For Better Video Calls — Lean Back!
One simple tip to reduce “Zoom Fatigue”, improve back pain, and regain focus.
Zoom Fatigue is now a well researched and confirmed fact. Even the CEO of Zoom says that on a day with 19 back to back video meetings he is left exhausted. One obvious way to reduce it is to limit the number and length of video calls — but for many of us that is not really possible. There are definite advantages to connecting over video, and for many of us the job requires it.
I am not a CEO, and I don’t think I have ever been on 19 video meetings in one day — but even three to five meetings, back to back, each taking an hour, leave me feeling tired and depleted. Recently I have started using one simple trick to reduce fatigue: lean back and create distance from the screen!
Naturally when I am in a video meeting, I adopt my “computer screen posture”: I sit upright, relatively close to the screen, able to see every detail and read every letter. Not surprisingly, when I do this for hours on end, under the attention of myself and others seeing me on video, my back hurts, my eyes strain and my mind is frayed.
I found there is a simple solution: give yourself license to lean back, move a little, or even alternate sitting and standing up during these long meetings.
For me, the benefits are both physical and mental: as I alternate sitting upright, leaning back, and standing, my whole body is more mobile. With the greater distance between me and the screen, I perceive the other person in a more natural way, reducing the sense of me invading their personal space or them invading mine.
Another positive impact when leaning back or standing: I can’t be typing, switching windows or otherwise multi-tasking. I truly focus on the meeting and the other person. I now finish days that were full of video meetings without feeling that my back and my mind are numb.
There is plenty of research showing the benefits of breaking long periods of sitting with standing, and when meeting in person doing that is as easy as standing up — yet while on video calls I rarely see people move or stand.
Stanford researchers who studied “Zoom Fatigue” indicate that one of the leading causes is the “excessive amount of close-up eye contact” — yet many people stare into their webcam from short close-up distances.
One reason stepping back is so uncommon on video calls is that as you move back your picture on the call gets small and inconsistent with the others. The desire to have our appearance in the meeting be “in tune” with others may be greater than our need to move and stretch.
Like many other technology-created problems, technology also has solutions. Some high end webcams have downloadable software drivers that allow you to zoom in, so you can sit farther away from the camera and screen and still have your picture be of normal dimensions on the video conference.
StretchUp.ai offers another option, not tied to any specific camera makes, which automatically tracks your face and dynamically zooms-in so you are free to move around while maintaining normal dimensions on screen.
Whichever solution you choose — simply moving around, using webcam drivers, or StretchUp.ai — ultimately it is about you giving yourself the license to step back and move on video calls. If you are like me, once you have tried it, sitting still for hours will no longer be an option.
Ending the day with a healthier back and a fresh mind is worth it.
