Battle virtual meeting burnout?

I am so unable to sit still during meetings I splurged and got a standing desk and treadmill so that I can pace in place :) I really find that if I am able to keep moving I can focus much more effectively.

This is my question. I spent half of my career as a technical program manager, facilitating meetings. So, when I started leading my own company, guess what I did first? That's right, I did what I was used to. However, after a year, I realized that if I needed to facilitate a meeting and maintain engagement, there was something wrong with the meetings themselves. Now, my online meetings have transformed and are completely different from what they used to be. Although I still use some techniques from before.

Does this really need to be a meeting or could this meeting have been a slack message? Also, create meeting agendas and stick to them.

switch to asynch team collab workspace such as stork.ai = loom + zoom + slack and work at your own pace without burning out.

Set clear goals for each meeting. This will help keep the meeting on track and prevent it from going off-topic.

Limited meeting time, pre-prepared questions, and a clear purpose of the meeting.

Getting some useful tips

Here are some tips to battle virtual meeting burnout: 1. Limit the number of virtual meetings you attend: If possible, attend only the virtual meetings that are essential for your work and avoid those that are not necessary. 2. Set clear boundaries: Set clear boundaries for yourself and your colleagues, such as a set time limit for meetings and avoiding excessive discussion of non-work related topics. 3. Take breaks: Take short breaks between meetings to give your mind and eyes a rest. 4. Vary your communication methods: Try switching up your communication methods and using different channels, such as email, phone, or instant messaging, instead of relying solely on virtual meetings. 5. Stay active: Exercise or stretch during breaks or before and after virtual meetings to help combat the physical and mental effects of sedentary work. 6. Be mindful: Practice mindfulness techniques, such as deep breathing or meditation, to help reduce stress and improve your focus. 7. Prioritize self-care: Make self-care a priority by eating healthy, getting enough sleep, and taking time to recharge outside of work.

I am sure there are exceptions, but as a general rule, if a team member is not focused during a meeting they probably should not have been there. Or the meeting was irrelevant all together

Bring only motivated people to such meetings. If you're discussing stuff that is not related to someone's work directly, then it's better not call such people at all. Otherwise they'll just lose their time and you'll lose patience, who needs that

Keep meetings to things that absolutely need to be meetings and not an email or Loom video

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Goal setting

Try the Brady Bunch method: Get everyone to change their Zoom backgrounds to a different episode frame.

In online meetings, it is difficult for us to joke. Therefore, online meetings tend to be boring and full of requirements. I think it would be good if there were tools that could connect people's feelings more naturally.

People lose focus during online meeting because they lose their interest in the subject of the meeting. It may happen because the topic changes to something irrelevant to them, yet significant to others and they have to sit through the whole meeting when people discuss a thing a person simply doesn't care/has zero idea about. It often happens during big online meetings. And sometimes there's just no need in meeting when you can discuss everything in a small text conversation in a messenger.

Ask questions of random team members from time to time

I think it's actually quite important to step outside every now and then, The culture of back-to-back video calls for the entire day is pretty unnatural, and the least one can do to combat it is to get some fresh air!

To battle virtual meeting burnout, limit meetings, set clear objectives, use alternatives like email, take breaks, turn off video when unnecessary, prioritize meetings, communicate availability boundaries, follow up with summaries, prioritize wellness, and provide feedback for improvement.

Keep them short, to the point and skip the fluff!