I’ve been on a diet this summer, the first of my life, really, and it’s more about healthful eating and exercise than it is about weight loss.

It started with me giving up Coke. And, since we’re talking about it, I’ll tell you the good news that I am still going strong. Tomorrow marks my 50th day without Coca-Cola. Can someone get me a ribbon, already? (And, no, I won’t celebrate by having an ice cold glass of Coca Cola.)

I haven’t done so well with giving up sweets. My daily square of dark chocolate has degraded to my old bad habits: a handful of peanut M&Ms after breakfast, and a small sweet treat after lunch and dinner. Confession: yesterday, I bought a movie sized box of dark chocolate covered Raisinets in the grocery store checkout, ripped off the plastic, and proceeded to eat the entire box between the register and my driveway. And I live about two minutes from the store. But, yes. I shared a few with my daughters.

The point is, every now and then we need a gut check about our behavior. For me, it might be this confession of being chocolate (if not Coke) addicted.

We need a gut check when it comes to how we use social media channels, too.

I saw one this morning in the form of this tweet from friend and fellow Michigander, Kip:

Every now and then, it’s good to take a look at your tweets, to be sure that you are intentionally sharing a healthy mix of content.

For example:

  • How many tweets are RTs of others’ content?
  • How many times do you send @replies and have conversations with others?
  • How many of your tweets are promoting your own content?
  • How many of your tweets are promoting others’ content?
  • How often are you sharing content that is off-topic, off-brand?
  • How consistently do you tweet about the topic(s) that you most want to be known for?
  • How many of your tweets are obviously automated?
  • How many are clearly the work of a real person who is showing up to engage with others?

Today’s tip requires you to login to Twitter.com and review your recent tweets, asking yourself the questions above.

Scroll down to get a good sense and sample of what you’re tweeting. And, if you’re not happy with the balance of your Twitter diet, become more intentional about what you’re sharing.

Here are my recent tweets:

 

Today’s Tip: Take Time for a Gut Check Review of Your Recent Tweets

 Set your timer for 12 minutes. (You won’t need them all.) Login to Twitter.com and look at your recent tweets. Evaluate them based on the questions above. If you are happy with the balance of the content you’re tweeting, great! Keep up the good work. If you’re not happy with what you see, write down what you might prefer to see and become more intentional about what, when, and how you tweet.

If you have more than one Twitter account, be sure to repeat this tip for each account.

My friend Wally Bock shares daily tips for leaders at the Three Star Leadership Blog. You can read his tips here.

Tell me something! What did you learn from your gut check? What balance do you look to keep in the content you share on Twitter? If you are not happy about what you see, what adjustments will you make? What’s your favorite guilty pleasure from the tweet aisle at the grocery store?