What do you do during your lunch break?

[Atom]

For those of you still working at a "job", like me. What do you do with your time? I end up reading the news, checking my personal email, looking at forums, but nothing really proactive. I usually have a very lite lunch, so it takes me hardly any time to actually eat. I feel like I'm killing valuable time everyday. A lot ot times I just get back to my work so I don't feel guilty about wasting my time. Any suggestions for effective use of this small block of time each day?

[Alex]

Absolutely, my suggestions would be to bring a book with you. Five hours of concentrated reading (5 lunch periods) could be just enough to read 1 book a week or 52 books a year (wow!). You could also bring a journal with you and brainstorm goals that you would like to complete, business ideas (to get you out of you J.O.B.!), etc.

Got an MP3 player? Relax your eyes and listen to audio tapes while taking a nice brisk walk. You'll be amazed how an extra 45 minutes a day of walking can be beneficial to your health and stamina.

Depending on where you go for lunch, perhaps you could network and make contacts to get a better job or move up in your company. I mean if you are going to have a job, you might as well be in a position to give more value and get more money for your time.

[MartialDev]

Practice martial arts.

[hindweb]

The place where I work, requires me to go to the ground floor. I usually climb down and then go for a walk with a colleague. We have a generous 1 hour lunch break but we work more than 9 hours a day!

[Markus74]

Have lunch?

[Dating Specialist]

Hit a nearby gym or go for a quick dip in the pool? Slightly inconvenient as showering and changing would be required. But I've seen lots of people do this during their lunch hour, and they just pack a light lunch like sandwich or salad to finish up and head back to work.

Sometimes it's good to have lunch with colleagues or friends working nearby. After all, social relationships need time to be nurtured, don't you agree?

[Atom]

Read a book. Now why didn't I think of that? So many books, and every time I look at 'em I think, "I just don't have time to read any of these." Apparently I just need to plan better. Years ago, before the internet, I would read a book every day at lunch.

Used to take walks, but the traffic and lack of sidewalks makes it dangerous. Working on a 30-day walk 2 miles every night trial right now too,

Also used to listen to music and audio books at lunch. Need to load more good stuff on the ipod.

Thanks for the whack on the head. Please keep the ideas coming!

[WanderingOak]

I eat both Breakfast and Lunch at work. Lunch is usually packed from home, and Breakfast is as well when I am on the ball. Breakfast is usually the longer of my two 'meal breaks'- I eat, read the paper (usually only the comics), and shoot the breese with co-workers. Lunchtime is more of a 'shovel fuel into the firebox' type of affair. I'm usually done eating and back at work in 10 minutes. On weekends, I usually have a big breakfast (think home-fries, bacon and eggs), and work straight through to dinner. I just don't even think about lunch on weekends.

[alexander.kharlamov]

I think going outside the office to eat lunch and socialize with your coworkers would be the best solution. Yes, you can do many efficient things such as reading or exercising, but the value of spending some time with your colleagues in less informal setting is huge. You get to improve your relationship with people that you spend around 10 hours a day with, make some valuable contacts in your personal network, and you just might make some new friends.

[iry]

Originally Posted by alexander.kharlamov

I think going outside the office to eat lunch and socialize with your coworkers would be the best solution. Yes, you can do many efficient things such as reading or exercising, but the value of spending some time with your colleagues in less informal setting is huge. You get to improve your relationship with people that you spend around 10 hours a day with, make some valuable contacts in your personal network, and you just might make some new friends.

Normally I would spend 2 – 3 days eating with colleagues while other days packing my own lunch.

[Phi]

How do you find something interesting to discuss if/when you have lunch with your colleagues?

Most conversations at my work stays within 'safe' subjects like family, work and material things. No one ever discuss big things like life goals, etc.

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by Phi

How do you find something interesting to discuss if/when you have lunch with your colleagues?

Most conversations at my work stays within 'safe' subjects like family, work and material things. No one ever discuss big things like life goals, etc.

Where I work, there are televisions continuously burning either with Fox News or CNN. What that usually leads to is turning conversations towards current events, and/or politics. Unfortunately, political discussions often degenerate into polarized red/blue arguments, which I preffer not to participate in. Every so often, our lead supervisor comes in from out of town and we go to lunch offsite. Conversation usually revolves around the supervisor and his current 'mission' when this happens.

[gladstone]

Go to gym! It takes me less than an our (but need's to be very quick in changing and showering ) and I've also time for a sandwich.
I could go also after work, but I think gym is perfectc at lunch time, expecially to re-equilibrate emotions.

