For the battery life is your CPU scaling set to ondemand or performance? One can write an alias or function to switch from ondemand to performance for gaming then switch back to save power. One can also cap the max CPU frequency but that takes some experimentation to see what the lowest frequency usable with Zoom would be. When switching from Zoom to actually getting work done one can use an alias or function to switch back to max frequency options.
Also take a look at powertop you will probably have to install this. One can set any devices they are not using to optimal settings. I avoid touching USB used by keyboard/mice and network interfaces I am using to minimize lag. Powertop can output to a file and that can be used in a startup script to automate the optimizations one has chosen.
There is also a sysctl setting called "vm.laptop_mode" which defaults to 0. On a laptop it can be set to 5 to combine writes and minimize storage wake-up. The caveat is that if the OS crashes one can lose up to 10 minutes of work. Most developers should avoid this setting unless their code editor autosaves frequently and syncs / flushes storage write caches. If unsure don't use it.
Another small gain is to ensure all daemons, desktop services and widgets not required are disabled or even removed. Some of them are power-hogs, some especially more than others. Powertop can sometimes expose this if left running for a while.
Another small gain can sometimes be installing "tlp" but different laptops and usage will see different amounts of power saving.
Oh and keeping the laptop off the lap can sometimes save power. More heat means more fan usage and thus more power usage. When at a dedicated desk using a laptop cooling stand multiple fans can extend battery life.
If one is feeling very adventurous they can install the latest bleeding edge kernel to net some small power savings but it may not be worth it if the laptop is used for anything critical.
There is also a sysctl setting called "vm.laptop_mode" which defaults to 0. On a laptop it can be set to 5 to combine writes and minimize storage wake-up. The caveat is that if the OS crashes one can lose up to 10 minutes of work. Most developers should avoid this setting unless their code editor autosaves frequently and syncs / flushes storage write caches. If unsure don't use it.
Another small gain is to ensure all daemons, desktop services and widgets not required are disabled or even removed. Some of them are power-hogs, some especially more than others. Powertop can sometimes expose this if left running for a while.
Another small gain can sometimes be installing "tlp" but different laptops and usage will see different amounts of power saving.
Oh and keeping the laptop off the lap can sometimes save power. More heat means more fan usage and thus more power usage. When at a dedicated desk using a laptop cooling stand multiple fans can extend battery life.
If one is feeling very adventurous they can install the latest bleeding edge kernel to net some small power savings but it may not be worth it if the laptop is used for anything critical.