One of the many phenomena that 2020 introduced us to is Zoom fatigue. Zoom fatigue “…describes the tiredness, worry, or burnout associated with overusing virtual platforms of communication.” (Psychiatric Times, 2020).
Most of our day-to-day work interactions have moved from in-person encounters to online meetings, calls and chats. Theoretically, this sounds very convenient, and to a certain extend it is. We don’t have to change out of our piyama pants anymore (although it is recommended) to chat with colleagues about work, or even leave the house to attend a session with our therapist. We simply open up the laptop and click on a convenient link to join a meeting.
However, all of this screen-time is taking a toll on us, that many of us experience as a lack of motivation increased anxiety and general tiredness. This is due to several reasons:
It is much harder to gather necessary information via a video call than it would be during an in-person conversation. It is a lot of work for the brain to complete the incomplete information that we receive via pixelated and choppy videos meetings and calls.
Additionally, the bright and flickering light of the screens is straining to the eyes. We might not notice the flicker anymore, but it is still there on most screens. Of course, there are ways to remedy this by, for example, dimming the intensity of the screen brightness or wearing special glasses that filter out the blue light of the screens, but the fact remains that we are not meant to stare at screens for extended periods of time.
So what can you do to lower the impact of Zoom fatigue on your eyes and mind?
- Take regular breaks. As with all kinds of strenuous work it is beneficial to take regular shorter and longer breaks. Especially moving outside and letting your eyes relax by looking into the distance, helps to recover from the information overload.
- Limit the number of hours you spend in online meetings. As a rule of thumb humans are generally not able to work highly focused for more than 4 hours per day. Even if the meetings that you are joining are not constantly requiring your full attention, they are hard work for your eyes and your brain.
- Have a detailed agenda for every meeting. It is easy to let a meeting run on for too long if it is not clear what exactly it is meant to be about. I suggest you set only a few goals for a single meeting at a time, preferably in the style of “SMART Goals”. This way you know when to stop.
- Set a maximum length for meetings. Not only did few companies adapt their meeting times to the additional strain that online meetings cause by decreasing their maximum length, some even extended their them. This is not recommended. Most of us have probably experienced the feeling of exhaustion after a long in-person meeting. This feeling sets in even earlier when meetings are held online.
- Set an alarm for 5 minutes before the meeting is supposed to end. When the alarm goes off, you have 5 minutes to finish up the meeting and, if necessary, set a date for the follow-up meeting to complete the tasks. It is easy to overrun the initial time boundaries, without a clear signal to indicate that it is time to stop.
- Schedule walking phone-calls instead. Instead of discussing topics in person-to-person video calls, arrange to talk the topic over while both of you are walking outdoors. This might not always be possible, but a walk in nature does not only relief stress, but might actually improve creative thinking and problem solving.
How do you combat Zoom fatigue? Let me know below.
Photo by niklas_hamann on Unsplash
Margaretha Madoures 