way of staying in touch with a wide circle of friends but I have questioned its value in terms of friendship.  There is nothing better than intimacy to sustain long term friendships, yet the reality is that we can only maintain it with a handful of friends at the most.  Whatever you do on Facebook, don’t waste your time on games and various apps thrown at you…I turned apps off in my settings so I don’t get bombarded every time a friend/connection signs up for one.

Inbox:

This of course varies from one individual to another but the best way to get through whatever workload I am facing and stay focused is by checking my emails 3 times a day.  Morning, lunch and evening.  This allows me to create a priority list and work my way through my inbox efficiently.  It’s also worth assessing whether some emails could be replaced by a short and sweet twitter DM.

Skype:

Make sure to keep a work and family Skype separate, the last thing you want is to get auntie Fran skyping you away when you are in the middle of a work related conversation.  My personal skype goes on once I have logged off from my work Skype.  I also keep invisible status to avoid disruption and instead encourage Skype appointment via emails to suit all parties involved.

Google Calendar:

This a great tool for keeping on top of everyone’s else activities and meetings.  The whole family is synchronized and I set email alarms for all the important tasks and events.
Parent mail content is copied and pasted directly into the correct dates and I no longer have to look for the missing  school newsletter/email with all the key dates…I also print particular busy weeks and stick them on the fridge so in theory no more of the :  NO ONE TOLD ME scenario…
It’s also great for working on a team project as you can add calendars for specific projects which can be shared with others involved.

Blogging:

Once a blogger always a blogger…blogging is a frame of mind, the desire to share or engrave thoughts potentially forever can become addictive.  I enjoy blogging as a creative outlet, saying that I also have a busy work/family/outdoor life to attend to with limited time left for blogging.
Posterous enables me to feed my addiction from just one email.  One mail feeds my blog and lets my other networks such as FLICKR and FB know that I have updated my blog.  It has also taken the pain of formatting away totally.  A bliss.

I like nothing more than life away from the computer, there is something special about closing down the laptop  it’s almost like a new lease of oxygen spreading through  the body – finding the right balance is key to maintain a foot in reality and enjoy what the world has on the plate.

How do you manage your time online/offline?