We get it, we’ve had months and months of exclusively working, socialising and even exercising over video calls. We are all craving that face-to-face, in-person interaction, and starting to really tire of looking at our own faces staring back at us on screens. But 1: It’s still not actually safe with more virus clusters popping up daily and 2: Once the initial excitement of being able to go out into the world is over, how quickly will you fall into old routines that weren’t actually that great? Remember all those moments during lockdown when you thought, “why didn’t we always do it like this, it’s so much easier?”.

So here are some top tips to fight the video fatigue and continue reaping the benefits beyond the pandemic!

Video free day!
Have one day a week when you book no video calls or interviews and just do either face-to-face, telephone, or admin all day. And encourage your team to do the same. If someone asks to book something on your video free day, ask if they’re available to meet a different day instead, or even explain your “video free day” system. You never know, you might just be giving them a good idea!

Establish “no video” times
An alternative to “video free days” would be to have certain times of the day where you have no video calls or interviews. If you feel you need some time to get settled in the mornings then only schedule them in for the afternoon or if you feel you’re more awake in the mornings then block off the afternoons for video free time.

Have an agenda
We’ve all spent a lot of time on video calls, and we can agree there’s nothing worse than a video call that drags on and on, queue the embarrassing moment when you catch sight of the less-than-impressed face you’ve been pulling for the last 10 minutes. Go in with a set plan, if no-one else has taken control then take over. What do you actually want to accomplish? Be prepped and you’ll be more efficient and effective.

Don’t multi-task!
I know it can be tempting to read the email that’s just landed in your inbox or quickly reply to a IM, but you’re only making things harder for yourself. You wouldn’t have a mini- conversation with Linda from Accounts about where to go for lunch during a face-to-face meeting with someone else, so don’t do it on video call either. Plus, you can’t be fully concentrating on the task at hand if you’re distracted by other things.

Get over yourself
Turn the camera on. Everyone has their hang-ups about seeing their face but we’ve proven that video calls and interviews are here to stay. It’s brilliant to see people’s faces and reactions on video the same as you would do in real life and talking to a black screen just makes you think the person is in their jammies or not paying attention. Find somewhere with nice lighting if it makes you feel better, but just make sure whoever is on the other side of the camera can see your smiling, fully engaged face.

So there you have it, our top tips for keeping video in your life post-lockdown.