FitFeud Corporate Wellness Blog

Take Back Your Lunch

No, the title of this post is not suggesting that you stop eating lunch. Nor am I here to get people to be ornery to their waiter and send their food back more often. It's all about a recent post at the Harvard Business Review blog titled, Take Back Your Lunch and Transform Your Day, that Janet McNichol recently brought to my attention (thanks, Janet!).

The post talks about a scenario that is probably familiar to many of us: eating lunch at your desk, in less than 20 minutes, and usually working through that time even. Does this make you more productive? Does it make you happy? The answer is likely no.

So, the author of the post, Tony Schwartz, has started a little movement he's calling, Take Back Your Lunch. Here are the details, straight from the site:

Every Wednesday this summer, starting June 23rd at noon in Manhattan's Madison Square Park and in public parks nationwide, workers across America will be taking a collective lunch break. We are mobilizing now and need you to sign up for a meetup near you, organize a lunch, and spread the word.

I love this idea. About a month ago, I realized that I spent virtually 100% of my day staring at some sort of screen, and I was going to use lunch as a way to give myself a break. In the words of my sister to my nephew, I was having too much "screen time." I decided that I would not bring my beloved iPhone with me to lunch. No calls, no temptation to check email or Twitter.

If anything, I think Tony's Take Back Your Lunch movement is too soft. I think people should be stepping out for lunch every single day. Why not go all the way?! Your job gives you a lunch hour for a reason!

So, can you commit to taking back your lunch? If no, what's stopping you? Get out! Live a little!

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