I have a love-hate relationship with social media. Seeing the value of the medium, I have accounts for Facebook ^[2], Twitter, and Pinterest. However, I have only dabbled with Facebook and am totally clueless as to Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Realizing how much of my time gets zapped when I just pop on to check Facebook, I choose to post my physical goal updates on Using Time Wisely while ignoring most of my personal contacts. Though I understand the need to connect to others, I choose to connect by sending birthday wishes.

In limiting my time on Facebook – because I have more important tasks to accomplish, I choose to have a birthday notification sent to be via e-mail, and I use the event tab to send all my birthday wishes while using time wisely.

Receiving Birthday Wishes via Notification E-mail

On Sunday afternoons, I receive an e-mail from Facebook listing all my friends celebrating a birthday in the next two weeks. I receive this notification by requesting it from Facebook:

• Sign into your Facebook account.
• Click on the gear button in the top right-hand corner.
• Choose Account Settings.
• Select Notifications on the left-hand sidebar.
• Under How You Get Notifications, click the Edit button next to Email option.
• Select All Notifications, Except the Ones You Unsubscribe From.
• Choose Close.
• Watch your email.

As you get notifications via email that you do not want, choose the Unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email. As you weed out the notifications, you will keep the ones you need. If you later choose to reactivate a notification, you can go through the same steps above and choose the Turn On option for any unsubscribe notification you want.

Tip: If you use Google Calendar, How-to Geek ^[3] provides step-by-step instructions for exporting the birthday information into your calendar. Though using Google Calendar did not work for me ^[4], you might find it helpful.

To create a Google Calendar, you will need a Google account (i.e., Gmail, reader, etc.). If you don’t have such an account – no worries, you can sign up for free ^[5].

Sending Birthday Wishes via the Event Tab

Whether or not you prefer the e-mail notification as a reminder, there’s a simple way to post birthday wishes without accessing each friend’s wall. In using time wisely, I send birthday wishes via the event tab.

• Sign into your Facebook account.
• Click on the Home button in the top right-hand corner.
• Under Favorites, select Events on the left-hand sidebar.
• On your Events page, choose the List option (located next to the word EVENTS).
• Viewing a thumbnail picture of each friend’s profile, you can “write a birthday wish on her timeline” in the box provided.

By sending birthday wishes via the event tab, I spend less than 5 minutes connecting with friends without accessing each timeline. In using time wisely, I find the event tab helpful to keep my Facebook time to a minimum while connecting with my friends.

New Series in April

Speaking of connecting, I asked for your feedback ^[6] regarding my experiment in January – choosing one theme for the month. I heard back that the theme progressing day after day made reading easier as one did not need to review the previous week’s post.

Desiring to help you in using your time wisely, I am considering some blog posting changes. I’m not sure exactly what I will do, but I hear your feedback. Since the January theme received favorable support, I will return to the one theme option for April focusing on birthday freebies and discounts.

Birthday parties and celebrations are fast approaching in our home. As we enjoy the generosity of businesses, I will highlight one birthday club or offer each day. If you use these birthday coupons or discounts, please share your experiences in the comments. I look forward to celebrating birthday wishes with you. Happy end-of-March!

Question: How do you send birthday wishes to your Facebook friends?