Facebook for college students: 5 simple steps to productivity

As long as you're a student who attends class on campus and stows your smart phone during class, the Facebook vortex should be avoidable until it's time for you to study. Or check your email. Or pay your bills online. Or anything else that you do online, which is, well, pretty much everything these days.

If you're one of the growing number of students taking advantage of online education, you will need to be even more vigilant because your "campus" offers a lot of distractions--including Facebook--every time you sit in front of your computer. Imagine 434 of your friends jammed in the back of a classroom while you're trying to pay attention to the professor. Your friends are waiting for you to notice them. They are waiting to poke you.

You, college student, need to implement the five-step Facebook vortex prevention plan.

Step 1: Setting boundaries on when to Facebook (and when not to)

Anytime you're not doing anything better, you can just hop on Facebook, right? That's vortex territory. Consider one of these restrictions for Facebooking:

• Set a timer for one hour on Saturday or Sunday morning and get caught up on a week's worth of Facebook
• Take 15-20 minutes for Facebook between lunch and your afternoon class on weekdays, but no Facebook on the weekends
• Only check Facebook from your mobile device when you're waiting in line

If you immediately think, "Wait! That's not enough time for Facebook," take your hand off of the mouse, you're going to need it to pull yourself out of the vortex.

Tip: When you're studying or researching online, don't log on to Facebook. If you need to have it open to IM classmates, then open the site in a whole new browser window (not a tab) and keep the window in the background behind your active browser window (out of sight, out of mind).

Step 2: Use Facebook to stay true to your school

If there's a really productive reason for you to be on Facebook, it's to find out what's happening at your college and make sure you don't miss out on any great opportunities. More schools are adding Facebook pages all the time to keep their students up to date about lectures, online tools, student activities, safety issues, athletic events and more.

Tip: Save valuable time and contact your school's student union or marketing department to see if they have a list of student organizations, college departments, and professors that are on Facebook.

Step 3: Building ties that bind through Facebook

Even if you didn't move away to attend college far from home, being in school results in less time to keep in touch with friends and family. Use Facebook to let people know that you're thinking about them, even if it's just a poke. Upload photos every now and then so that people can see what your life as a college student is like.

Tip: Be mindful of your list of friends on Facebook. You don't want to get caught up in venting about work, class or other friends (or raving about that party) and end up regretting that last status update.

Step 4: Use Facebook to network for internships and jobs

With 62 percent of all U.S. Internet users on Facebook, there's a pretty good chance you can use this online social tool to keep tabs on local and national companies and organizations that could play a part in your future career. Spending a few to minutes to cultivate relationships is a good use of time. An old friend might know about the perfect career for you; a new friend might have a great connection--you never know.

Tip: If you want to be an intern at Acme, Inc., you probably don't want your future employer to view your whole profile (i.e., hide the same pics you should be hiding from your grandma). Facebook allows you to place your friends in groups and limit the profile information that you show them.

Step 5: Facebook: One-stop information shop

Facebook has become somewhat of a one-stop shop because it's attracted so many users. If you find your time split up between checking national and local news sites, local radio stations, and blog sites, search to see if your favorite online haunts have a Facebook page. The more you can consolidate, the more productive you can be.

Tip: Unless you change your privacy settings, your Facebook activity -- including any radical groups you like -- are visible to everyone on your friends list.

These five steps can help you avoid the Facebook vortex and to make sure Facebook doesn't become a distraction. When used productively, Facebook, for college students especially, can be a huge asset for developing and maintaining relationships and staying informed.

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