Are you suffering from Virtual Fatigue?

As I sit and write this blog I’m feeling pretty tired - ok I have a bit of an excuse, because I’m 31 weeks pregnant, but I keep questioning whether I would actually just feel this tired anyway from the last 13 months we’ve endured. Many people around me are also also feeling really fatigued.

We’re sociable beings (maybe not all of us, and certainly not all the time, but many of us are) who are used to interacting with people, changing environments on a regular basis and gaining energy from these transitions and each other.

Since we adjusted our lives last year to a predominately online space, we’ve not been able to gain this flow of energy in the same way and this is known to be having an effect on our mental health and wellbeing.

We all have mental health, all of the time, but where it is on the spectrum of good or bad varies, day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year.

So, before I continue any further. I want you to grab a piece of paper and a pen. Now answer this question:

HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY?

Write down a number between 1 and 5 - 1= Really Tired, 5 = Super Energised

Now where are you on the scale?

The reason I ask this, is that many of us are suffering from Virtual Fatigue This is something that’s become very apparent since the pandemic started more than a year ago.

I’ve been doing some research for a client, in my Communications Consultant role (that’s my day job) and there is a BIG trend in Virtual Fatigue. This is essentially exhaustion from too much screen time and its impacting our mental health and wellbeing.

Healthline believe that ‘it takes more effort to have conversations through Zoom than it does in real life’.

In the past we would have transitioned from multiple places, worked in one, met friends or family in another, exercised in another and taken holidays or days off where we could again move to different environments. Now it’s all in the same place - online.

It is thought that our brains have to work harder on video calls due to the stimulus overload on screen (reading people’s expressions and decoding their tone of voice) and not only are we working in that space but we’re socialising too!

There are lots of ways we can manage our screen time throughout the day. Stanford News share some good solutions in an article here

But I’ve also pulled out some of my favourite tips that I’ve read and also that I have learnt to put in place myself in the course of the last year. Here are some:

Don’t turn your video on unless it is mandatory - turning it off when you feel you can might help you to relax a bit more. Staring at a screen full of people, yourself included can make us feel more anxious and thus more tired
Why not have some calls as a traditional one with audio only!
Take regular breaks throughout your working day - I like to schedule shorter meetings that give me rest periods in-between - I even block out time for actually getting work done, rather than just being on calls all day
Feel ok to miss some virtual meetings, especially if there’s an opportunity to catch up later via a recording
Try not to stay in one place all day (if you can), the beauty of working from a laptop is that you can move around to different parts of the space you’re in
Be selective about when you use video to socialise - using it for FUN activities (e.g. exercise, watching a film with a friend. a hobby) can help us move away from any negative connotations of video calls
Don’t do everything on screen - build in time for a cup of tea on the sofa, a walk in the park, a run outside, cooking or anything that enables you to be digital free for some of your day
Finally, some of you will already know that I’m a HUGE fan of the DO NOT DISTURB function on my phone. Every day it is set to do not disturb from 9pm - 8.30am. The only people I will get notified by are those that I’ve set up as emergency contacts or favourites. If you haven’t tried it already, do, it’s a life changer!

If you feel like you’re still struggling to find a work/life balance whilst we continue to still do so much at home, I hope these articles and tips help you find a new way to manage your day.

And, fingers crossed that wherever you might be as you read this, that you’re healthy and safe.

Kat x