[ReallyGoodIdeas]

I always loved having lunch wiht friends form work.. I'd normally find at least one or two on my wavelength of some sort and spend an hour happily swapping smutty double entendres. But then I'm a rampant extravert and queen of the smutty double entendres.
I miss lunch wiht friends now that I work (usually) from my loungeroom. :-( that's why i love everyone here so much!!!

And yes, a walk or gym would be good if you're into exercise.

Joy to you
Hazel

[Fusebox]

My current role involves working 12 hour shifts and thus we get 1 hour lunch breaks. I try to make it habit that I walk to the local shopping centre bookstore (Its literally 5 minutes away). I get a total 20 minute walk out of it. It gets the blood flowing and the change of scenery helps also

[Cassie]

I love the brainstorming, reading, and going to the gym ideas

[country bumpkin]

I try to go have lunch with my boy at his school. Sometimes I stop by the library or go to a thrift store in town. Otherwise, I'll try to get some work done.

[alexander.kharlamov]

Originally Posted by Phi

How do you find something interesting to discuss if/when you have lunch with your colleagues?

Most conversations at my work stays within 'safe' subjects like family, work and material things. No one ever discuss big things like life goals, etc.

Yeah, that's something I've been wondering about too, not just about lunch with colleagues, but regarding talking to all people, even friends and family in general. Most people consider the topic of personal development silly, for some reason, or even worse, they equate it with all of those fake "inspirational" posters that you can find in the car salesmen offices.

But once you do overcome your initial embarassment and talk about those subjects, some people may be very receptive to PD ideas if they respect you as a person and know that you don't generally say stupid things. And if you find a person that understands and supports you, you'll experience great satisfaction, and a warm feeling that you're not alone in your thoughts.

Which is why I like this board :-)

[Phi]

Very true, the conversations on this forum are (unfortunately) much more interesting that most of the conversations I have in real life

Why are most people satisfied with talking about what to have for dinner?

[Alex]

Originally Posted by alexander.kharlamov

Yeah, that's something I've been wondering about too, not just about lunch with colleagues, but regarding talking to all people, even friends and family in general. Most people consider the topic of personal development silly, for some reason, or even worse, they equate it with all of those fake "inspirational" posters that you can find in the car salesmen offices.

But once you do overcome your initial embarassment and talk about those subjects, some people may be very receptive to PD ideas if they respect you as a person and know that you don't generally say stupid things. And if you find a person that understands and supports you, you'll experience great satisfaction, and a warm feeling that you're not alone in your thoughts.

Which is why I like this board :-)

I personally think that you are responsible for the people that you associate yourself with. Personal development and setting big goals happens to be a subject I really enjoy talking about and have been fortunate to surround myself with friends of both sexes that share such ambitions. I also find that if you steer a conversation in a certain direction you can find peoples underlying ambitions and goals and almost anyone will lose themselves in describing them to you, if you are willing to listen.

So my advice, work with the friends you have, or get new ones

[fontduroy]

I'm a revolutionary: I eat on my lunch break.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by alexander.kharlamov

Most people consider the topic of personal development silly, for some reason, or even worse, they equate it with all of those fake "inspirational" posters that you can find in the car salesmen offices.
But once you do overcome your initial embarassment and talk about those subjects, some people may be very receptive to PD ideas if they respect you as a person and know that you don't generally say stupid things.

I suspect a lot depends on how you approach it. If you open with something like "So what do you think of the intention-manifestation theory of reality?" people will start backing away politely. But most people have some area they'd like to improve in. I suspect the way to start a natural conversation is to use everyday terms, avoid falling into jargon, and find those areas of common interest. Oh, and if you can find a way to work it naturally into the conversation ("Man I feel tired", "Hey, weirdest thing - since I started getting up earlier each day and going for a work I feel less tired. Do you find that?").

[Shuchetana]

About people not willing to talk about "big" topics like goals, PD, etc, my interpretation is this:

People are vulnerable, and take time to open up. It's not easy to tell a stranger your hopes and dreams and fears. So get to know about someone first, like where they live, what their family is like, what they like to eat, where they shop, blahblahblah. Make it a point to talk about yourself too. After a while, you'll feel like you know each other.
That's when you gently bring up the "big" topics. A conversation about her boyfriend could lead into one about whether or not she believes in marriage, does she want to get married, why or why not, does she want to be in this career/industry her whole life, etc etc. Or, you can start talking about food and lead into work-outs, early rising, etc. Talk about hobbies, move into reading, time management for reading, etc.

Hope this helps.