Is lockdown burnout a thing?

On Friday, I experienced my first bout of ‘Zoom exhaustion’. I had literally had enough of being on Zoom calls and seeing those squares every day! I’m studying part-time and what was one day a month on site at University, has become a whole day on Zoom and it just finished me off. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the connection I’ve been able to have with friends, coaches, course mates and new people since lockdown began. I’ve never felt so connected. I've met more new people than I would have done if we weren’t in lockdown but what we need to be careful of is that it's not coming at a price.

Having been made redundant from my marketing job at the end of 2019, I was in the midst of job hunting when lockdown hit so all opportunities disappeared just like that. Whilst it was a new challenge, I saw the opportunity that lockdown gave me. There were so many organisations offering free webinars and talks, I immediately saw this as a time that I could do lots of learning and feed my brain to satisfy the life long learner in me!

For the first 6 weeks I lapped up the webinars, the talks, the Q and A’s, but after that I found myself flagging. The enthusiasm that I’d had in the first half of lockdown started to wane. I found myself questioning whether I should bother. I realised that it wasn’t that I didn’t want to, but I was just shattered from the constant webinar attendance. I felt like my brain had reached full capacity and I couldn’t keep up with all of the ones I’d signed up to! So much so I now have a back catalogue of ones to catch up on that I’d registered for, didn’t attend but the slides and recordings were shared with me afterwards. I also have a 3 week course on Food and Mental Health waiting for me in my inbox that I’m yet to start!

So whilst I don’t know if lockdown burnout is definitely a thing, I have definitely experienced overdoing the online time in order to make the most of lockdown and keeping myself occupied.

So what am I doing to reduce the zoom and webinar exhaustion? One word. Planning. 

I have reflected on what I need to make me feel like my diary isn’t overwhelming and I can also have time to enjoy the week...a.k.a finding balance. I mean, I don’t even have a job and I’m working harder than if I did! So I’m purposely having a ‘slow’ week this week where there are only a few things in my diary. There are 3 webinars to be precise (!) but instead of just attending because I signed up, I’m asking myself about the benefits they will give me. 

> Are they helping me work towards my goals? Yes? Then I’ll go. 

> Will it give me some real insight and learning? Yes? Then I’ll go. 

> Is it something I already know about / have awareness of? Yes? Then maybe it’s not necessary. 

Another thing that came up for me on reflection is FOMO. I realised I was worried that if I didn’t attend, I’d miss out on something valuable. It’s a fact that I can’t go to every.single.webinar.ever currently being put on in lockdown so I need to choose those that meet my needs and help me progress with my goals rather than take a scattergun approach and go to them all. Otherwise I’ll need to change my LinkedIn job title to Webinar Attendee and I won’t get much else done! (or enjoy the lovely weather we’re having!)

So what have I learnt from zoom and webinar overload?

1. Set boundaries like you would a meeting - say no if you want to!
2. Pick and choose webinars to attend based on your goals and needs. If there is one that is just interesting and you want to attend for fun, pick one to fuel your creativity but no more.
3. Cap the amount of webinars and zoom calls you attend each week - I’ve capped my webinar limit to no more than three and Zoom calls to no more than three. For me, three is manageable, any more becomes too much. (Obviously if you have a job and need to do lots of Zoom calls for work then that is slightly different! Although being mindful of Zoom overload is still important.)
4. Plan your week - it’s been so helpful for me to plan in webinars and Zoom calls and write them in my diary as I would an appointment. Then I can physically see the diary and know when it’s becoming too much.
5. Be honest - know your limits. If it is getting too much or you are exhausted from being online so much, don’t be afraid to be honest with people. Can you reschedule something for next week so it’s one less this week? Do you need the Zoom call? In a lot of cases you probably will like I did on Friday, but alternatively is an email sufficient or maybe a good old fashioned phone call?! A couple of weeks ago, I rearranged a mentoring session I had in the diary because I knew I needed a day offline to recharge and my mentor was completely understanding. People do understand especially if you are honest with them.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this.

Finally, I'd like to thank the many organisations putting on free webinars and courses during lockdown. Many are giving away their time for free and removing their course costs at their own expense to help people learn and upskill and keep people occupied which is amazing, especially at a time when financial resources are much more limited and peoples mental health is being tested. For that, we are truly grateful.

Jo