Working from home has its perks - no more sweaty commutes, time for a walk in the morning, lunch breaks in front of the TV. But one thing we all agree we are getting tired of is constant video calling. No, it’s not just you! Zoom fatigue is real.
Why are video calls so exhausting?
There are few reasons. In a Zoom meeting (or whatever your go-to video call platform), a lot of non-verbal communication gets lost in translation. It’s hard to make eye contact, it’s hard to follow people’s gestures, it’s hard to really feel present. This is tiring because one, it means we’re having to work harder to try and pick up on other people’s non-verbal cues, and two, our own non-verbal cues, which normally come naturally and instinctually, now require more thought and planning, too.
On top of this, we have the emotional burden of constantly worrying that something is going to go wrong: is my child going to run into the room at any minute? Is my wifi about to cut out? Have I frozen? These concerns, which we don’t have in a face-to-face meeting, add to our stress and leave us feeling drained after an important call.
There’s also the effect of seeing ourselves on screen all the time, watching ourselves react to other people in real time. This can have psychological effects, with people tending to feel more self-conscious about how they look when they can see themselves face on.
All in all, there are a lot of different things working together to make video call meetings more stressful and draining than face-to-face meetings.
So how can we deal with Zoom fatigue?
Avoid video calls where possible
First things first, not everything needs to be discussed over Zoom. Of course, video calls aren’t entirely avoidable, but you’ve probably experienced at least a few that left you thinking, ‘You could have just emailed me.’ If it can be done over a phone call or an email, save yourself some trouble and do it that way! Don’t subject yourself (or others) to unnecessary Zoom calls.
Take breaks after calls
As we have established, Zoom calls are tiring. Give yourself some time to recover afterwards. Don’t schedule calls back-to-back if you can avoid it. At the very least, give yourself 10 minutes in between to stretch your legs, use the toilet and just switch off briefly. Working remotely can put pressure on us to really make sure that we are using every minute of our day wisely, as now we have no excuses. This can lead to squeezing too many meetings into a narrow time frame and is actually less efficient than scheduling breaks in. Trust us, incorporating breaks into your schedule is a wiser use of your time than overloading it with calls that will drain you.
Don’t multitask
It can be tempting to try and get other stuff done during your call, especially if it's a mic-off-camera-off type of call where no one will be able to tell if you’re listening or not. But this comes with the stress of not being able to devote your attention fully to either task, as you have to spend half your energy listening to the call in case anyone asks you something anyway. And then afterwards, the call is over and the task you were trying to do needs redoing because it’s obvious you weren’t paying it your full attention. Save yourself the effort, close your email inbox, put your phone away and focus on one thing at a time. This doesn’t just apply to video calls; studies have found that serial multitaskers have reduced memory, so try and apply the take-it-one-thing-at-a-time mindset to all areas of your life if possible.
Hide self-view
As mentioned, watching yourself on screen all the time can have negative effects on your wellbeing. It can also be super distracting - we often end up just staring at our own faces for the majority of the call. So use self-view to check the lighting and angle is right just before the call, and then hide self-view. That saves you both the distraction and the self-consciousness of having your own face right there. You’ll feel so much freer!
Schedule time away from your screen altogether
In this day and age, it seems impossible to get away from screens. We wake up and check our phones, then we go to our computers for a full work day, then we wind down by watching some TV. It seems like we are constantly swapping one screen for another. This can cause a lot of physical problems. Computer vision syndrome is the term used to refer to such problems, which include headaches, blurry vision and neck and back pains. Try to give yourself some time every day where you aren’t on any kind of screen. Go for a walk, read a book, journal...anything to give your poor eyes a break.
Hopefully these tips will help you to combat Zoom fatigue. Remember, looking after yourself is as important as getting your job done!