Zoom Overload: The Counterintuitive Solution I Swear By for Focusing During Meetings

If you work in a remote or hybrid job, your day-to-day agenda is probably loaded up with calls on Zoom or a similar video-conferencing app. Though working from home has its perks, back-to-back meetings often lead to sitting frozen and glazed over for hours on end. (Zoom fatigue is real!)

I spent a good chunk of college online due to the pandemic -- it's safe to say that if I had a dollar for every minute I've spent on Zoom, I wouldn't be here writing this article. I sat in my bedroom, watching online lecture after online lecture. For me, the simple act of paying attention became an uphill battle. Like many people, I'm a fidgeter. And in order to actually absorb the material, I needed to develop a strategy other than furiously taking notes and willing myself to just focus.

Read more: The Best Gear for Online Classes or Meetings in 2022: Webcams, Lights, Mics, Tripods and More

Enter browser gaming. It was during a particularly dire fit of distraction that I wandered onto some of the old browser-game websites I used to visit on my high school Chromebook. As I noodled around, something strange happened: My brain tuned back into the lecture, and I started actually processing the professor's words. Sitting in class felt like listening to an interesting podcast. No longer spaced out, I was finally tuned in and ready to learn.

So now, in my mostly remote job, that's my strategy. When I log on to a long meeting, I also open a second window. (Or if I want to be able to glance at the Zoom call, I split the screen on my MacBook.) In my second window, I open one of these games. They're just mindless enough that I can devote my full attention to the call, and they're just involved enough that I've got an effective way to fidget. 

I hope these free games help make those virtual meetings a bit more bearable. But if not, you could always take the route that CNET's Jesse Orrall took and secretly automate your presence in video calls. Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Slither.io

Slither.io was a go-to when I was a bored high schooler, and I still play it shamelessly. In this game you're a cute little snake, and your goal is just to slither around and gobble up glowing specks. The catch is that in order to survive, you have to avoid colliding with any of the other hundreds of players online at any given time. And believe me, those other snakes come after you with a vengeance. I've never made it onto the leaderboard that displays the top 10 players, but I'll get there one day.

Note that this is similar to Agar.io, but the graphics are a little easier on the eyes, plus there's no ads.

Thisissand

If you're a fan of pretty colors, Thisissand is your game. All you have to do is choose a color, click and move your cursor around. Vibrant pixels of "sand" will fly down and accumulate below. It's like the digital version of those sand art kits from childhood. You can use the palette to select just about any hue imaginable, or you can create gradient sand that fades into other colors. 

I usually just make a bunch of abstract pyramids, but more artistic folks have made some impressive work. Once you're done with your masterpiece, you can download it as a JPEG and make it a desktop background -- or a Zoom background? -- to show off your artistry. 

The no-internet dinosaur game

If you use Google Chrome, you might have already stumbled upon this browser Easter egg by accident. Chrome's "you are offline" page has a built-in runner game on it, so if you're browsing with spotty Wi-Fi, it may pop up from time to time. In the game, you're a pixelated dinosaur running on an endless desert landscape, jumping over clumps of cacti and dodging pterodactyls. The game starts off easy, but as you progress, the obstacles come quicker and quicker. 

You can get to the original game any time by turning off your Wi-Fi, attempting to load a website in Chrome, and pressing the space bar -- but that would shut down your Zoom meeting, too. People have created workarounds, though. Someone built a browser extension that lets you play the game in the corner of your screen. There are also a few replicas online. If you need to wake yourself up a little during a long meeting, this is an excellent option. 

Note, though, that this game produces a lot of sound effects. Check out our guide to muting individual browser tabs so the frequent boops and bleeps don't make you go bonkers.

Linerider

Line Rider lets you unleash your inner architect. Or engineer. Or whatever profession would be really good at doodling colorful lines and sending a little dude on a sled to ride them. When the rider falls off the track you created, he descends into the bottomless void. It's cathartic to watch.

Weavesilk

Weavesilk is similar to Thisissand in that it's less of a game and more of a neat digital art tool, but it generates even more spectacular results with even less skill required. You just drag your cursor around and watch the flourishing symmetrical shapes unfold. "That looks like a demon's ultrasound," my partner remarked as he peered over my shoulder at my artwork. 

Retro ping pong

Your workday could use some good ol'-fashioned Atari Pong, a sort of retro tennis match where you volley a ball back and forth with another player. Someone coded a solid one-player version that you can access ad-free on CodePen. For a more advanced selection of gameplay settings, like difficulty level and the option to play with your keyboard or your mouse, there's a whole website devoted to Pong.

For another way to minimize distractions, take a look at our guide to using the Focus Assist setting on Windows 11. If you have an iPhone, iOS also offers a focus mode that's basically Do Not Disturb on steroids. Do you find it distracting to see your own face on Zoom? Here's how to hide your Self View, which can help combat Zoom fatigue.