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"Toby Daniels is the founder and Executive Director of\u00A0Social Media Week\u00A0and CEO of New York-based\u00A0Crowdcentric. This post is part of\u00A0The Future of Now\u00A0series which will explore\u00A0the societal implications of our technology obsession.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nFOMO. YOLO. Live in the moment. Carpe Diem!\r\n\r\nThese phrases have permeated our lives, instructed us and established a foothold in our subconscious. We want it now, and it\u2019s making us sick.\r\n\r\nLiterally. When you\u2019re sad, you want everything now. The beauty of anticipation decreases, and we condition ourselves to get it all now, immediately.\r\n\r\nWe are conditioned for overstimulation and overscheduling, which in turn are becoming chronic stressors that lead to behavioral, mood and attention disorders. Across the board, we\u2019re seeing an increase in stress-related disorders. We have ended up shortchanging our future for immediate gratification. Yet, when we delay gratification, we increase our overall success, social competence, and happiness in general.\r\n\r\nWe\u2019re living on a knife\u2019s edge of immediate gratification and wanting to get the most out of every moment. This YOLO parody sums it up.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nReally? You have to check that right now? Oh, I\u2019m sorry, there\u2019s a building on fire, you say?\u00A0A cat needs rescuing from a tree? Sorry, what? Someone just Liked your recent Facebook post?\r\n\r\nLet me ask you a question or ten:\r\n\r\n\tAre you more likely to respond to a text straight away than an email?\r\n\tAre people more likely to get hold of you via a Twitter DM than a phone call?\r\n\tDo you check your phone when getting up to pee in the middle of the night?\r\n\tDo you sleep with your phone by your nightstand?\r\n\tDo you sleep with your phone in your bed? (Honestly?)\r\n\tHave you set up alerts to give you breaking news stories the minute they hit the twitterverse?\r\n\tHave you recently averted your attention from a real-life conversation to check your notifications?\r\n\tDo you rush to check your most recent email even though you have a huge backlog of unanswered and potentially important ones to respond to?\r\n\tWould you like more time away from technology to focus on other things?\r\n\tDoes the thought of unplugging from tech make you anxious?\r\n\r\nWhy though?\r\n\r\nTechnology was supposed to makes us more productive and live happier and more fulfilled lives. It was supposed to give us more in our lives -- not less.\r\n\r\nBut we\u2019re embracing the real-time immediacy of what technology and social media provides without being conscious of the potential short and long-term consequences and how it might lead to feeling depressed, overwhelmed and anxious.\r\nTaking back control\r\nHow can we use tech to help us get back to a balanced sense of time and a greater sense of control? Interestingly, there\u2019s a growing body of new tools emerging focused on this. Yes, that\u2019s right, technology is the solution!\r\n\r\n1) ASocial: helping you gamify putting away tech to reconnect based on your calendar.\r\n\r\n2) EventParrot: helps consolidate tech updates and high level news, so you can get it when it\u2019s appropriate.\r\n\r\n3) Evernote: keep your notes on the go, so you don\u2019t have to lose that inspiration but can stay connected to those around you.\r\n\r\n4) TaskRabbit and FancyHands: task assignment platforms that allow you to outsource more manual projects to maximize your time.\r\n\r\n5)\u00A0Time Warp: a Chrome extension that reminds you of your goals each time you open a window- giving you the opportunity to remind yourself of what you should be working towards when you click through a BuzzFeed Breaking News update.\r\n\r\n6) MyEffectivenessHabits: this scheduling app allows you to prioritize based on priority, which ultimately forces you to decide what you want to place emphasis on.\r\n7) Swizzle: combine all your newsletters into one digest to get it in one scoop.\r\n8) Happier: it\u2019s a social gratitude journal that reminds you of what you\u2019re grateful for. It can definitely keep you on track.\r\n9) Newsy: for those that who want to stay in the know about world news, Newsy provides a 2-3 minute video clip highlighting important events daily.\r\n10) Balanced: taking a spin from normal to-do apps, Balanced asks you to create a list for the things that are important to you and then helps you stick to it.\r\n\r\nOutside of tech, couples are instituting a no-screen policy in bedrooms or at dinner. Teams are creating \u201CLaptops Down\u201D rules for meetings. Individuals are taking social sabbaticals. The Pomodoro Technique of scheduling breaks to force you away from your computer for enhanced creativity is taking off.\r\n\r\nBe it through apps, platforms or software or unplugging entirely, we know there are a host of tools to help us navigate this challenge. But whatever way you do it, it\u2019s important to remember that the past, present, and the future are all important to live for. Now is just one portion of it all -- but you have to present in it to take advantage of it.\r\n\r\nImage credit: Shutterstock/Creativa\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nHow can we regain control, establish balance, and preserve what makes us human? This is what we will be exploring during this years Social Media Week, as part of\u00A0The Future of Now, which kicks off February 17-21 in New York City.\r\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/lifehacks/2014/01/14/wanting-everything-tech-now-making-sick/>