By Amanda Gonzalez, Account Coordinator, Spring 2021
As students and working professionals prepare to wrap up a year of working and studying from home, many have been plagued by Zoom fatigue and its lingering effects. While COVID-19 cases continue to rise and threaten public health, more colleges and universities have turned to synchronous and asynchronous classes, all-virtual meetings and events to continue operations for students. Although classes are asynchronous for many students around the country, many have extracurricular activities, internships and jobs that are completely remote and online. The Zoom fatigue is real, and summer could not come faster. Here are some tips to help combat Zoom fatigue:
Take a break from multitasking!
Easier said than done, try focusing on one task at a time. A big part of Zoom fatigue is trying to accomplish all ten tasks on your to-do list and not prioritizing the most timely and important one. If you wish to get more done during the day, try and get eight hours of sleep and wake up early to accomplish the small tasks in the morning and to have your afternoon and evening free for the rest of your assignments or projects.
Dedicate an hour or more during the week to disconnect. (Yes, from Instagram and Tik Tok too!)
If you can and your schedule allows it, take an hour or so out of your day to put your laptop away and your phone on do not disturb. If that means taking a break before your noon class or your evening class, do it! As tempting as it is to hop on Instagram and Tik Tok during breaks, it is not going to help you lessen your fatigue. Read a chapter of your favorite book, read through a magazine, go for a coffee, meditate or listen to your go-to Spotify playlist. Anything that fuels your mind and body!
If you don’t need to be on your laptop, don’t.
As much as you like to get ahead with work and projects, give yourself some grace and take the weekend off and work on it the following weekend. Students already have a large amount of homework and immense pressure to function as if things were the way it used to be, but it is almost impossible to do so in our world today. If you don’t need to write an essay, attend a mandatory meeting, meet a deadline or send an email, keep your laptop shut. Oh, and online shopping can wait!
The Zoom fatigue is real. We do not know when this will end or how our society will function in the future after a year of working and studying from home but prioritizing your mental and physical health is crucial. Take advantage of your free time and Zoom-free weekends (if those exist.) If this is what the next few years will look like, now is the time to develop healthy habits to lessen Zoom fatigue.
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