Are You Becoming a Zoombie?

Please keep yourself from looking like me and my cousins. Zoom burnout is no joke. Take it from us.

All kidding aside, I think so many of us are spending a whole lot of time in Zoom meetings and other forms of video conferencing. Why is this taking so much out of us? The Harvard Business Review article, "How to Combat Zoom Fatigue" says: It’s because they force us to focus more intently on conversations in order to absorb information. Think of it this way: when you’re sitting in a conference room, you can rely on whispered side exchanges to catch you up if you get distracted or answer quick, clarifying questions. During a video call, however, it’s impossible to do this unless you use the private chat feature or awkwardly try to find a moment to unmute and ask a colleague to repeat themselves. In the "How to Reduce Stress and Burnout by Alleviating Employee Zoom Fatigue" article in Forbes, they say: We're attending back to back virtual meetings, we're often not moving — not walking or bumping into friendly faces. Missing out on these seemingly simple elements of wellbeing can take a physical, mental, and emotional toll without us even realizing it. Here’s a sound bite from the Psychology Today article, "Zoom Fatigue: Don't Let Video Meetings Zap Your Energy:" Not only does Zoom zap our energy and our brains, but it also beats down our bodies. From a numb butt to an aching back to a dull, throbbing headache and eye strain, hours spent in one position at furniture never designed for long-term sitting can leave us feeling cranky, achy, and a lot worse about life than if we had a break room to roam over to visit, face-to-face chats and gossips with coworkers, and an evening commute during which we could decompress and shed our work identities as we morphed into our social and relational identities. That’s the bad news. The GOOD NEWS IS that we are all still staying in contact with our coworkers, friends and family. Those same articles I list above all have advice on how to keep Zoom Gloom at bay. Email me your best tip for curbing your Zoom fatigue at hello@peachcheesecakeranch.com p.s. The cousin Zoombie was a challenge from the latest Gish Scavenger Hunt.