10 Tips to Combat Zoom Fatigue

Whether you're using Zoom, Google Meet, Webex, or another video platform, chances are you've become a little fatigued by all of the video meetings in 2020.

Since we've been working from home for the majority of the year, traditional face to face time in the office has almost been replaced by video meetings.

While Zoom is great, having video meetings so frequently can easily get exhausting. Here are 10 tips to combat Zoom fatigue.

1. Take Frequent Breaks

If your schedule allows it, in between consecutive meetings make sure you take the time to get up and stretch or take a short walk. Even if it's a simple walk to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, getting up and moving your body can help a lot.

2. Avoid Back-to-Back Meetings

Sometimes this is unavoidable, but if you do have to do this make sure you plan it carefully. If you must have an 11am meeting right after your 10am meeting, take even just 2 minutes between them to stretch and get out of your chair. Sitting in the same spot for prolonged periods of time can cause lower back pain, especially if you have bad posture.

3. Consider Phone Calls

Sometimes video meetings are not always necessary for the issue at hand. Being on video constantly can be a hassle for a lot of employees, especially those that have children at home, other people working or learning from home, or loud pets. Especially if it's just you and one other person, consider a phone call instead of a video meeting.

4. Cancel Unnecessary Meetings

These days it can seem like you just get more and more meeting scheduled each week. While meetings with an agenda and purpose are productive and a great use of everyone's time and collaboration, not all meetings are the same. Having too many "this could have been an email" meetings can easily lead to burnout.

5. Have A Walking Meeting

If you are allowed or it's a quick informal meeting, consider taking it on your phone while you take a short walk. A change of scenery and exercise can make a world of a difference if you're feeling particularly fatigued that day.

6. Turn Off Self-View

For some, video meetings can be very distracting because of the self-view in the corner. When you are in a physical room, yes, everyone can see you, but you don't see your own reflection for every minute of the meeting. In Zoom, you can turn off the Self-View and stop worrying about every move, sniffle, or facial expression you make.

7. Don't Multitask During Meetings

This can seem tempting, but this can actually backfire pretty quickly. If you end up missing something important that is said or get asked for feedback while you aren't paying attention, it can be a nuisance. If you have so many meetings that you feel like you need to work through each meeting, you're having too many meetings and you should cancel unproductive ones.

8. Schedule A Zoom-free Day

Google recently implemented "No Meeting Weeks" to give their employees a full week break from meetings. This will give employees the necessary time to work on independent projects or even take a much needed vacation. There may be some teams that need to hit hard deadlines or collaborate on a large project, but if one of the largest companies in the world can handle a "No Meeting Week", any company can.

9. Schedule "No Meeting" Blocks

In the world of flexible working and working from home, sometimes it can feel like you're working more, or are "on call" to cater to everyone's schedules. It can be really frustrating trying to work on a big project or taking a quick lunch break, and getting a meeting scheduled or even sprung on you. Schedule a specific time each day that people cannot schedule meetings with you to avoid this.

10. Only Take the Time You Need

Many organizations have a default 1 hour meeting time, but 1 hour is not always necessary. Depending on what the project or task at hand is, maybe only 50 or 25 minutes is necessary. Even if you schedule a meeting for 1 hour and finish it in 20 minutes, don't feel like you need to fill up that time. Sometimes it's easy to think, "It's only 1 hour." and think that everyone can spare 1 hour of the day, but those 1 hour meetings can fill up fast, and suddenly your entire week is filled up.

All of these video meeting platforms have been a great resource during COVID-19, but it can be easy to overuse them and become unproductive. Letting this go on for too long can affect your mental health and create burnout. During this time, our mental health and well-being are more important than ever.

If you'd like to learn more about how to take care of your well-being, check out our infographic by clicking the button below!