5 Ways to Combat Zoom Fatigue

Most of us had never heard of zoom before the pandemic started. That all changed last year. In April of 2020, zoom announced that it had 300 million daily Zoom meeting participants compared to just 10 million in December of 2019.

If you had daily meetings at the office before the pandemic, chances are you are attending multiple zoom meetings every day. Sometimes these meetings are back-to-back. Zoom meetings have helped a lot of businesses resume their operations and cut some major overhead costs. Zoom meetings have also enabled some people to move out of crowded and expensive cities and continue their jobs while working from home. Tech companies like Google and Facebook allow their employees to continue work from home for the better part of 2021, and they are not alone. As many companies are experiencing a decrease in costs and an increase in productivity among their employees, working from home can become a permanent situation for many people.

While zoom meetings have been beneficial to both businesses and their employees, experts warn us that excessive zoom conference calls have created a condition called “Zoom Fatigue.” Zoom Fatigue is not an official psychology term (yet), but those of us who have been attending daily zoom meetings know exactly what it feels like.

What is Zoom Fatigue?

Before the pandemic, in a normal office meeting of 5 or more, everyone would either be talking, looking at notes, or taking notes. The amount of time anyone would spend in a mutual gaze was minimal. Under similar conditions, in a zoom meeting of 5 or more people, usually set-up in a grid view, everyone is looking directly at the camera. Now you have multiple people gazing at you, and you are forced to gaze back and pay full attention, which can be draining. Having that many people gaze directly at you for an extended period of time can make some people feel uncomfortable, sort of like being on stage for a long time.

Another reason why zoom meetings can be exhausting is that you yourself are constantly looking at your own video and are constantly evaluating every nook and cranny of your face. This feeling of self-consciousness and judging your own looks and feeling that others might be judging you as well can also be taxing on the braining.

In addition to all the work meetings, most of us staying at home cannot physically be with our loved ones in fear of unintentionally transmitting the virus to those who are more vulnerable. So, when we get off work, we use our phones or computers to FaceTime or use other video chatting apps to connect with our friends and loved ones, which could pile on to that feeling of exhaustion.

What can be done about Zoom Fatigue?

If you have been working from home and attending zoom meetings, the feeling of zoom fatigue is all too real for you. But don’t fret. There are many ways to avoid feeling exhausted after a day of zoom meetings. Here are 5 ways to combat Zoom Fatigue.

Meditate Daily:

It is very important to start your day with a couple of minutes of meditation. Taking a few minutes to breathe, be present, and connect with the moment can put you in a relaxed and calm state of mind, helping you control your emotions and feeling. Mindfulness can be a very powerful tool in combatting Zoom Fatigue in addition to any other situation your day may throw at you.

Settle Yourself:

Before starting the meeting, take a few minutes to settle down. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and make yourself comfortable in your seat. Rushing before a meeting or being uneasy or anxious can start you off on the wrong foot and contribute to more anxiousness and exhaustion.

Turn off your camera (if possible):

Looking at your own feed constantly can be both distracting and exhausting. If you don’t have to share your video, don’t. This way, you have one less thing to worry and stress over, which can greatly put your mind at ease.

Change your view

By changing your Zoom view from gallery view to speaker view, you allow your brain to only focus on the speaker and not everyone else. This can help you trick your brain into thinking you are back into the old meeting room setting where your attention was mostly on the speaker alone.

Avoid Multitasking

Although zoom meetings can give you the feeling that you can multitask, you really should avoid doing multiple things at once. Of course, if this doesn’t include taking notes or doing anything related to your meeting. While in those long, tedious meetings, some of us contemplate checking the news, responding to a text from a friend, or even play a game of candy crush. Experts say that multitasking while on a zoom call can put an unnecessary toll on your brain and contribute to further brain exhaustion.

Bonus tip: take breaks. It is important to plan your meetings with breaks in between to give yourself time to breathe and settle down before starting your next meeting. Try to limit your screen exposures during the day and after work. Give your eyes a break by reading the news from a newspaper rather than a website or listening to the news instead of watching it on the television.

In conclusion, we all need to come to terms with the fact that video conference calls will be a huge part of our day-to-day interactions with our colleagues and family members, and we need to prepare ourselves and learn how to cope with the new norm. Like I said earlier, mindfulness can prepare you for almost anything that your day throws at you, so make sure you start each day by fully acknowledging yourself and your mental state.