Let’s Get Over Zoom Fatigue…it’s here to stay.

By the end of March 2020 most of us had crossed over the technological divide and at least started fumbling around with Zoom or Teams. Along with toilet paper, there was a rush on second (or third) monitors, webcams and Lume Cubes, and we all rushed to be the first to say, “You’re on mute.”

By Easter, we started to hear about Zoom fatigue and how real it was. And now, almost two years later, we’re still hearing about it. I’m the first to say how important “in-person” is. Water cooler conversations build community and everything about leadership is harder on Zoom.

At the same time, necessity is the mother of invention and we’ve seen some incredible and incredibly fast innovations over the last two years. I’ve enjoyed traveling less, the efficiencies of not driving between meetings, and being able to deliver our service to more people than before the pandemic. And the ironic thing is all of this technology existed before COVID. The pandemic simply forced us to use it and we adapted. As I talk to leaders I hear two persistent themes:

1) A zoom-fatigued desire to wait to plan until this is “over”  

2) A desire to capitalize on the many efficiencies and innovations we’ve discovered through all of this.

My point? Let’s get on with it all and figure out how to be less fatigued by Zoom, it’s here to stay.

Let’s take the opportunities, innovations and embrace this time.

Let’s figure out how to have a bigger impact and influence BECAUSE we can’t travel as much right now. I’ll be bold to say I believe the world has never been closer and yet more separated at any point in history. Rather than fight it, let's figure out what we can do with it. Hold onto your vision like never before, but throw out your strategic plan, and start again.  

Once we do find a new equilibrium or “new normal” the world will need our churches and organizations to deal with all of the effects of a global pandemic. Let’s embrace the new realities of today and shine again.

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