Overcoming Zoom Fatigue

The problem

Whether you’re running a virtual meeting with your team or catching up with friends and family, spending extended time on video calls takes a toll.

The cause

When using video, many of the non-verbal cues you’d rely on in person are now off-camera or untraceable, like: • Inhales when people want to interrupt • Small hand gestures to illustrate a point • Nervous fidgeting in their seat

Your brain looks for these non-verbal-cues, but when you’re remote, you have to concentrate more intensely to extract meaning from tone and a tiny Zoom window. You can see why it gets tiring.

So what should you do about it? Here are some tactics that might surprise you:

📞 Make it a phone call

This reduces the number of inputs your brain expects to deal with. If it’s not needing to draw meaning from visual inputs, it can retain more energy from the words being said.

While phone calls aren’t for everyone, you can try them for meetings where slides or visuals aren’t needed, like 1:1s or calls with friends.

🍃 Make it a walking meeting

If there’s nothing tying you to your desk, movement and fresh air are known to boost creativity and reduce stress!

If you need to take notes, bring a notepad or record the call.

🙈 Give your eyes a rest

Take mini-breaks from video during longer calls. Here are a few ideas: • Minimize the call window or look away from your computer now and then. • Plan for breaks after 30 minutes of being in a call to take the time away from the screen. • Use exercises to relieve eye strain, like “palming”. Rub both palms together until they’re warm, and cup them over your closed eyes. You’ll feel the muscles of your eyes begin to relax under the warmth of your hands.

On the road to recovery

While the remote revolution has made us reconsider which meetings we really need, there’s no real replacement for the connection and collaboration you get through human contact.

Try these steps the next time you’re faced with a wall of video calls - these micro-recovery tactics can do wonders for your energy levels!