I saw a point-counterpoint on some website recently about
eating lunch at your desk. One side argued that it’s healthier to leave your
office for an hour and enjoy lunch. Another side argued that it’s better to eat
at your desk and get out of there quicker at the end of the day.
I am in the latter camp. I almost always bring lunch and eat
it right at my desk. Once in awhile, I will go to the salad bar at the
supermarket or something terribly decadent. Since the weather is getting
warmer, I will again eat lunch in my car at the nearby park on some days, so I
can at least feel a balmy breeze. Mostly, however, I brown bag it and take a
few minutes to eat sitting here.
I never cared that much about lunch anyway. I always eat
breakfast and put emphasis on dinner so lunch is just kind of there for me.
This is why it’s odd on a business trip to take people out to lunch and have
these big meals — I’d rather a sandwich. I’m trying to save money so I’m
even cutting down on my salad bar excursions. I have never been one to eat out
with coworkers. That can get expensive after awhile. Even if you spend $10 a
day on lunch, that’s $50 a week or $200 a month and I have better things to
spend that money on. Honestly, I’m fine with a chicken sandwich that I made at
home and some fruit.
Technically, I don’t work through lunch because I eat it
while online doing whatever, so there is a mental break. Fifteen minutes is
fine with me. I’ve never needed an hour. Once in awhile, I do run errands so
I’ll take a little longer, but if I took an hour, there wouldn’t be much to
fill it.
Sometimes it would be nice to get a break and get out since
I don’t have a window. That only bothers me in the nice weather. What am I
going to do in January — drive around and look at the sleet? I do work at home
once a week so that is a change of scenery. I can eat on the deck if I want.
I’ve never gotten the concept of a siesta. I would much
rather plow through work in eight hours and go home. It’s impractical for me to
take a two- or three-hour break during the afternoon. I can’t afford to take
some long lunch or go shopping every day so there’s no point hanging out in the
vicinity of the office. It would take me an hour to go home and then I’d have
to come right back. It also would not be relaxing at all, as it would double my
daily drive time from two to four hours. I also wouldn’t want to get home at
7:30 or 8.
I prefer working the American way: Get it done, go home and
enjoy your life while there’s enough daylight left. I can handle eight hours a
day.
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