By Olivia Wong

“I’ve Zoomed out” – if someone had uttered this phrase to us a year ago, we would have likely tilted our head slightly to one side with a flummoxed look on our face. Unless we were on our computer scaling down the resolution to see the bigger picture of an image too close up (in which context, it may have made more sense), we may have responded: “What do you mean you’ve ‘Zoomed out’? Do you mean you’ve zoned out?”. Now the phrase has undoubtedly displaced its absent-minded cousin to become the more common phrase. For PhD students, as indeed for the whole world, it has acquired an altogether different meaning in these past 12 months. With virtual meetings now de rigeur, we may find ourselves overwhelmed by Zoom calls with our supervisor, our lab groups, our colleagues and our family and friends.

There’s no doubt that Zoom has been a lifeline in these times and we should be grateful for the social connectivity it has enabled. However, many of us would agree that our over-reliance on it has created its own problems, most notably in the form of eye strain and mental fatigue. Whereas before we’d meet people in many different places and contexts, be it to work, learn or socialise, the computer screen has now become the sole interface of practically all our social interactions beyond our households. While lockdown is slowly easing, it’s likely we’ll still have to be Zooming one another for a bit longer, with pubs and restaurants not set to open until 12th April at the earliest. So how can we re-calibrate the balance and regain some of our energy? Read on to find out!

1. Learn to say no

A main part of Zoom fatigue – and indeed, any fatigue – comes from feeling forced to join in with a call when we don’t particularly want to. So decide which meetings are neither essential nor urgent and give yourself permission to utter those 2 most difficult of letters: no! You’re allowed to miss a virtual group social if you’re really not feeling it. Remind yourself that when you say ‘no’, you’re actually saying ‘yes’ to your precious time and energy.

2. Only schedule necessary meetings

On a related note, ask yourself: is the meeting necessary? Just because you can use Zoom, it doesn’t mean you have to. When we feel like things are getting on top of us, that ought to act as a trigger for us to prioritise. As much as we would like to power through every Zoom call, our time and energy are limited resources. So we have to be more selective with the virtual meetings we turn up at in order to show up as our best selves. Some are unavoidable e.g. weekly meetings with our supervisors, and we should try to stick to the agenda and only keep meetings as long as they need to be. For others, however, there may be more mutually convenient, efficient and less taxing ways to accomplish what you want to achieve through the meeting, for example, via email, other forms of messaging and shared files or documents with clear comments or….

3. Go old-school (pick up the phone!)

The good old-fashioned phone call can be a better substitute for live dialogue if it’s something that does need the dynamic ebb and flow of conversation. Our brains will be less fatigued as they only have to focus on the voice rather than processing all the additional facial expressions and body language that comes with video calls. Not only that but you can walk around while you’re talking and listening and just physically moving around can have cognitive benefits, especially if you’ve been sitting at your desk all day long. (If you absolutely need to use Zoom, consider switching off your cameras and holding ‘audio only’ meetings as an alternative.)

4. Reduce the size of your Zoom window (and use ‘speaker’ view)

We’re all getting an insight into each other’s lives in a way that we’ve never done before. With our home environments partly in view, it’s no wonder we feel like Zoom is invading our personal lives. (In the case of this sub-editor, her unrecycled cardboard boxes have been polluting her Zoom backdrop for weeks, leaving her to wonder what conclusions her regular Zoom buddies must draw about her ability to organise basic home affairs, let alone her PhD…). Another unnatural aspect is that our Zoom mates (and ourselves) are very close up on the screen, so we are basically staring at giant every heads during every meeting, as if conversing with caricatures. In the absence of a shared physical space, we are also making more frequent eye contact, which can have the effect of making us feel exposed. By making the Zoom window smaller (relative to your monitor size), you can reduce the personal intensity and create more of a mental space between one another. Using ‘speaker’ view will also reduce cognitive load from having to track an array of faces. 

5. Set the camera further away

Positioning the screen at an angle is another action we can take to increase the personal space distance between each other. Adjusting your screen so that it’s slightly out to the side can be especially helpful if you are talking about or working on something which requires focused attention, as it allows you to concentrate and think more deeply.

6. Hide self-view in Zoom 

For some of us, we have probably looked at ourselves more in Zoom in the last year than our mirrors and frankly, seeing our own faces on screen is more stressful than we think. In fact, it’s like someone is actually following us with a mirror, making us acutely aware of every micro-expression we make! It has been found that seeing a reflection of ourselves makes us more self-critical. Hiding self-view will ensure that you’re visible only to your Zoom friends, preventing you from even subconsciously scrutinising how you’re coming across or ‘performing’. Turning off your camera periodically in large group meetings (if you’re able to) can also help to reduce mental strain, as it stops us from still being present to others in a non-verbal way. 

7. Tune into states of mind

Give yourself a moment to ground your attention before starting any Zoom call, breathe and observe how you’re feeling. This is like pressing the ‘mental reset’ button and will help you to be present in the here and now. For work meetings, check in with each other at the start of the call, just like you do naturally with your friends, before you get down to business. 

8. Resist the urge to multitask

While it can be tempting to check emails, text a friend or surf between tabs while trying (or pretending) to listen intently in a group meeting, task switching hinders productivity by up to 40%. So put your phone to one side, close your inbox and any other tabs or distractions and be in the moment. 

9. Rest and stretch

In the normal world, we would take a break to grab a drink and stretch our legs between meetings but nowadays, we’re more inclined to go straight from working on the laptop to a Zoom call without any switch-up in location. Since we no longer have these markers of time and physical location to demarcate the various activities in our daily routine, the amalgamation of the different aspects of our lives means it’s even more vital to build in these transition periods. This could also mean ‘padding’ or ‘cushioning’ your Zoom calls so that you have the chance to stand up and give yourself a breather between each one. Better still, go for a walk in the sunshine if you can and give your body some lovely vitamin D. Even if you don’t have time for a walk around the block, you can simply do some quick stretches in your home, which brings us onto….

10.  Use the Stretchly app!

When we’re so absorbed in our meetings or in the flow of work, time can fly by without us realising and it’s easy to forget to take a break, and look away from the screen every now and then. This is where Stretchly comes in! It will automatically appear on your screen at regular intervals that you set, reminding you to give your eyes a rest for a certain amount of time (also set by you). While the clock is counting down, it will suggest a stretching or movement exercise such as lunges or neck stretches, or even just give you a reminder to do something for your wellbeing, like: ‘take a moment to think about something you appreciate’ or ‘go and grab a glass of water’. Let your Zoom buddies know and encourage them to join in!

With the clocks having just gone forward and the sun finally appearing, we all want to conserve our energy so we can make the most of the lighter evenings. Just as we Zoom out on our laptops to see the bigger picture, perhaps we need to Zoom out from Zoom to see the bigger picture of our lives beyond a screen.