Earlier this week I had such a lovely lunchbreak at work…

Hmm…doesn’t seem like something worthy of writing a blog post about does it.  But it really struck me today,  how important that little mini break in the middle of my day was.

It reminded me,  that back in the good old days…BC (before children)… a lunchbreak was something I did quite regularly.  Sure, I still spent many days shuffling food into my mouth whilst multi-tasking out an email or typing up a presentation.  But often I would also go and sit outside in our office garden,  or it would be someone or others birthday/farewell and we’d all be heading down to one of the local restaurants for a quick bite.   I even just had a flash back to taking walks in the forest behind our office…ahh, those were the days.

Yet, since I have had kids, those midday mini breaks have kind of gone out the window.

For me, I think partially the issue is working remotely.  No one to badger me away from my desk or to take on a little wander.

But more, I think it is because I have become a highly productive and streamlined machine since having children.   Taking time out of my day to simple eat, feels like time that has been wasted.  That could have been used to load the dishwasher,  watch a training video for work,  read my email.  Every minute, every hour counts.   Quite regularly I do walk the dog during the day (usually whilst listening to somekind of podcast…still loving my podcasts), which is a good little break from work…but it is still ticking off boxes on my never ending “to do” list.

So…earlier this week, I had arranged to meet a friend for lunch…god forbid…during my work day.  Not going to a restaurant, but just to eat our “packed lunch” together.   I headed out of the office on a beautiful sunny spring day.  The blue sky and sunshine instantly relaxed me.   I heard birds chirping (literally, where are these birds hanging, how come I never heard them before?) and start walking to our meeting spot.   I notice that there are a whole lot of people doing the same thing.  Released from the dark confines of their offices, they are spread out…soaking up sun, reading papers,  eating sandwiches.  There are even people playing a game of touch footy on the grass outside one building.  There is a great relaxed vibe in the air.

And we sat on a bench, chatting, laughing…eating… and by the time I headed back to the office, there was a lightness in my step.  I was truly refreshed and ready for my afternoon.

It is one of those things you hear all the time,  the importance of taking your breaks.  In some ways, it is hard to believe that such a simple step, can have such a big impact.  So it is easy to push it aside.

I feel like I’m always trying to make big changes in my life.  Learning and exploring new things,  looking for the “silver bullet” that is going to revolutionise who I am and what I achieve.   My mind is constantly buzzing (you’ve heard about my fun and games trying to meditate).

And yet usually, it is the little tiny, simple things that can have the biggest impact.   Like sitting in the sunshine and eating my lunch.   Which really isn’t that hard to do at all,  making me wonder why it has taken me so long to remember it.

When was the last time you had a lovely little lunch break?

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