Digital wellness
Inclusive tech: empowering people with disabilities through the power of accessibility features
Access new tip sheets, highlighting some of the common built-in accessibility features on your devices.
Read articleJune Kinloch
Project Manager II, TELUS Wise
Ping. Ding. Ring. We’ve all gotten used to constantly hearing endless alerts for new emails, text messages or social media notifications. This constant connectivity and the expectations of immediate responses and engagement is known as “urgency culture,” and it turns out it's more than just an annoying distraction.
According to The Rumin8 Group, urgency culture is defined as, “a perpetual state of urgency that permeates our daily lives, making us feel like we’re always running behind, in a state of chaos and constantly overwhelmed.”
How can you identify urgency culture in your life and help your friends and family recognize it in theirs? How can you resist getting swept up in it? It’s important to pinpoint where urgency culture shows up in your life, how to manage it and how to engage in our digital world productively and positively.
A perpetual state of urgency isn’t sustainable, and it’s affecting our health and well-being. What are some signs that urgency culture may be taking its toll on you and others in your life?
As technology becomes even more integrated into our lives and work, urgency culture is likely here to stay. However, you can make some adjustments to find calm and help your friends and family recognize and diffuse any false sense of urgency. These five steps can help. Practice them yourself, discuss them with your loved ones, and get their input on how they think they could apply them to their own digital lives.
Women of Influence also offers several valuable suggestions on how to shift your mindset to overcome urgency culture. Prioritize intentionality over immediacy and thoughtful action over reaction. Clear boundaries are essential. Let people know when you are available and when you aren’t and have the discipline to stick to your boundaries no matter how much pressure you may feel. By setting and clearly communicating your boundaries, you can protect your energy and time, avoiding overextending yourself and experiencing burnout.
Urgency culture is a reality, but you can choose how to engage with it. First, recognize where urgency culture may show up in your life. Once you’re aware of it, take deliberate steps to pace yourself, determine what’s really important and respond when it works for you. Pausing, prioritizing, saying no, taking breaks, setting boundaries and being mindful are great ways to protect your own digital health and well-being and empower your friends and family to do the same.
To learn more about digital well-being and how to apply it in your daily life, take our quiz on Dealing with digital stress.
Access new tip sheets, highlighting some of the common built-in accessibility features on your devices.
Read article