With millions of professionals across the country working remotely, everyone is turning to video conferencing apps such as Zoom to stay in touch with colleagues, along with family and friends. While tools such as Zoom, Webex, Skype, FaceTime and Google Hangouts are the next-best thing to seeing each other in real life, having back-to-back calls throughout the day can easily become exhausting.

Becky White, MFT, a Los Angeles-based therapist and founder of Root to Rise Therapy, is helping many of her clients navigate difficult anxiety, isolation and relationship issues that have arisen during COVID-19, and acknowledges that video call burnout is real. Here are some of her practical tips for overcoming Zoom meeting fatigue and approaching each call with your best foot — err, face — forward.

1. Slow things down

Don’t immediately jump into the agenda of a Zoom session. If you’re a participant, take a few minutes to practice long, deep breaths or meditation before hopping on your session. If you’re the host, you can also engage the group in this practice together before getting down to business.

2. Drop into your body

This may sound strange, but it’s easy with phone or video sessions to jump in hot and stay in the cognitive, thinking mind, says White, and not take note of how your body is feeling. Take time during the call to actively check in with how you are feeling — hot or cold, how fast your heart is beating, or if any part of your body is tense. This can help integrate the whole body in the experience, says White.

3. Cover your face

For Zoom calls, try covering up your face by sticking a little Post-It or piece of paper over the section of the screen where you can see it. This helps so that you’re not distracted by your own face or worrying about how you look.

4. Turn off all notifications

Close out of email on your computer, log out of any messaging programs and put your phone on silent (or even better, in another room) to stay focused on the discussion.

5. Go for a walk

If you are doing Zoom phone calls (and the subject matter permits), use the call time as a much-needed opportunity to get some sunlight and move your body by going for a walk around your neighborhood as you talk.

6. Get out of the house

You can only look at the walls of your home office for so long before your creativity starts to wane. Consider taking a video session call elsewhere: from your car, a different room in your house than where you typically work or somewhere in nature.

Photo Credit: Gabriel Benois on Unsplash

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