Zoom Fatigue? Here’s How To Avoid Becoming Lunch For The Competition

Call it a hunch but I imagine as you begin this new “work week,” many of you are familiar with this kind of morning ritual: Wake up… Get dressed from the waist up… Then sit and Zoom through a morning meeting mocked by the need for an extra cup of coffee. Let’s face it, our lives have resembled a 2020 version of the movie Groundhog’s Day where the role of Bill Murray has been replaced by the swivel chair in our home office, and the redundancy of a daily commute from the bedroom to a converted guest room. The initial 2-week COVID lockdown back in March to “flatten the curve” has seen its shadow and turned into 6 months of Zoom fatigue. So what are you doing to push through?

I’m going to guess that most of you, like me, have an inspirational poster on the wall with one word or phrase in big font and a picture that just grabs your attention—posters that say “TEAMWORK” with 10 people rowing a boat in unison. My all-time favorite is the Lion and Gazelle poster. It’s the fierce lion chasing the swift gazelle featuring an African proverb that reads:

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or a gazelle, when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

While there are a lot of wildcards and hidden variables in our respective work environments, one thing remains constant—we must get up every day ready to compete. Whether it’s Zoom fatigue, the lack of in-person interaction with clients, a sense of loneliness, the struggling economy, or health concerns, there are plenty of reasons to be unenthused by this week’s journey from breakfast to dinner time. But if you allow that feeling to take root, you won’t need to worry about dinner time because you will have already been someone else’s lunch. Each moment the sun rises, and we don’t get up ready to move, there will be a lion that notices the opportunity to pounce.

While watching the NBA restart, it became evident which players have attacked the opportunity to compete. The Portland Trailblazers are a prime example after venturing to the Walt Disney World “Bubble” with 3 other teams ahead of them for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. All-star guard Damien Lillard made NBA history by scoring 154 points in the final 3 regular-season games and, in doing so, helped the Blazers reach a postseason feast. His focused approach to each day set the tone.

If you wake up one day and say, “I just don’t feel like trying that hard for new business today,” you will quickly find yourself outpaced by gazelles and starving to meet your goals. Likewise, if you wake up one day and say, “I just don’t feel like being active today,” you could quickly find yourself on the lion’s menu.

Sure, that’s quite a bit of pressure to place on yourself, but if that kind of intentional effort is poured into each day, you’ll create a habit that changes the way you compete daily. Since most of us are adjusting to a truncated sales cycle, each day is of the utmost importance.

This became crystal clear to me while watching Major League Baseball’s attempt to squeeze a 162-game season into just 60 games, meaning each win is 2.7 times more meaningful than one in a normal year. Each time the sun rises in the ballpark, there’s a lion licking its chops, and a gazelle looking to outrun the competition. If a starting pitcher steps on the mound annoyed by the need to work on fewer days rest, it’ll be evident in the final box score. I guarantee there are players taking extra batting practice, readying themselves for the moment to pounce, and hit a curveball over the outfield wall.

We must commit ourselves to make theses mundane mornings meaningful and push through the temptation of sluggish starts. Some of you might not have bothered to brush your teeth before the first call of the day. While I’m not judging your hygiene, I am urging you to double-down during this window and approach each day with the purpose driven by your best day. Wake up seeking to showcase the best version of yourself, so that in any scenario—whether you’re the lion or gazelle—you’ll still be able to enjoy the sunset.