Finding your calm in urgency culture

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.

The downside of urgency culture

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?

• Chasing instant gratification: likes, comments and shares can create a false sense of connection and community. Posting to genuinely share with your close network is a great way to stay connected to people you love and foster a real sense of belonging. On the other hand, posting for reactions or validation (like “OMG, ur so cute!”) can become addictive and harmful.
• Always within reach: just because we carry our devices with us most of the time doesn’t mean we always need to be reachable. The expectation of instant responses, whether for work or personal matters, creates unnecessary pressure and distracts us from being present in the real world.
• Notification overload: constant pings, dings and rings are distracting and disrupt our focus. They make it hard to concentrate and give 100% of our attention to tasks or people.
• Fear of missing out (FOMO): social media offers a constant stream of up-to-the-minute content. For many, especially young people, staying in the loop, has become valuable social currency. However, incessantly checking social media is distracting and fosters a false sense of belonging and engagement.
• Stress and anxiety: we are living in a world of hyperstimulation that fuels this sense of urgency, yet we are not meant to be constantly stimulated. Joel Frank, a Los Angeles-based clinical psychologist, highlights the rise of hypervigilance, which can lead to a constant state of “fight or flight.” When we are in this state (often unknowingly), it becomes difficult to regulate our emotions and can also manifest in negative physical ways.

Finding the calm

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.

• Pause: when you get the ping, ding or ring, instead of reacting right away, take a moment to pause. Give yourself time to decide how and when you want to respond.
• Assess: determine the importance of what’s demanding your attention. Ask yourself, “Do I need to respond right this second, or can it wait?” Often, much of what comes through on our devices can wait.
• Prioritize: once you’ve assessed, organize your actions. For example, you might respond to the family group chat during a break, however your Wednesday pickleball team can wait until after dinner. Reserving designated time to respond to emails or check social media gives you blocks of focused time in your day.
• Disengage: taking breaks from technology helps too. During those times, engage in activities that ground you, like spending time in nature, working out, reading a book, meditating or simply resting.
• Re-evaluate: block some time in your calendar to go through your notification settings and only keep notifications for your most important apps. You can still enjoy the benefits of your apps without the distraction of notifications.

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.