Do you stay seated at your desk for just about every lunch break? Even worse, do you find yourself eating with one hand and working with the other?
Is the line between work time and break time increasingly blurred? We’re all guilty of doing that from time to time. It’s a nasty habit though, and not good for you or your productivity.
Nine ways to have a better lunchbreak
Here are nine ways to have a better lunchbreak for your own physical health and mental state.
Walk
Go for a 20-minute walk. It could be around the block, or choose somewhere further from the office (or home, if you work there) to buy your lunch, and walk it. The trick here is to gain that extra bit of walking into your working week.
Eat smart
Go for fresh fruit and vegetables and avoid processed food. Eating healthier foods for lunch means less sugar highs and lows, better nutrients and fibre intake, and a better metabolism. See this site for more fruit and vegetable information.
Get social
Have lunch with a friend. We’re all guilty of skipping social contact in favour of more work. Regain some social contact by arranging regular lunch dates with friends–the social contact will do you a world of good, and your friendships will benefit.
Join a health club
Is there a health club nearby? Even half an hour on a treadmill or exercise bike can boost your fitness, and improve your motivation for the afternoon. If there isn’t a club nearby, consider hiring or buying some basic equipment for the office or home.
Learn
Download podcasts, print out interesting articles, find a short course you can do nearby for less than an hour. The key here is to stimulate the brain and finish the week with more knowledge than you started with.
Meditate
Just five or more minutes of silence can not only relax your mind and reduce stress, but it’s also likely to allow you time to solve some other nagging issues as well! You’ll probably have to leave the office for this one, or close your door and take the phone off the hook.
Drink water
Swap your coffee for a glass of water. As I’ve already mentioned, water is so good for you. Instead of reaching for the coffee machine, grab a bottle of water and keep it on your desk.
Read
Read something new. Join a library, buy some new books; whatever you do, get away from that monitor for a while and read a newspaper, book, or magazine. It’ll expand your knowledge and take your mind off your projects for a short period of time, which is a very good thing.
Go analog
Get away from your computer. If you must work during this lunch break, stand at a whiteboard or sit in a different place and write on paper. Whatever you do, give your eyes and posture a break and try a different location or activity for a while.
In Summary
You needn’t start all this at once–try to start incorporating one of these tips into your lunch break every week. Even better, combine a few at once, such as walking while eating an apple, or put headphones on and chill out while reading a book, and soon you’ll have a better lunchbreak.
This post first published June 2009. Last updated August 2022.
Entrepreneur, 
23 June 2009 at 10:19 pm
In my past career (in a high pressure nonprofit environment, before I was a web designer) I was quite guilty of being glued to my desk during my lunch break, never budging, always on duty. What I failed to realise at that time was that doing so did not give me power, rather, it took power away. Power, authority, and respect can only come if you have the confidence and savvy to literally remove yourself from your working environment. Living at your desk declares that you are a desperate underling. Leaving your desk means that other people have to wait for you.
Also, anyone who declares that they are “too busy” to leave their desk is not conveying an air of being busy or important. They are conveying an air of poor time management and borderline instability.
So whatever you choose to do, just do it away from the desk.
4 December 2009 at 9:33 am
I think about this. I used to always get an hour break – now I’ll eat in front of the pc, kinda looking at work still. The line does blur: it’s so true. Break/work line.. I think the tips given here are really good and it takes some character to walk away and your boss sees you take it easy when things in the office are going real nuts.
Good one, will take it into account.
PS: I love apples.