It’s like screaming at a wall
It’s like screaming at a wall
It’s like screaming at a wall
It’s like screaming at a wall
Someday it’s gonna fall
—Minor Threat, “Screaming at a Wall”
Or how about “screen” instead of wall? Do you ever feel like that’s what you want to do?
I started working remotely most of the time in spring 2020, and even though I’ve changed jobs since then, I still spend my days in front of a screen at my desk in the basement. (I’m writing this in January, and it’s pretty cold down here in our unfinished basement, so perhaps my main work area is destined to become the dining room table as winter drags on!)
I’m pretty tired of screen life. My eyes are tired, my body is tired, and my mind is tired. I’ve got techniques to help with the eye and body fatigue. Looking away from the screen regularly and getting up to stretch can alleviate most of those issues.
My main struggle is with my mind. The screen is relentless at providing me new things to look at and read. And when I’m sitting in yet another virtual meeting, my attention wanes hard and fast. I’ve tried a variety of restrictions, all focused around discipline and staying present, but I continue to fall back into bad habits, like browsing mindlessly when the meeting gets boring.
Meanwhile, research tells us that some of the fatigue we feel after virtual meetings is because we have our cameras on! Here’s a summary from the Harvard Business Review.
“Using the camera was positively correlated to daily feelings of fatigue; the number of hours that employees spent in virtual meetings were not. This indicates that keeping the camera consistently on during meetings is at the heart of the fatigue problem.“
So, I resolve to find ways to keep my camera off and even my screen off in 2024. Here are some ideas for how to accomplish this.
- Camera stays on, but my screen goes off. The dynamics of whether your camera is on or off during a meeting are too complex to explore here. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a culture where people keep cameras off, then you are likely dealing with strong social norms that dictate how people manage their cameras. But just because your camera is on doesn’t mean your screen has to be! And no one has to know that your screen is off during a meeting. Now, my desk is against a wall… so if I’m not looking at my screen, I’m looking at a wall. But still, it may be better than having my screen on, at least for my focus.
- Make sure everyone on the meeting knows you are taking notes by hand, and then turn your attention to your pen and paper. Even your doodling is less distracting than being distracted by other tasks. And it seems possible that others will be impressed by your use of pen and paper and thus will regard you positively when your face is turned away from the camera. Combine this with turning your screen off to really reduce distractions.
- See if that virtual meeting can turn into a phone call. When you’re meeting with one other person, there’s little benefit to seeing the person on your screen. So try the phone instead. And while you’re on the phone, take some time to get up and walk around while talking. Now you’re taking care of your mind, eyes, and body.
- For work outside of meetings, transition everything you can away from screens, or to different types of screens. Need to read something? Print it out, or, if that feels wasteful (because it is), try reading it on a tablet, rather than a computer screen. Need to write something? Try outlining on paper first. Need to brainstorm? Try sticky notes or scrap paper. Prepping for a presentation? Draft some remarks in a notebook. Just because your meetings are on screens doesn’t mean all your work must be also.
And after considering all of these ideas and trying to come up with new plans to get away from screens, let’s not forget the easiest and most important tip of all—stand up and walk away from your computer for 10 to 15 minutes every hour. That time will hopefully reduce your screaming at a screen, or at least give your voice a chance to recover.
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