Back in January, at about the same time as I started working in an office again, Stylist Magazine started a Reclaim Your Lunch Break campaign, to inspire readers to actually do something with their lunch breaks instead of sitting at our desks and working through.
It’s a great idea in theory but something I find difficult in practice (when I’m in an office that is, I have no problems taking a break when I’m working from home…!). I know that giving myself some time away from my screen mid-way through the day will recharge my mind and body, boosting my mood and productivity. Win/win right? Well yes, but assuming I’m not too busy to take a break, what can you actually do in an hour?
I’d love to be able to go to a yoga class but, by the time I’ve walked 15 minutes to the nearest yoga studio, changed into my kit, done the hour class that will, most likely, overrun (not something I usually complain about, I like to get as much yoga for my money as possible!), changed back again and walked the 15 minutes back to the office my lunch hour is looking closer to two hours.
On the exercise tip, a run would be easier to fit in than an organized class. I could be out for half an hour and have time for a shower afterwards. Two problems. One, I’m not sure there are showers at the office I’m working in. Two, after a run – even one as short as 30 minutes – my face turns an alarming shade of red that Pantone would probably call Postbox or London Bus. And it stays that way for, ooh, a good hour afterwards. Not a good look in a meeting.
There is a bit of green space across the road from the office but, surrounded as it is by high rises, it’s not the prettiest spot to hang out and it’s a bit chilly right now to be sitting around on a park bench reading a book, although do I need to carve out some time in my week to crack on with our latest RMS Book Club read (Elizabeth Is Missing if you missed the announcement).
In the spirit of at least trying to reclaim my lunch break, on Monday I took myself out for a walk. I headed towards a street where I knew I could pick up a healthy hot lunch to take back to the office. Along the way I spotted a cute gifty type shop. I couldn’t resist popping in and was rewarded when I discovered the perfect birthday cards for my end-of-February born friends. Buy birthday cards for Susie and Jenny, totally ticked off my to do list. Yay!
I’m not going to lie, it was a cold day to go for a walk, but it wasn’t actually raining, so not entirely unpleasant. I got back to my desk with 20 minutes to spare and did a few chores, including buying a train ticket and paying a bill. Perhaps not quite in the spirit of reclaiming my lunch break but by getting things done that I would otherwise have to do on an evening or weekend I’m reclaiming the rest of my life. Getting some fresh air definitely made me feel more energised and ticking a couple of items off my to do list made me feel more in control. I recommend it and I’m planning to do it again. Lunch al desko? Not unless I have to.
Do you usually have your lunch at your desk, or do you usually give yourself a break? What do you do if you manage to get away from your desk? I need inspiration, so do please share!
I completely agree with the reclaim your lunch break philosophy but also struggle to put it into practice. I work in an office in a client facing role and I’ve found more and more frequently over the recent years that meetings get booked over the lunch period (but with no actual lunch!). I do try and go for a run a couple of times a week and we have started an informal run club to help motivate each other. I also suffer from beetroot face but I always feel so much better and more productive in the afternoons after I’ve run. I have a couple of friends who work in companies that actually promote lunch by having a team lunch together once a week where they all bring some food in to share which I think is marvellous – I just need to get my boss to agree to the same at my office …..
A lunch meeting without lunch, that’s terrible Sophie! I love the idea of a once-a-week team lunch, good luck with getting your boss to agree to it at your company.
At my current job, I rarely do step away from my desk at lunch – bad I know. However, I always log off my computer and tend to eat, check my phone and chat to others at their desks. I would go out but the area is pretty residential so not much to walk about!
However, when I worked in central London, I would always make the effort to go out even for just 10-15mins. We also moved office and because all the furniture was new, there was a ban on eating at desks so thankfully we had a kitchen with table and chairs to eat at. It was actually quite nice and also made everyone socialise a bit more. Also we were between Hyde Park and the Paddington Baisin so were spoilt for sun spots in the summer!
Logging off your computer and chatting to your colleagues is a good habit to get into, even if you don’t go out. What a lovely part of London to be based in during the summer months Jo, you must miss it!
I’d love to reclaim my lunch, but as I only get 30 minutes and spend the majority of that waiting in a queue for our staff canteen, it’s not hugely practical. Unfortunately as I work at a food manufacturing site we are expected to utilise the canteen rather than BYOL in case we inadvertently bring in something which may cause a reaction to customers suffering from food allergies so we’re pretty restricted in terms of how much freedom we have at lunch.
