I think there should be a rule on Zoom that all 30 minute meetings should actually be 25 minutes, with a 5 minute “rest” period between one meeting and the next. Similarly, all hour long meetings should actually be 50 minutes.
There should be a software feature that enforces this. Maybe it can be a setting that is turned on by default.
The way things work right now, it seems that we are expected to jump from one meeting to the next — to the next, to the next — without any expectation of a break in between. I don’t think that is good for either the mind or the body.
Eventually, in the far future, I am waiting for the technology to advance to the point where during those five minute breaks, Zoom will serve us all fine chocolates and hot cocoa. Now that would really be human-centered technology!
Our company does this – most (video) meetings start at X:05 or X:10 so people have a break from back to back calls.
My company tries to do this. For a long time, our calendar software was configured by default to cut 5 minutes off of the end of a 30-minute slot and 10 minutes off the end of any appointment lasting an hour or more.
I am glad people are doing this. NYU pretty much just leaves it up to us to work it out, and it’s not something that suffuses the culture, alas.
I would say that I am hoping that will change, but what I’m really hoping is that we will soon be able to have our meetings in person again!
Google calendar offers this feature (25 minute meeting for a 30 min slot, 50 mins for a 60 minute slot) – but unfortunately the effectiveness (at our co) was only about a month long. Now people tend to take the full slot, even if the calendar invite gives a break.