Do You Take Advantage of Your Lunch Break?

When you’re hard at work it can be very difficult to make time for a break. We often feel pressured to work through lunch even if we don’t need to. Regardless of whether you have to work through lunch or you get to leave the office, there are things you can do to best take advantage of your lunch hour. If you find yourself with reduced time at lunch but, you still want to take a distinctive break from work, you do have options. To avoid heavy crowds try to take your lunch break an hour earlier or later. Noon is going to be by far the most popular time to grab a bite to eat which means you will encounter more traffic, longer lines, and grumpier food workers which may mean reduced quality. Before you leave your desk know where you are going. To help you decide you can take advantage of resources like the wheel of lunch which picks a place for you utilizing yelp reviews. When considering your options you should research restaurants that offer a thirty minute lunch plan. These often upscale restaurants make sure to get you in and out very quickly while providing you with great food. Don’t just assume you’re favorite luxury dinner spot doesn’t offer a speedy lunch. After you decide on a place to eat make sure you have good directions so as to avoid getting lost on the way their. For those of you who need to stay in the office through lunch, there are still ways to get the most out of your lunch hour. There are certainly benefits to bringing a lunch to work, you’ll save money and may be able to loose weight this way. You’ll also get more work done throughout the day and may impress your employer. You should pack a hearty meal, don’t skimp on food just because you want to pack your lunch quickly. Consider what types of food work well for packed lunches when you’re shopping at the grocery store. You will likely still be consuming less calories than you would eating out because your food is most likely healthier. Take advantage of new stylish lunch boxes which can help you maintain your professional image while keeping your food fresh. Try to schedule more social or enjoyable tasks during your lunch break to ensure that your mind gets a little bit of a break. This will ultimately help you be more productive throughout the rest of the day. That being said consider walking around the office or chatting with a co-worker before you dive back in to your work. This will improve your office relationships and help you to feel like you got a break even if you did not get a full hour. If you have the luxury of having a full hour lunch break and you want to take advantage of that hour, there are many ways which can help to ensure you do so. If your office has a shared calender either through google calender, iCal or even just a physical calender, put your lunch breaks on the schedule. If you do this your coworkers can respect your lunch time and you won’t get frantic calls or text messages inquiring about your whereabouts. To further ensure minimal interruption from coworkers try taking your lunch break at the same time everyday so as to establish a routine that the rest of the office can take note of. Because you have the whole hour, remember to eat slowly so as to allow your body to get full. It takes about twenty minutes for your body to receive satiety signals. You should also leave your phone and any other work at the office to prevent your lunch from being interrupted. If you finish your lunch early, take advantage of the time and read a book, flip through a magazine or newspaper, or take a walk. Let yourself have the full hour to de-stress. If you find that you don’t enjoy eating alone for a full hour try and make lunch dates both with people in and out of your office. This way you can strengthen office relationships while making time for existing friendships. Just make sure your conversation steers clear of work related topics. If you are an employer encourage your employees to take advantage of their lunch break. It can be a good way to ensure your employees maintain a positive work life balance which is necessary for employee wellness. A good way to do this is to organize an office lunch trip once a month.