I am truly blessed to have one hour of lunch break each day. But, the issue was how can I spend that one hour? I have tried many ways to spend time well but for many years I just couldn’t find a constructive and productive way to spend my time.
Here is what I have tried and I will let you know why it didn’t work out for me in the end.
Eating: Yes, you are probably surprised and confused here! What it is a lunch break you are supposed to be eating! Nah, in my opinion eating during lunchtime is a waste of time! But that is my humble opinion and here is why! You will be surprised by what I am about to share with you. If you eat during your lunch break you will most likely try to eat your food as fast as possible without you even knowing it! That is because you are fighting the clock and you need to finish before your break ends. Not good for your health mentally and physically.
Possible Solution: Eat your lunch while working! I found you do not speed eating and when you have to work you can just let your food down for a moment and help that person. Now, I have a situation where this backfired on me. but it usually works well because of the trust I have among my teammates. I am blessed to have good teammates that help me eat during work time. Now, this will not work for some people who are working and can’t eat food during work time. For, you I recommend taking a time when you can eat without distractions. A good example is your car! Your car is probably the best place to eat without distractions and you can probably and hopefully take your time and eat in peace.
Biking: Yeah riding the bike is my passion but when I tried this method during lunchtime it didn’t work out for me sadly. Here is why it didn’t work out. Carrying a bike in the van is work and also loading and unloading is work and that takes time well that is one thing we don’t have during our lunch break. You will be surprised how fast one-hour flies.
Possible Solution: Find a bike you have that doesn’t have much monetary value. I mean a bike you probably have that you don’t care if it got scratched or damaged or even sadly stolen. That means NO Specialized, Trek, Cannondale, Canyon, Yeti, Santa Cruz, Giant, and Ibis bikes! More like a Walmart brand or something you picked up at the yard sale for cheap.
Here is what worked for me the best!
Walking!
I recently started walking during my lunch hour and I am truly blessed to have a park right next to my workplace! I am lucky because I work on a University Campus and if you do too you most likely have a park near your workplace. If you don’t work on the Campus I still bet you work around a place where a park or someplace nice to walk is within walking distance.
I found the park next to the campus to be the optimal choice. I usually first stretch my legs! Very important step! Remember to loosen up! After I slowly walk to the park and which takes around 4–5 minutes when the students are off and during class time it takes even longer because of traffic around 10 minutes tops! Once I reach the park I walk to the full course which amounts to around 20–30 minutes. Once I get back to the office it took around 40 minutes tops! I still have 20 minutes to just relax and cool down and also even eat my lunch in peace.
I have to warn you walking is one of the hardest exercises ever! This is because if you walk alone and have no music you will be bored out of your mind. But, I am a strange guy. I just walk alone without music and just think about the morning and the day to come or just empty my mind. I love listening to the natural sounds of nature or just normal people's noise all is fine. For some reason looking up at the sky really hits a home run for me and brings me peace of mind.
Walking takes time and determination. It is the hardest exercise because it involves a great deal of patience! You need to first be in peace and walk in peace because if you speed walk or walk while being too conscious about time you will end up stressing yourself out and the whole walking in peace is ruined.
Taking Class!
If your job offers education benefits take it! I currently take classes during the Spring and Fall semester as my University offers education benefits and I am blessed enough to use my lunch hour to take classes! You learn so much and your job pays most of it for you and in some cases pays your WHOLE tuition! So, if you are one of the blessed who works in a company or workplace that offers FULL Tuition Benefit take it! It will probably change your life! I learn so much from Generation Z! Young people from Gen Z are mostly now college students and I am from the Millennial age so it is hard to catch up with these brilliant young people!
Remember that Lunch Break is your time and no one else's. You deserve that Lunch time and it is your time! I hope you can find a great way to spend your time during lunch!
I am open to ideas so if you have something that you do during your lunch break let me know! I would love to hear what other people do during their lunch break! I hope you the best and peace during your well-earned lunch breaks!
