Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to turn your lunch break into a mini
Speaker 1: daily vacation. This episode is first airing in January, which
Speaker 1: is a month when a lot of us think about resolutions,
Speaker 1: and some of these resolutions seem like a lot of
Speaker 1: hard work, but resolving to make more of your lunch
Speaker 1: hour can actually be quite a bit of fun. The
Speaker 1: first step, well, take a lunch break. In some jobs,
Speaker 1: this is contractually built in, but in others it's a
Speaker 1: lot more nebulous. Sometimes people imagine that they're scoring points
Speaker 1: by staying at their desks all day, but in reality,
Speaker 1: we all take breaks, whether they're conscious or unconscious. If
Speaker 1: you don't take a real break, brain will take a
Speaker 1: fake one as you start reading the same emails over
Speaker 1: and over again and then mysteriously find yourself perusing cat
Speaker 1: videos on YouTube. Better to actually get away from your
Speaker 1: desk for a bit. Then there's the question of what
Speaker 1: you do during your lunch break. Most people do consume food,
Speaker 1: though if you want to use your lunch break completely
Speaker 1: for something else, it can be okay to eat at
Speaker 1: your desk later, I would argue against grabbing the same
Speaker 1: food from the same quick serve place next to your
Speaker 1: office daily. Instead, really think about what could make this
Speaker 1: meal special. Maybe once a week you go out somewhere
Speaker 1: decent with your favorite colleagues. Maybe once every other week
Speaker 1: you invite a colleague you don't know well but would
Speaker 1: like to get to know. You could also arrange to
Speaker 1: meet a friend or your spouse once every other week
Speaker 1: or two for a midday meal that will definitely feel
Speaker 1: like the day's highlight. If you're watching your budget, you can,
Speaker 1: of course bring food for these lunches, but even and
Speaker 1: so try to make it special. A picnic with a
Speaker 1: friend in the park some Wednesday noon is going to
Speaker 1: feel like a real treat. Of course, some days you
Speaker 1: might prefer to eat quickly so you can do other things.
Speaker 1: There are several other options for feeling like lunch is
Speaker 1: a mini vacation. One is to get some exercise. You
Speaker 1: can go for a twenty to thirty minute walk with
Speaker 1: a friend or colleague or someone you're mentoring, or just
Speaker 1: by yourself if you'd like to clear your head. You'll
Speaker 1: definitely return refreshed. If you've got access to a gym.
Speaker 1: You could go once or twice a week to take
Speaker 1: a favorite class, just take a shorter lunch break on
Speaker 1: the other days, or do some serious strength training. A
Speaker 1: twenty minute circuit three times a week could get you
Speaker 1: back in time and would check off this exercise box
Speaker 1: that even a lot of people who do regular aerobic
Speaker 1: activity tend to skip. I'm a big fan of reading
Speaker 1: at lunch. If you suspect people will bother you if
Speaker 1: you sit at your desk with a book, well go elsewhere,
Speaker 1: a park, a nearby coffee shop, your car. Squeezing in
Speaker 1: an extra twenty five minutes of reading each workday is
Speaker 1: an extra two hours each week. Since most books only
Speaker 1: take about four hours or so to read, that can
Speaker 1: buy you an extra twenty four books a year right there.
Speaker 1: You could also do creative work. Some things like painting
Speaker 1: take a lot of equipment and time to set up,
Speaker 1: so you might not do that, but that's not the
Speaker 1: case for sketching or cross stitching. Or you could write.
Speaker 1: Twenty five minutes might not seem like much, but you
Speaker 1: might be able to get in three hundred words or
Speaker 1: so during this time. If you do at that pace,
Speaker 1: you'll be able to write a book in a year.
Speaker 1: A lunch break could also be a time for reflective
Speaker 1: or spiritual activities. Meditating or praying can make you feel
Speaker 1: more centered. Some houses of worship in your business districts
Speaker 1: have short midday services, or you might be able to
Speaker 1: squeeze in some volunteering by doing short online mentoring sessions.
Speaker 1: And of course you can combine all of these. The
Speaker 1: key is to actually think about it ahead of time.
Speaker 1: Longtime listeners know that I am a big fan of
Speaker 1: planning our weeks before we are in them. Friday afternoons,
Speaker 1: as you are thinking about the upcoming weeks priorities, look
Speaker 1: at your schedule and map out your lunch breaks. Maybe
Speaker 1: on Monday you and a friend who works nearby meet
Speaker 1: for lunch. On Tuesday, you go to a thirty minute
Speaker 1: yoga class. On Wednesday, and Thursday you read. On Friday
Speaker 1: you go for a walk with a favorite colleague. Each
Speaker 1: day is a vacation in its own way. It's possible
Speaker 1: that all these planned lunch breaks won't happen. Work and
Speaker 1: personal emergencies might come up. But if you've planned cool
Speaker 1: stuff every day, it's okay. You'll still get to do
Speaker 1: most of them and it will be pretty hard to
Speaker 1: have a bad week if that's the case. If you
Speaker 1: use your lunch break for something fun, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear about it. You can let me know your lunch
Speaker 1: break plans at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod. You
Speaker 1: can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast
Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled out
Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
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