So it’s lunchtime, and for some unknown reason, you’ve decided not to eat at your desk and in other words, participate in lunch. We don’t know anyone who actually gets an official hour for lunch, and you might feel weird about leaving your desk for that long, but if you can’t at least abandon your work station for thirty minutes, it might be time to have a word with yourself.
However, if you think you fall into the category of people who completely and utterly waste their lunch breaks it might be wise to take on board the following advice for making the most of your lunch break, a if done properly and regularly, will improve your productivity, health and happiness.
Put 10 Minutes Towards A Big Goal
Did you know that working just 10 minutes a day towards a big goal can increase happiness levels? You might not think that your lunch break is enough time to write a book or learn a new language and you know what? You’re right. An hour isn’t enough time to learn Chinese or write a 3000 page book.
But if you add up the amount of lunch breaks you have in a year, it absolutely is enough time, you just need to be disciplined, patient and proactive and you could achieve literally anything with your lunch break. Think about how good you would feel if you put 10 minutes of your lunch towards reading a book on how to do something you can’t do? 6 months down the line boom! You’d be able to do it! Or if you spent 30 minutes exercising? In just a few weeks you’d be a lot fitter and healthier. All because you’ve started using your time wisely.
Take A Walk
You would expect, from a blog like that this, that we’re going to tell you to go to the gym for the full hour and run on the treadmill until you physically can’t walk. Fortunately we’re not. It’s a great idea, but walking into the office dripping with sweat, isn’t a great look. What you can do however, is take a walk, the health benefits are fantastic, a quiet park or pathway is great at resetting your focus and really any form of midday fitness is better than nothing. You can double your productivity, if you’re so inclined, by listening to a podcast as you stroll.
Deal with Annoying Errands
Dealing with annoying errands (post office, bank, etc.) are boring, especially on your lunch when you’re supposed to be breaking but just think how good you’ll feel at the end pf the day when you can clock out and not have to tackle anymore to-do’s.
Meet At Least One Friend Per Week
By “friend,” we do not mean “vague work associate.” One of the worst things about an office job is that we often spend more time at work than with our loved ones. Therefore try leave at least one of your lunches a week empty, to spend with your loved ones. Also, Grandparents are great people to take for lunch because they’ll probably pay for you.
Power Down
Avoid all screens!!! Too much ‘staring at screens’ time has been shown to damage the brain and eyes. So instead, we suggest reading a book, a really deep and meaningful one that you can really get lost in. Or you could start coloring in as this has also been scientifically proven to be healthy for the mind, (it’s a socially-acceptable thing now!), meditating, calling your mum or grandparents or attempting a crossword or something like that. Remember, you have 130 hours a year that you will never get back—use them wisely!