“Zoom Fatigue” is a recent problem that has begun to affect many people stuck at home

due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Zoom/video conferencing can be very draining, especially
back-to-back all day. There are several factors about the nature of video calls that force you to
give your full attention to absorb information. For example, it can be difficult to catch up with the
conversation if you lose focus, even for a brief moment- you’ll have to quickly unmute yourself
and interrupt for a question. In a real class/conference room, you can whisper to a neighbor or
raise your hand.
There are also many distractions that can affect your ability to focus on a zoom call.
Especially if you’re using a personal computer with all your music, social media, and video
games. Another issue that many people face is finding a private enough space in their home so
as to not get in the way of loved ones also locked up in quarantine. Having to engage in a
constant gaze with the screen can make us uncomfortable and tired, and it doesn’t help that we
have a view of ourselves the entire time so we notice every awkward expression or blemish on
our faces. It can also seem like we’re not paying attention if we look away, even for a brief
moment- a completely natural thing to do for humans!
There are a few things you can do to reduce zoom fatigue. Avoiding multitasking can
increase your productivity to the point where you can be about 40% more productive! Stanford
research also shows that multitaskers could not remember things as well as single-taskers.
Building in breaks is also helpful. For example, you can try to reduce your meetings to 25
minutes instead of 30, or 50 minutes instead of an hour. This will give you some time to get up
and move around as opposed to back-to-back-to-back calls all day. You can also make sure that
social events are “opt-in” or optional, and change one-on-one meetings to phone calls.

I can personally relate to this entire article. Over quarantine, I didn’t have back-to-back
meetings all day like some adults did, but I did experience the exhaustion of long calls where I
struggled to pay attention. Luckily for me, my classes ended up being not very difficult and my
school switched to a “Pass-Fail” system which replaces traditional grades with simply a P for
passing or F for failing. My personal biggest challenge was finding a good space where I could
work. As quarantine went on, it became more and more difficult to work in my room on my PC
with books, movies, and games constantly surrounding me. I eventually moved downstairs with
my chromebook which came with its own set of challenges (namely the family interference one).
I really wish I had read this article in march.