30 minutes is no time at all Lynsey. Hope the staff canteen’s good…
I’m really bad at taking a break – although I do push my staff as much as possible to NOT follow my example. I have the same problem with the time – I’d love to work out during my break but we have no showers and all the classes nearby are at least 45 minutes so not eniugh time to get ready for work afterwards. I could just walk around the shops but I’ll just end up spending money on things I don’t really need… I try and use the time for sorting out chores (banking/bills/call GP etc) but that doesn’t change that I’m still in front of a screen and sitting at my desk. And as we don’t have a staff room, people will just come in whilst you’re eating so yiu don’t really get a break.
I think it’s a great idea in theory but not necessarily practical for a lot of people (especially in smaller organisations).
I’m the same Maike, if I go wandering round the shops I’ll often come back with things I don’t need. I used to work just off Carnaby Street, Liberty, Topshop, H&M, Zara and so on were all an easy walk away. So dangerous!
I also have a 30 minute lunchbreak, which I sort of prefer as the office at work in at the moment is also in a residential area and I’m not sure what I would do if I had a whole hour! I am a contractor so don’t have a circle of work friends to lunch with as I move company frequently.
I do tend to spend my 30 minutes eating at my desk, but also doing things on my laptop for me rather than work!! Like catching up on personal emails, researching holidays, dreaming about all the shoes I want to buy……it never ends up being either the most productive or restful 30 minutes of my day and I also feel stuck in a rut! Help!
I think if I could start half an hour later or leave half an hour earlier I would be happy with a 30 minute lunch break Sarah. Not much that can be done in half an hour, we need a hobby, like knitting or something…
I read Stylist and was interested in the ‘reclaiming your lunch break’ idea but as you say most of the ideas are a little impractical unless it’s actua
Too soon! The ideas are actually impractical unless they are happening in your workplace. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of lunch eating going on either! I would rather make sure to prepare a healthy lunch and have enough time to eat it and read a magazine or book than rush to a class and eat an apple on the way back.
Exactly Caoimhe, your work has to be on board. A healthy lunch and time to read a magazine or book sounds pretty perfect to me!
Eek, I’m really bad at this too! It’s so much easier to get lunch and head back to my desk – especially if I have some personal admin stuff to do. I find the whole exercise thing isn’t really ‘fun’ at lunchtime – I’m always watching the clock to make sure I leave enough time to get ready again and get back to my desk.
The one thing I do (and love doing) is going out for lunch with colleagues/friends. It’s a great way to catch up with people and gets you out of the office. This is *much* easier in the summer as I work very close to Temple in London which is stunning!
So nice to have lunch out with colleagues/friends Kate, especially in the summer in London!
I work on a business park which is essentially in the middle of nowhere – so no shopping opportunities for me. But the park does have a “country-side” feel (e.g. there is a little lake, and woods around the outside) and has nice paths laid out – so since the beginning of this year, I have made a real effort to get outside and walk for ~30mins (about the time it takes for one lap of the park). I sometimes walk with a colleague or two and have a gossip – I notice lots of people are becoming very conscious about the time we all spend sitting down so people are keen to get out. But if I walk alone, I plug myself into a audiobook which means I am normally keen to get out to hear the next chapter etc. I really recommend audiobooks – helps get “reading time” in while driving (or walking).
I will then take 20mins either before or after my walk to eat my lunch! Definitely helps keep me sane for the long afternoon ahead x
Ooh, with the lake and woods it sounds lovely where you are Diane. So good that you’ve gotten into the habit of walk at lunchtime, it must make the afternoon go quicker. x
I always try to go out at my lunchbreak but I have more choices of what to do as I’m in the west end of Edinburgh. In the summer I can easily make it to Princes St Gardens and sit under the castle for a good 40 minutes 🙂 There is also a church a couple of minutes away which has nice gardens to sit in. I realise I am very lucky to be working in the heart of such a fab city!
Unless I’m super busy I’m pretty good at taking a break although if I’m just nipping to the shop which takes 10 mins then the rest of the time is spent in front of my PC looking at RMS etc.which is not good for the old eye (the PC not RMS content!
One of my work colleagues does exercise classes at lunchtime – she’s very dedicated. She usually rocks up with a bright red face but she isn’t in a lot of meetings and clients aren’t in our office so it’s only her colleagues who have to look at her beaming bonce!
