Tired After Back-to-Back Online Meetings

Video / online meeting is most commonly used for keeping virtual and remote teams connected through lifelike meetings. An online meeting is the perfect forum for an internal discussion, a team meeting, a client-facing presentation, a project demo, and many more.

Many of us probably start the work day with a video call. And it won't end until we've had a few more - sometimes, all lined up back-to-back.

Due to pandemic, many of us are doing work-from-home (WFH) and managing assignments and meetings online. Earlier (before pandemic) few people were carrying out work from home assignments.

Beacuse of which we face back pain, eye strain etc. after back-to-back online meetings. And also become stressed out, anxious - alongwith lousy WiFi connection. We feel exhausted by these virtual appointments.

According to Dr Lim Boon Leng, a psychiatrist from Gleneagles Hospital- Singapore, The body and the brain are always looking to maintain a balance or homeostasis.

(In biology, homeostasis is the state of steady internal, physical, and chemical conditions maintained by living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning for the organism and includes many variables, such as body temperature and fluid balance, being kept within certain pre-set limits (homeostatic range).) - Wikipedia

He is of the opinion, When things are stimulating and interesting, dopamine is secreted and gives us a sense of pleasure.

(Dopamine is a hormone and a neurotransmitter that plays several important roles in the brain and body. It is an organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. Dopamine constitutes about 80% of the catecholamine content in the brain. )- Wikipedia

When the online meeting becomes boring, dopamine levels are likely (to) drop and the positive reinforcement to stay focused slowly disappears. As such, there is a natural urge to maintain the level of dopamine by seeking stimulating experiences from the surroundings.

To give you a rough picture, here's how your concentration during an online meeting generally pans out, according to Dr Lim:

- First 10 minutes

You can sustain continuous concentration. If you do let go of your focus, you can quickly refocus within seconds.

- After 10 minutes

You may take longer and find it more difficult to redirect your attention back to the meeting.

- 30 minutes

Your concentration span may last only three to four minutes before you get distracted by body sensations such as hunger and tiredness.

- After 30 minutes

You may start to fidget more, squirm in your seat more or play with your stationery. You may also start to switch to other screens or attend to other work.

- 45 to 50 minutes

You are no longer listening to the meeting. You may feel the need to leave your seat and do so on the pretext of visiting the bathroom. Or you may start losing interest and be distracted by other tasks such as answering messages or emails.

WHAT'S DISTRACTING AND TIRING YOU OUT

Besides the brain's chemical reactions, there are external factors that can make it challenging for you to focus and, in turn, tire you out: Your kids demanding attention, a houseplant that needs rescuing from your pet, or renovation noise from the neighbour upstairs.

Then, there is the poor sound quality from your earphones, or slow WiFi connection that's causing your boss to sound like a character in a badly dubbed TV series - the latter of which can be a big contributor to your virtual meeting fatigue.

Humans rely on "precisely timed verbal and non-verbal cues" to communicate, or what the experts call synchrony, according to Terri Chen, the head of psychology and a senior clinical psychologist with National University Hospital's Department of Psychological Medicine. And it doesn't take a big mismatch to mess with your brain. If there is a delay introduced, even if it is only milliseconds, subconsciously, the brain will register the issue and work harder to try to overcome it to restore synchrony.

Your brain has to work "overtime" to restore synchrony, which leads to fatigue from the mental exertion, and increased feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction from the inability to achieve it.

OTHER FACTORS THAT TIRE YOU OUT

As if those scenarios aren't tiring - or stressing - you out enough, there is also the pressure to show that you're not zoning out during a virtual meeting.

According to Dr Clay Cowl, Some individuals feel fatigue on the basis of video scrutiny, referring to the effect of feeling like one is being watched, judged, or evaluated as to their level of engagement through head nodding, or other forms of attention.

It isn't smooth sailing for the speaker either, owing to the difficulty in ascertaining people's body language and facial expressions online.

For the speaker, it is harder to get acknowledgement or feedback from the audience. It can be quite disconcerting not knowing if your audience heard you well or caught what you said.

For instance, we can't differentiate if a person is staring ahead at the screen because he is paying attention, replying an email, or there is another cause of silence during the meeting. This uncertainty gives rise to more anxiety.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

According to Professor Colin West, a general internal medicine physician at Mayo Clinic, suggested limiting online meetings to "no longer than two hours at a stretch without a break, and shorter stretches with multiple brief breaks would be ideal".

The duration of a given meeting is less important than the stretch of time between breaks.

This may not be much different from physical meeting schedules, but sometimes, the breaks commonly built in between physical meetings get overlooked when building Zoom meeting schedules.

Dr Lim recommends, If two hours at a stretch is too much for your attention span, keep it to 45 minutes and have a 15-minute break after that.

Participants should be allowed to look away from the screen every 10 to 15 minutes to allow their eyes to rest.

Also, don't schedule back-to-back meetings for yourself. If you can't avoid that, "it would be helpful to schedule small pockets of time, even five minutes in between meetings, allow to refresh ourselves mentally".

How the meeting is conducted can make or break your ability to focus, too. For instance, observing etiquette like raising your hand before talking can make it clear who is speaking. This is helpful as it is sometimes difficult to determine who is speaking, especially when the discussion gets heated.

After a video call or during a break, "stand up, stretch, walk around, or get a beverage".

Dr.Chen suggests, describe some of the objects around you as a good way to refresh yourself. Or use your imagination to take a 'quick holiday' based on pleasant memories to "help to reset our minds".

WHEN PLANNING MEETINGS

Is there a maximum number of meetings we should limit ourselves to daily? There is no right or wrong number for it.

Different individuals will have different stamina for virtual meetings. According to Dr Lim, Rather than limiting the number of meetings, it will be more practical to keep meetings short and sweet, allow for adequate breaks during and in-between meetings, and avoid having meetings during unearthly hours.

You may make a to do list like-

- outline the goal of a meeting at the beginning and emphasise some ground rules such as allowing participants to sip a beverage or other informalities as appropriate.

- Challenge the participants with the concept that this meeting can be shorter and 'give back time' to the participants if the meeting goals can be achieved more rapidly.

At last, Consider using alternative forms of communication such as telephone calls or switch off video interactions for some meetings to take a break and allow your brain a chance to switch gears between meetings.

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