Have you tried breakout rooms? Was it awkward? Helpful? Meh?
Breakout rooms are used to divide participants into smaller groups during video calls. If you think breakout rooms are uncomfortable—or haven't even tried them yet—you're in luck! Become a breakout star with our best practices guide and handy checklist.
We're honoured to be named an 🚀Emerging Rocket in ICT🚀 from Ready to Rocket for the third year in a row! Ready to Rocket is a business recognition program for British Columbia's tech sector showcasing revenue growth leaders of tomorrow.
Try our 5-minute demo to see what we're up to. Let us know what you think!
Renée walks you through when and why to use breakout rooms and how to do it effectively.
CheckingIn Challenge
We know the importance of checking in and that how you feel can affect your behaviors. We start all of our meetings at Vivo Team by doing a quick check in with everyone: How are you coming to this meeting? Tired? Energized? Stressed? Excited?
Now, we have teamed up folks at theCheckingIn Appfor a 30 day wellness challenge! The app is a free and private tool to help you increase self awareness and practice daily mindfulness.
Dear Dr. Jim, We’ve all heard of Zoom fatigue, but what else should I be aware of or watch out for? - Marie-Hélène
Hi Marie-Hélène,
During this time of Zoom meetings that seem to be back to back, by the end of the day you’re like a marathon runner who’s run out of gas – you’re struggling and trying to keep your thoughts together.
So that’s one thing: too many meetings too close together. Another thing is going to meetings you shouldn’t be in. You should also be aware of taking time off during the day. Go for a walk. Even 15 minutes can make a big difference.
Now, I want to explain something that goes on when you start getting Zoom fatigue, and this research is from Dr. Travis Bradberry (see diagram in video):
Boredom/Depression: When we’re down here, we’re kind of bored, depressed, and wondering “What am I doing?” We hear this from little kids: “I’m bored, Mom,” because there’s not much going on and there’s a low stress level.
Increased Attention/Interest: What happens as you start performing more and there’s a little bit more stress, you have increased attention and interest, and that’s why it’s really important to be doing things that are of interest to you because you can handle a fair bit of stress (which is part of life) and do well in terms of what you need to do at a certain level.
Optimal Performance: Then you get up to this optimal performance level, and that's where we're at our best. It depends on:
Skills
Motivation
Surroundings
Organizational impact (e.g., too many demands, not enough demands, unclear demands, etc.)
Strong Anxiety: What begins to happen when our stress levels get higher, but the demands are still there, people start feeling strong anxiety and then performance starts going down.
Complete Meltdown: After which you can get to an awful place of complete meltdown, where you just can't function anymore.
One of the cues to look out for when you’re working is whether you can still have clear thoughts and move through your priorities that you have set. If you find yourself staring at the screen, unable to maintain concentration, you're getting into anxiety area, and that, on a long term basis is very self-destructive to your health.
Dr. Jim Sellner, PhD. DipC. answers questions leadership, motivation, accountability, manager connection, or working on a remote team. Send your questions to: askdrjim@vivoteam.com
