How To Be Much More Productive With Much Less Zoom Calls — A Remote Work Scenario

Alessandro Montalto PhD
3 min readMay 4, 2020

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Too many Zoom meetings kill productivity! In this article you will learn why and what you can do to overcome the exponential counterproductive use of video calls.

There is nothing worse than noticing that another day is gone and you still have the feeling that you didn’t accomplish much. A feeling that leads to frustration, blame, lack of enthusiasm and a consequent decrease in the quality of your life.

Read this post and learn what exactly you can do to improve your life by starting with improving your productivity, a win-win situation where you live and work better.

Why Too Many Zoom Meetings Destroy Productivity

Remote work is a relatively new way to work, above all now that the whole world needs to adapt to the current crisis. Let’s then do it properly to prevent burnouts and preserve a good mental health.

Having some Zoom calls per day can be very beneficial to stay in touch with your colleagues and beloved. But when you get in and out of calls and you have no time to focus and be creative, productivity decreases and with it your fulfillment. Consequently, you feel bad and frustrated. You are grumpy towards colleagues, yourself and whoever is around you because of the pressure you are constantly bearing.

If your day is packed with video calls you will get very tired, even if you have a half an hour break between the calls. Your brain needs to make a huge effort to gain the correct focus to perform the tasks between the calls and to give a solid contribution to the meetings.

This constant regaining focus is what kills productivity and your mood. It’s like being stuck in the traffic. You will finally make the last kilometer, but it will take you ages, a huge headache and a grumpy mood.

How To Be More Productive With Less Zoom Calls

In order to be more productive, you need to reduce the amount of Zoom calls you are having per day. Let’s then see why you probably have so many meetings in the first place. I summarize the reasons in three big groups that explain you why you attend so many calls.

- Reassurance that you are doing a good job.

- Comfort zone in the sense that you are still who you were before, still doing the same things as before. You don’t need to adapt and everything is fine.

- Belonging. You want to be part of the team, feel included and valuable.

You have the right to look for reassurance, comfort and belonging, but you can’t find them in a schedule packed with Zoom calls. Instead, you can learn to accept that the world is changed and stop fighting against it. Learning how to go along with the change is a far better strategy.

If you want to resist the urge to put your headset on and click “join”, next time you receive an invitation to connect ask yourself the following questions:

1. Why exactly do I want to take part to this meeting?

2. Do I really need to attend this meeting?

3. Instead of attending this Zoom call, what would be more productive for me and the rest of the team?

What If I Keep Giving In To Attending More Zoom Calls Than I Need?

You might still feel compelled (and maybe compulsive) in joining the next meeting even if you perfectly understand that it would be much better for you, your team and beloved, to decline the invitation.

You know that too many Zoom calls are decreasing your productivity and your mood, taking a toll on your life, but you still can’t refrain yourself from showing up.

If you are aware of how healthy it would be to attend way less meetings per day, but your fingers click “join” seemingly having their own will, book a call and connect with me. I can help you winning the battle against your fingers! I can help you discover the real cause that is fueling the urge to jump into the next meeting. I can help you develop the correct strategy to go along with the change the world is experiencing right now. I can help you get things done faster and better.

Originally appeared on alemontalto.com

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Alessandro Montalto PhD

I mentor people to develop the required soft skills to become successful remote workers — alemontalto.com