Maximizing Your Lunch Break When In The Workplace

It is well evident enough that so many of us make use and take advantage of our lunch breaks while we are in our offices. Mainly, our lunch hour are supposedly used to recover from the workload we all had to do the morning, and gather all remaining energy to last the whole afternoon too. This is why maximizing your break time is substantial, because this greatly affects not only our productivity and performance at work, but also in our personal health and life. The impact is great but not too many people give too much attention to it because when we are at our workplace, we tend to just focus on all our things to do, things to start, things to finish, and more often than not, we forget our total well-being, and give away our own chances to everyone’s dream of work-life-balance in more ways than people realize.

Coming to think of it, was there ever a time where you question yourself things like when was the last time you felt far too relaxed after your afternoon break and had to scuffle getting back to your office station and your things to do? Have you been dreading getting back to work mode after your break hour? “YES” answer to these questions is the easiest trap to fall under, esp. if you haven’t been maximizing your break time, or haven’t ever.

Of course, this doesn’t mean and suggest that you work on your well-deserved break. Working lunch, in spite of the feeling of productivity it gives you, does not make you productive after all. There is always one that gets the less of your attention and/or effort, therefore, either your work quality suffers, or your health.

There are profuse ways to make the most of your lunch time in terms of productivity, most of which are very small things, effortless habits that most of us just shrug shoulder about. Maximizing your rest/lunch hour is all just a matter of being aware of your lifestyle- your ways which can help you get in the right mood for the whole day!

Here are some tips and ways you can do to maximize your lunch hour:

1. A mental vacation isn’t such a bad idea. Take a break. No, a bag of fries on the side of your monitor screen, a burger in one hand, and the keyboard on the other does not count a break. Use 10-15 minutes of your lunch break to stimulate mental vacation. Think about everything that is not related to work, besides, the next 5-6 hours after this lunch break is still going to be work for you.

 

“It seems counter intuitive, but taking a mental “vacation” helps boost my productivity. Sometimes, focusing too hard on a project results in narrow thinking. A short break often clears the mind and allows new or better ideas to enter. I take this break with a short mental “vacation” – thinking about an amazing landscape I’ve been to, a meaningful conversation with a friend, or a place I’d like to go to. What you think about on your mental vacation could be anything — as long as it isn’t about work!” – William Dockery of Aegis Power Systems

 

2. Treat yourself to a cheat day at least twice a week. It is not given too much attention, but food flushes endorphins out of your body too. Sure, you maybe trying to lose weight, but a cup of yogurt, or a sweet fruit shake, perhaps a chocolate protein bar would suffice. There are so many healthier options for dessert. Make sure you make use of this tip; a happy and filled tummy entails faster thinking, positive vibe and energy to keep up with your whole day at work.

 

3. Stand up. Stretch. Walk. Don’t be a couch potato and slam your body on your chair the whole day at work. It’s lunch hour, so get on up!

 

“To increase your productivity, GET ON UP! Standing during the day will increase your energy and metabolism, tone muscles and burn calories. Yes, I said tone muscles and burn calories. No, it will NOT replace exercising, but every bit helps. Standing will also increase blood flow, which will unleash creativity, and unclog your brain. When you stand up during your workday, it helps change your view and reposition your outlook – literally! So GET ON UP!” – Stephanie C. Williams of Crowned One Worldwide Inc.

 

4. Learn to say NO, and actually start saying them. Saying NO is not always a rude response. Sometimes, saying no to your colleagues’ extra work requests, or saying no to your boss’ request to take a working lunch, or saying no to playing around on Facebook Chat or Skype with your friends and office clique does more actual good.

 

“My ONE best tip for maximizing time at work it Just Say No! Say No to checking your email every five minutes. Say No spending an obscene amount of time on social media, both personal and business accounts. Say NO to projects that may turn out to be time suckers. Say No to chatting on Skype with colleagues. Say No to unproductive meetings. Say No to unfulfilling networking events. Learn how to say no, you’ll gain and save time in the long run.” – Amanda Blackwell of Savvy Writer.

 

5. Get in Quality Time. It’s amazing how far a 20-minute phone call or a shared lunch in the food court can go towards maintaining those fundamental relationships. We under-estimate the power of simple gestures and quality versus quantity of time so much that we give ourselves to nothing but work on our most of the days. Think about one person in your life you haven’t spent enough time with lately, and consider giving them a call or text on your next lunch break, or better yet, meet them up for lunch.

 

Whatever you choose to do, start making the most of your lunch hours. Five hours every week can go a long way toward accomplishing tasks, freeing up your evenings, getting in shape and right mental condition, and spending more time with others.

Mar 15, 2016