The Covid era brought with it the replacement of the other's physical presence in every structure and context. As helpful as technology is, reducing mileage and making it easier to communicate and work with partners from all over the world, still working remotely is mentally more demanding than living. For many it is now a daily condition to have 10 people talking on the internet at the same time, making you want to isolate yourself on a desert island. Even if you think that you would make a video call with your friends in the afternoon, you find yourself wanting to cancel it and this shows that you are probably tired from the meetings. This is because there is indeed "teleconferencing fatigue" and according to Microsoft Human Factors Laboratories, which conducted experiments that monitored and recorded the brain waves of people working live and online, they concluded that online meetings are more stressful and tedious than other types of communication, eg via emails and distance collaboration is mentally more demanding than lifelong. Some small tips can help you fight fatigue in meetings, unloading a little more .. * You need to have a topic agenda so that teleconferencing is not chaotic, wasting time and getting tired. * The smaller the meetings, the less stressful and effective they are. * Try to limit the duration to 30 - 40 minutes and if it gets longer than an hour, add or ask for a short break. * Frequent breaks during the day are basic and it would be good when you do them, not to include contact with another medium, such as mobile phone. A short walk or other activity with movement, will unload you for a while. * Isolating any outside noise and muteing the microphone of those who do not speak, helps to avoid various sounds in the house that can detune and cause irritation. Additionally, you suggest the silent operation of any other device. * If a meeting can be avoided and other means such as emails can be used, the volume of meetings per week is significantly reduced and they become more quality and efficient. If you stay at home to work, it is permissible and, above all, necessary to set limits on those who live with you, so that you do not run out of stress, lest someone interrupt or disturb the teleconferencing process. You could also create social activities outside of work to stay in touch with your colleagues, as meetings are often the only opportunity to socialize with them, which you used to see every day.
Yes, it is true that you may miss the "old normal", to see the faces of your associates, but you can not hang out with them in a corner and share "off" from the screen. Part of the fatigue may be from sadness, loneliness and nostalgia.
Try to reconcile with what you lost, because this is a healthy way to move on to the next…
