Making lunch every day for a Monday to Friday job can be extremely frustrating, trying to think of what to bring to the desk the following day!
This leads to many office workers heading out for lunch and getting caught up in the lunchtime rush, queuing for half an hour at their favourite restaurant, deli or takeaway. Thankfully, a lot of restaurants in big cities are offering healthy lunchtime delivery. It in effect doubles their lunchtime trade and also means you can relax at the office and get your full lunch-break to relax!
However, if you are getting your lunch delivered or have some leftovers from last night’s dinner, popping it in the microwave before returning to your desk, to dine in front of your screen. Take heed of a recent survey conducted by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. They found that a massive 83% of Americans actually eat at their desk. And when I look around my office at lunch I see that in Europe this is less but definitely on the increase.
Multi-tasking an important meal and your job (which I’m sure is important) may feel like you are being productive. Well, according to the experts you might be under the illusion that you are getting more work done and catching up on tasks that are running close to or over the deadline. But due to the simple fact that your brain has not had any downtime, the remainder of your day is going to gradually slip away and your productivity levels are less than had you stopped and taken your head out of the screen and removed yourself from the job for at least half an hour.
To add to this, you miss out on one of the essential elements of any meal. That is ‘savouring the taste’ and appreciating the food you have by now forgotten you just ate. The third element of lunch that helps your work productivity post meal is the interaction you have with your colleagues, people out on the street or in the deli. This perks you up and gives you a spirited boost for the remainder of the day.
Personally, I have been guilty of the above, I have even dined in my car, watching the television and while on the phone. Quite literally, when I finished I know I didn’t get the best experience possible, had eaten too fast and within minutes forgotten what I just ate.
So it’s not just the speed of eating, lack of taste and savouring the meal, there are a number of health issues also to consider. Namely indigestion, overeating and bad food choices. By not following the natural process of eating can lead to illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Think of all the germs lying in wait around those keys on your keyboard, the desk is not the place to be eating. Most employers give you a lunchbreak so you will take the break and return fully productive. No-one ever thanks you for working through your lunch, so don’t make a habit of it.
Getting up and out, leads to a more social activity than just eating, the banter in the canteen is priceless on some days, you don’t need to even join in, just listening can revitalise you leading to a more productive afternoon of work.
One of the main secrets to healthy living, is prioritising meals and food. Healthy people ensure they eat their three core meals and snack in between when necessary. It’s not just that they eat the meals but they set time aside to actually embrace and enjoy the process.
To summarise, you don’t want to spend your lunch queuing for food, you don’t want to be eating boring sandwiches at your computer. So the ideal option is to get some food delivered and join your colleagues in the canteen! You might even have a laugh!