How lovely to be so centrally located Lynn! Haha, I wouldn’t want to put my colleagues through having to look at my bright red face either and as Kate said in an earlier comment exercising at lunchtime means having to watch the clock constantly, not fun!
My lunch breaks are spent eating lunch at my desk and reading RMS of course! I read some blogs too and chat to my colleagues. We are quite laid back so no actual clock watching, but in the past when I did venture out it was more obvious when we took longer than the allocated hour. I’d also love to run or walk, but suffer the beetroot face too and don’t get me started on what a bit of body heat/windy weather does to my hair and skin! Basically I’d need to shower, wash my hair and re-do a face of make up which I just cant really be bothered with. I have to say though, I love my time reading blogs and RMS – I never do it at home (there’s always washing up/hovering/making dinner/cleaning to do!) and so I love this time at lunch as a bit of “me-time”.
Happy to hear you enjoy RMS on your lunch break Maddy!
I am a frim believer in taking lunch breaks and I’m a HR Manager. I try to get away from my deak and preferably outside for at least 15 minuets everyday, but on most days it’s about 30 mins. I used to work just off Oxford Street so it was very easy to fill my time with trips to the shops but very bad for my bank balance! Now I work in Shoredtich so there aren’t quite the same retail opportunities so now I use my how for doing any life admin (post office / bank etc), meeting up with friends / the hubby (I know I’m lucky to be able to do that), go for a walk. They do run free work out classes the the Sweaty Betty shop round the corner but I have the same exercise at lunch problem of timings and redness! During the summer I’m much more likely to take the full hour and keep a picnic blanket in my cupboard at work – you never now how long that sunshine is going to last – you have to make the most of it! Sunshine, book, rug – makes for a much more productive afternoon!
I love that you have a picnic blanket at work Bryony, what a great idea! Hehe, I used to work just off Oxford Circus too, I used to be in Topshop most lunchtimes!
I’m a teacher, so my lunch ‘break’ is usually spent running clubs or revision sessions, or marking and completing paperwork (the pay-off, for me, is that I get to leave school at a reasonable hour feeling that my workload is under control). It’s not the healthiest of choices though, even more so because I get to school so early (7am) that breakfast is eaten at my desk too. But when teaching on a school in the middle of a housing estate, there’s not really anywhere more interesting to go.
Wow, that is a long day without a break Janet but, as you say, if you can leave at a reasonable hour and feel like you’re on top of everything that’s a good thing, still…
This is SUCH a big problem – I am so glad it’s being given the attention it deserves!
We are all infinitely more productive after a good lunch break. When I sit staring at my screen eating lunch, it takes a lot longer to get myself back in the zone than if I go out.
I go to yoga twice a week (I’m lucky that it’s only a 5 min walk away), and play netball once a week (I am hopeless but found it was a great way to meet my new colleagues when I moved). The other two days, I tend to have lunch with one of my colleagues – we always try to go outside if the weather is good (and I currently live in Sydney, so I am lucky on that front!). If she’s not available, I am liable to read blogs, sort out financies, update my wedding spreadsheet, and generally just stare at my screen unfortunately. I try to avoid the shops because I just end up buying things I don’t need, although if you have any self restraint that is a good way to get a walk in! Sometimes I pop to the shops to grab dinner for that evening, or to Boots to stock up on essentials. Another option is to take your Kindle and – if the weather is bad – pop to Starbucks, buy a cup of tea and just settle in for half an hour!
You’re so lucky having yoga so close by Stacey. Also to live in Sydney. One of my favourite places in the world! Sounds like you’ve got the lunchtime thing totally nailed!
I think this definitely does need a bit of media spotlight on it. It’s a worrying trend that we all seem to be putting a lot more into our jobs and an awful lot of people do not get paid for that time or get to take it back as time off. We all know that our modern sedentary lifestyles aren’t all that good for us but the reality for a lot of people is that it isn’t possible to get away from our desks. We’re expected to get a certain amount of work done in a day, and if you can’t do that in your normal working hours then its almost like you’re expected to use your lunch, come in early or stay late to get it done. I would be interested to know how many hundred of thousands of hours of “free labour” companies are getting out of their workforces… Sorry that was a bit off topic, but sort of related to having to work through on your lunch!
Oh my goodness, I can’t even imagine how many extra hours are being worked Kitty, a lot. Would be good if companies put on stuff for their staff, but I guess space is always going to be an issue. There’s a pretty good canteen where I’m freelancing and tables in the kitchens, so you can at least eat your lunch away from your desk.