LIFE LESSONS | BUSINESS LUNCH | LIFESTYLE
3 Lunchtime Rituals To Save The Rest Of The Day
Only fools skip lunch — and ignorant eat it wrong.
Remote work has devastated the way we eat lunch — or not eat it at all.
New York Times reported that 62% of American workers eat lunches at their desks. Think of all those breadcrumbs and mayonnaise on the keyboards.
Another research found that we spend an average of 48.5 minutes more at work daily, attend more meetings, and navigate more emails. That’s what Covid did for us.
So, we work more, eat less and do it all in a very unsustainable way.
However, fixing it is easy. Here are three ideas you can immediately implement into your lunchtime routine.
1# — Plan your lunchtime in advance
Planning your day should always include breaks. The most important one is the lunch break.
It is way too easy to skip if you don’t book it in advance in your calendar. Invite your colleague(s) or friends to share your lunch to make this a habit.
If you plan your lunch break, you make the little grey matter in your neck-top computer produce a nice dose of dopamine. When doing something pleasurable, your brain releases a large amount of it. You feel good, and you seek more of that feeling.
To have a lunch break planned (with good company), our hard-wired chemical factory will make you feel happier, more focused — and even more resilient. Having something pleasant to wait for makes a massive difference in how you run your day before and after lunch.
Trust chemistry, not your imagined busyness. You will be productive and get more done in less time if you have a proper lunch break instead.
Ad-hoc lunches may look good — but they are a terrible way of destroying productivity. You feel guilty and eat too fast, not even tasting anything. You may think that being flexible, agile and (put the right buzzword here) is the way to go. So, plan your lunch and don’t harm your digestive system with junk at your desk.
#2 — Eat real food at a real table — not at your desk — with other people
As I suggested, you can invite good company if you plan. Doing so is a way to belong to something more important than just a workflow. Getting a lunch invite is rewarding; if you do it early enough, people can schedule accordingly.
Your lunch should have a clear demarcation line around it. It’s for getting your body to enjoy nutrients and your mind and heart to have social interaction that has nothing to do with work.
We need to see each other as humans, eye to eye. We need to relax and let the taste of our food talk to us, comforting us and ensuring that we will have what it takes to survive the rest of the day.
Food nourishes our relationships, too, if we eat with other people. It will help us to listen better, understand more and be more tolerant and embracing.
It is tough to be irritated and hate if you have tasty food and good company. So, let your anger go and taste the sweetness of friendship, and your day will be lighter, and it’s easier to deal with even the occasional dicks at the workplace after an enjoyable lunch.
#3 — Think of your food as a sacred gift
And last but not least, our bodies cannot function without food, and our minds will shut down if we don’t get enough nutrients and energy.
All processed food, junk and snacks may give you a temporary boost, but they will certainly harm you in the long run.
When I ran my fast-growing company in the 90s, I put on weight rapidly until I weighed 95kg. I am 172 cm tall, and you can imagine how I looked: a managerial meatball.
My doctor told me, — ‘Jussi, if you want to see your 50th birthday, get rid of 25kg, and do it sooner than later’. I took his advice on board and started to exercise; I got a personal trainer and a trendy outfit, which made my new gym-goer friends smile in a certain way.
The somewhat ironic smiles on the fellow gym guys turned into wide eye admiration. They didn’t believe I had what it took to transform my fat into fitness. After six months, I was 70kg.
It was not because of my grit: I was scared to death to be too fat to find a suitable casket — so I had to make sure that the undertaker did not need to put me into a rubber bag when my time was up.
However, it was not only the gym; I changed my diet. The heavy carbon-loaded and processed junk food I had been consuming in growing amounts for some ten years changed into salads, fish and other healthier foods.
I remembered what my late father used to say: — Food is a gift that nature will give us if we cultivate our fields and livestock well. It is sacred and must be eaten with gratitude and respect.
Please make sure you think about what you have for lunch, be grateful for each mouthful and swallow it with respect.
Like my farmer father, somebody in the field had been working hard to grow the ingredients for the meal you have. But before the meal is ready, an army of good people ship the food, preparing it and finally bringing it to your table.
If you cannot feel gratitude for those people who make your food and the food itself, you are also disrespecting yourself and your work, whatever you do.
So, where’s the beef?
We should not compartmentalise our lives: we are a whole and function only if all parts of our being are balanced.
It means that we eat healthy food, have meaningful social interactions when eating our meals, and cultivate gratitude for each mouthful.
In summary: plan your lunch break as if it is a holy ceremony. Share the sacred moment with friends and treat the food with the utmost respect.
These three rituals will fill your tummy, soul, mind, and heart with joy. You will see a significant change in your day if you do.
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