For many, the lunch hour is a coveted time during the day. It signals a break between work and more work. Breaks are important whilst working, some studies show that we cannot concentrate for more than 90 minutes without taking a 15 minute break. When your work is particularly challenging or monotonous, it’s essential that you take a suitable break during the day. Which leads us to the most important thing you should do on your lunch break.
Stop Working
This may seem redundant, but a lot of people use their lunch break to catch up on work or to finish a task or project. Before you know it it’s mid afternoon and you’ve still got a few hours to go before home time. Whilst this may provide you with some quick short term victories at work and may impress certain types of bosses, it’s not good for you or your mental health. So the first thing you should do on your lunch break is to stand up and walk away from your desk.
Go For a Walk
The average person only walks about 3000 to 4000 steps per day. When ideally, we should be clocking around 10,000. Getting out at your lunch break is the perfect reset for your day. It takes your mind completely off and away from work and instead, to the outdoors. Even if you live or work in a busy city, the air and exercise are bound to wake you up far more than another coffee ever would.
If possible, go for a walk with another person. A colleague, family member or friend. It’s a great way to further take your mind off work and give it a nice rest. Plus, the increase in social activity is highly likely to have a positive effect on your mental health.
Eat Your Lunch
Over 56% of workers are said to not be taking their full lunch break, with more skipping the lunch part of it. A busy mind should be fueled with sufficient energy, and coffee certainly doesn’t count. Snacking and eating fast food may feel as though they help at the time, but they’re going to cause a lul in energy later that you won’t quickly recover from. When you’re choosing what to eat for lunch, pick something healthy and energy rich such as turkey, pasta or eggs.
Have a Brain Break
It’s tempting to continue to think about work even when you aren’t working. While we have encouraged you to take a physical break away from your desk during lunch, it’s important to also take a mental one. Try to distract yourself with thoughts about something else. Or, you can meditate, sit in silence, listen to music or watch a TV programme.
Socialize
If you are working in the office, you tend to all take lunch breaks around the same time as one another. Lunch can be a truly social event, especially if your office has a canteen or coffee area. When you work from home, you miss out on this. You are alone. So, if you enjoy the social aspects of lunch breaks, you can find a way to mirror this in your remote working. You could phone a friend, use social media, visit a neighbor, take a walk to the park and speak to dog walkers, meet someone for lunch or invite a friend over to your house for an hour. This helps you to avoid loneliness, which can be a huge trigger for mental illness when not combatted early.
Create an Office You Enjoy Returning To
If your office space is messy, dull or drab, you’re likely to dread returning to it after every lunch break. There are a number of things you can do to improve your office space, such as making it more comfortable for you. Making your office space more comfortable starts with having the right furniture to support you. The number one place to start with that, is an office chair. Right now you may have one, you may also be using a regular table chair or a stool. There’s only one question you need to answer though. Is it ergonomically friendly? If the answer is no, it’s time to upgrade.
The Flexi-Chair BackSupport office chair BS1B for instance is designed specifically with your back in mind. Integrated lumbar support helps against seat fatigue whilst the fully adjustable headrest suits every type of use. What’s more, the fabric is breathable and abrasion-resistant, meaning you can rely on this chair for quite a long time. Your back will thank you.
How Can We Help?
The Flexispot team is available to help you create the office of your dreams. Why not browse our range of ergonomically designed furniture? If you need a bit more help, check out our buyers guide or reach out to us.
