Make time for lunch!

With all the holidays done and dusted (sad, we know), getting back into the swing of things can make you feel a little like you’re on a swing, that goes round and round and round. As life picks up again, with meetings, deadlines, work pressure, school runs, family activities, burst geysers and the like, finding time to make lunch, let alone even eating lunch, starts to seem like a rather daunting task.

For many of us, eating lunch has become a secondary activity. We chomp on sugary biscuits or lone carrot sticks in between typing, take bites of our sandwich whilst picking the kids up en route to our hundredth meeting of the day, and shovel handfuls of crisps as we check mails (and most likely read this blog post). We’re “multi-tasking”. What we’re actually doing, is lowering our overall productivity, making our desks (and our cars) dirty, and often eating things we shouldn’t, out of sheer desperation. Is this really what lunch has become? Isn’t there a better way?

We think there is, and it starts with making the time to eat. “There is no time!”, we hear you shout, but getting up, going somewhere (anywhere else), and just eating can take as little as 15 minutes. Now that sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? And it’s helluva good for you too. Here’s why:

• Ever noticed how some of your best ideas occur to you when you’re in the shower or cleaning your teeth? By giving your brain a rest, it can think of different things and spark new ideas, boosting productivity and creativity. It also means you get back to your desk feeling ready to tackle the rest of the day.
• Here at Ooooby, we love food, and we sure love eating it! Being away from your desk means you can eat more mindfully and focus on eating what’s in front of you, lowering the chance of overeating and helping you to feel more satisfied.
• And get your bum out that chair! Work those muscles, even if it is just walking to the cafeteria.

Take the challenge! Get a group of your colleagues, even if it’s just two or three of you, to commit to having lunch together everyday. Put a standing appointment in your calendars, to step away from your desks everyday to eat lunch, even if it’s just for 15 minutes. And encourage each other to stick to this. Very soon it will become a habit, and a healthy one at that, and you’ll find yourselves sitting for a little longer, enjoying the food, enjoying the company, and feeling a little happier returning to your desk.