With the inevitable blur between work and personal life, many business owners often work straight through lunch. They come in an 8 a.m. and plow through until the late night. The best case scenario is that some find a way to eat lunch at their desks, yet even then, there is no separation of tasks or events.
We all know it’s important to take time for lunch – it’s a part of every day life. Yet, all too often, it’s skipped and considered a negotiable, at the cost, ultimately, of one’s health.
As entrepreneurs, too many of us have put ourselves aside for the sake of the job, and oftentimes even boast about skipping lunch because we just did not have the time for it. There’s a consistent pressure to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Of course, there is always the occasion when a missed lunch is inevitable, but this should not be the norm. It’s as if these days, having lunch has become poor work ethic.
When did this happen?
When we are “too busy” to have lunch, we also damage our social and psychological selves. Not giving our minds a break to relax, we damage our concentration levels. Also, we are skipping out on a traditionally social time that can be used for building relationships.
If you’re reading this and saying, “Yeah, I know, but I can’t change,” you’re not alone.
To make a stronger point, here are a few reasons why you deserve – and must – take a lunch break in order to be as productive as possible.
- Taking lunch is a way of showing– whether to co-workers or even to yourself - that you value yourself enough to take a real break. Everyone needs to stop and refuel, and you need to set that expectation and respect that it is your time.
- Your lunch hour is really and truly only 30 minutes of your day. In the grand scheme of things, this is not a significant amount of time to take for yourself – and the dividends in your mental balance will pay off.
- You may not be hungry – especially if you’re running from one task or meeting to the next – but the time taken, in addition to the food – is just as important to achieve a more relaxed state. Perhaps you spend the time reading a newspaper or people watching. It’s mainly about taking yourself out from the confines of your work space to give your brain another perspective.
If you simply can’t separate work from lunch, here are some helpful hints to help integrate lunch into your workday in a way that keeps you productive as well as healthy.
- Make lunch co-worker bonding time
- Use lunch as a business networking opportunity
- Take your lunch break as a “reading” break to scan some industry publications you’ve been meaning to read.
Just remember: skipping lunch can be a vicious cycle – your nutritional health and overall work-life balance are about you – so make sure you invest in that time.
photo credit: Jef Poskanzer
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