Are you "video'd out" at the end of the day? Here are some tips to help reduce fatigue

If like me, you’re finding that in this “new normal”, you’re more exhausted at the end of your workday than you used to be, you’re probably not alone. Over the past few weeks, mentions of “video fatigue” have popped up more and more on social media, and Google searches for that phrase have increased by over c.200% since March 2020.

So why is it we find video calls so draining? There are a few reasons.

It’s intense

Video forces us to focus more intently on conversations in order to absorb information. If you think about it: when you’re sitting in a conference room, you can rely on whispered side comments to catch you up if you get distracted or answer quick, clarifying questions. During a video call, however, it’s impossible to do this without speaking over someone unless you use the private chat feature or awkwardly try to find a moment to un-mute and ask a colleague to repeat themselves.

 Loss of focus

The problem isn’t helped by the fact that video calls make it easier than ever to lose focus. I’ve definitely been guilty of this in that I absolutely can listen intently, check my email, respond to a text, and post a chat within the same thirty seconds. Except, of course, when doing this I don’t end up doing much listening at all when I’m distracted. Working from home makes it even harder as we’re no longer just dialling into one or two virtual meetings more rather we’re also continuously finding polite new ways to ask our loved ones not to disturb us, or tuning them out as they barge into your working space and either a) stand there looking at the strange faces on the screen and also themselves (my daughter) or b) try to duck down and quietly scramble across the floor to stay out of shot and grab whatever they need.

Staring is caring?

Finally, “video fatigue” stems from how we process information over the medium of video. On a video call the only way to show we’re really paying attention is by looking directly into the camera. Things is, in the real world you never stare constantly at a colleague’s face when you interact with them….well not unless you were Begbie from the film Trainspotting and I’m not sure he’s trying to build a positive relationship! Having to engage in a “constant gaze” is not only uncomfortable but it’s exhausting. In face to face meetings, we are able to retune ourselves constantly by using our peripheral vision to glance out the window or just by looking at others in the room. On a video call, because we are all sitting in different locations, if we turn to look out the window, we worry it might seem like we’re not paying attention. Not to mention, most of us are also constantly thinking about what we look like on screen and how our body language might be (mis)interpreted. Without the usual breaks we take consciously and subconsciously, our minds and our bodies become tired .

So how can we combat “video fatigue”? Here are a few tips:

Stop multitasking.

A common mistake to make is to use the video call as an opportunity to try and do a few other activities at the same time, but research shows that trying to do multiple things at once really will impact performance. By multitasking, your brain has to switch on certain parts and off others -this switching between tasks can cost you as much as 40 percent of your productive time. Have you ever finished a call and then not remembered certain parts of it? Researchers at Stanford University found that people who multitask can’t remember things as well as their more singularly focused peers. As a suggestion, when you’re next on a video chat, close any tabs or programs that might distract you (e.g. your inbox), put your phone away, and stay present. We know it’s tempting, but try to remind yourself that the email you just got can wait for 15 minutes, and that you’ll also be able to craft a better response when you’re not on a video chat.

Build in breaks.

It’s too easy to open your laptop, jump on a video call and the next thing you know it’s 6pm and the day has flown by. Think about building in mini breaks from video during longer calls by minimizing the window, moving it to behind your open applications, just looking away from your computer completely for a few seconds now and then or just turning off the video stream and listening in on audio if you don’t have to be seen. Your colleagues probably understand more than you think — it is possible to listen without staring at the screen for a full thirty minutes. I’m not saying this is the opportunity to multi-task but it is a chance to give your eyes rest for short while. One tip, we at Mitel use is you try to make meetings 25 or 45 minutes long instead of the usual 30 minutes or an hour so you can give yourself some time back before the next call.

Think about your background.

Do you find yourself looking at yourself on calls? You’re not alone… most of the time when we are on a video call, we tend to spend a lot of the time gazing at ourselves. In real life, when you talk to someone, you aren't also seeing yourself. But on a video chat, as you talk, you're watching yourself vocalise the words and react to what other people are saying. As you're seeing yourself, you're beginning to wonder how others see you too, and that, combined with the pressure of prolonged eye contact, can be exhausting.

 It’s not just ourselves that we look at but studies show that we not only focus on faces, but on their backgrounds as well. It’s all part of our innate inquisitive manner and over video, If you’re on a call with five people, you may feel like you’re exploring five different rooms at once. You can see their furniture, plants, and artwork/photos. Your brain is working overtime to try to make sense of these visuals at the same time. To combat brain fatigue, people should be encouraged to use plain backgrounds, a background effect or agree as a group to have everyone who is not talking turn off their video.

Switch to phone calls.

Do you need to do all calls as a video? Pretty sure if you looked in your calendar for the next few days there would be some meetings that can be done as a call instead. If after a large part of the days as back to back video calls, you feel videod-out but have an upcoming one-to-one, perhaps ask to do this as a phone call. Most likely the other person will be relieved by the switch, too.

For external calls, avoid defaulting to video, especially if you don’t know each other well.

It’s all too easy to just assume video is the default for all communication. In situations where you happen to be communicating with people outside of your organisation (clients, partner orginsations, networking, etc.) — traditionally the domain of a phone call — you may feel the thing to do is to send out a video link instead. But just remember that a video call is quite intense as an engagement and can even feel invasive in some situations. How often do you accept a Facetime from someone you don’t know? In these circumstances, stick to a phone call.

I’m not saying these tips are easy to follow and you will need to work on these but taking these steps can help you prevent feeling so exhausted as you weave through your video chats throughout the day. The new normal is tiring enough, let’s make video engagement a little easier for yourself and everyone else.