Three Things to do NoW to Avoid Networking Burnout with Sarah Hammond, Founder of The Network of Women. Sarah is doing a guest blog post on ways to avoid networking burnout and to start putting ourselves in new environments. Follow along as she breaks it down and gives helpful tips, plus visit her website here, The Network of Women to find out more. 

Networking burnout is real. So many women experience it and end up not networking which doesn't help us reach our goals and dreams. We all need to be networking often and consistently. However, that doesn't mean you need to be over extending yourself with seven networking events/week. We are all looking to make some shift in our lives, either personally or professionally and the only way to find that shift, is to put ourselves in new environments, with new people in order for new opportunities to present themselves.So let's avoid burnout and get the most out of our networking.

Below are three tips and tricks to avoiding networking and getting smarter about it.

Look at your week, month, quarter and set realistic expectations on how many networking events you can commit to. If you are over extending yourself everyone will feel it and you won't get the benefit you are hoping for out of networking.

Follow up is key after a networking event. The conversations and connections you continue to have will have lasting impacts on your life. However, that doesn't mean you need to connect with every attendee. Be selective in who you follow up with -- is that person someone you can help or someone you can learn from. If there is no connection, synergy or desire to connect with someone, simply don't do it. This isn't about quantity, it is about quality.

Be strategic with who you network with. Find a group that is somehow aligned with who you are. That doesn't mean you need to network with like minded people (as it is always important to connect with people with various perspectives, backgrounds, experiences) but it means it might be easier for you to establish a connection with someone where you may share a similarity making networking less stressful and more fun. For me, I network with other moms, ironman athletes, female entrepreneurs (entrepreneurs in general), female empowerment groups, etc. That is who I am so those are groups I am naturally drawn to and is why so many women join The Network of Women. They want their networking to be intentional and effective with women who share some similarities.