The miracle of the hour lunch break
(www.myorganizedbiz.com) - I felt figety and lost. Hungry, yes, but not exactly sure what to do with myself.
I was given an hour lunch break.
Little did I know that when I took a one-day-a-week job at my local SBDC, they would adhere to the federally mandated break policy. Duh! As a self-employed business owner, this hour for lunch concept was foreign and almost anxiety-producing.
You mean, sit here and eat - for a whole hour?
But I warmed up my lunch in the microwave and sat down with a copy of the local paper. And read. And chuckled at the funnies. And tasted my food. Even though I looked at the clock a couple of times, I actually started to relax and enjoy myself.
When was the last time you took an hour to eat a meal?
I ask this because it gave me such pause. My coach, Kathy Mallary, suggested to me recently that I might be “bingeing” on busy-ness - which is a distraction from the things I really want to do. Like eat. Like relax. Like connect with loved ones. If there’s a federal mandate about it, I guess there must be something to this stopping-work thing.
What do you think? Does part of having an organized biz include having time off where you’re not thinking about work?
Tags: binge, break, business, kathy mallary, lunch, OSHA, SBDC, slow food, slowness, small business, Time off, vacation, workaholicRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Productivity, Systems and structure, Time off
4 opinions for The miracle of the hour lunch break
Darlene
May 1, 2008 at 11:36 am
I loved the title of the post. You hooked me!! Very nice. Very good article too!!! I love the new look of your blog. It looks fresh to me. Is it new or is that I have not visited in a while?
I am on my 30 minute lunch break. Gotta go, but I will be back in about 10 minutes, so I can work the last 20 minutes of my lunch break! :) Have a great lunch today!
Darlene
Interview Guru
http://www.interviewchatter.com
Karen
May 1, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I know what you mean, I work from home. Frequently it gets to the end of the day when my husband walks through the door and I realise I have forgotten to stop work for any food. Regular breaks should be a habit we all get into.
Ann
May 1, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Bingeing on busy-ness is a good way of putting it. I have a hard time sitting still during meals in general if I’m “just eating”, and when I’m alone, I always eat at my desk . . . though sometimes I’ll read blogs or shop online, I’m not always working.
No doubt an hour away from the screen would do me good.
Jennifer Hofmann
May 1, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Hey, Darlene - thanks for stopping by. Perhaps the “fresh look” is from the yummy lunch photo?
Karen - regular breaks = good. :) I don’t always remember to DO this, but I’m much nicer (and productive) when I do!
Ann - Agreed. Don’t know who decided multitasking was a good thing!
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