If you're going to fake paying attention with Zoom backgrounds, make it a looping video

As the coronavirus pandemic forces many of us with desk jobs to work from home, some people are getting creative with conference calls.

Zoom has become the go-to video platform for remote calls, online classes, and social distancing parties. Creative users figured out how to spice up their calls by changing their backgrounds. Rather than calling in from the same boring old bedroom, they can instead appear to call in from a tropical beach or the peak of a mountain.

Others took it a step further, customizing their backgrounds with a photo of themselves so they seem like they're present in a call while they're really taking a midday nap.

But if you really want to get away with it, Mailchimp Engineering Manager and remote meeting pro David Zhou suggests setting your background to a looping video of yourself.

That way, you can appear engaged in the conversation while fucking off to do the laundry you've been ignoring since you started working from home last week.

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You can thoughtfully nod at your coworkers' suggestions. You can furrow your brow in concentration. You can smile at jokes that you've heard dozens of times already. If you need to dip out of a meeting that could have easily been an email, just make a looping video of yourself.

Of course, as a dedicated employee who would never slack off, I'm not telling you to cheat the system. But if you were to, here's a handy guide to customizing your Zoom background.

You should still wash your hands and continue social distancing, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun during your work day!