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This is one of the main reasons I've stopped taking lunch at my desk. I cheat a bit, eat my lunch right before my long break while I'm getting to a stopping poi

This is one of the main reasons I've stopped taking lunch at my desk. I cheat a bit, eat my lunch right before my long break while I'm getting to a stopping point, then put on my headphones, leave my desk, and wander around our campus for an hour on foot. The music relaxes me and doesn't let me focus on any surrounding snippets of conversation, and I just let my mind wander along with my feet as I traverse our campus with no particular destination. (Our "office building" was originally an old mall, so it's huge and spacious.) This is surprisingly refreshing, and I usually find that I arrive at my desk energized mentally by the end of the hour.

dev1n 10y ago
How do you escape coworker's asking to go to lunch without seeming like an uninterested a$$? Would love some advice in this area.
- alansammarone 10y ago
  I've been faced with the same dilemma. Eventually, I just started telling people "I have something important to do". After all, being on your own every now and then is something important.
  - rdiddly 10y ago
    You can also say you've got a previous appointment or engagement... which is also true, even though it's with yourself.
    - mack73 10y ago
      You must all be very popular people since you have to have a strategy to get out of doing things with others. Most people have the opposite problem. You'll seem very unsincere after a while though, if your strategy is to not tell the truth. Is it that you don't want to hurt the feelings of others that you lie? It's a little immature.
  - suneilp 10y ago
    Some good ones are you're saving money for whatever reason. Or you're trying to eat healthier and can't eat out as much.
- johnfn 10y ago
  Can't you just tell them what you're doing..? "I like to wander around campus a little during lunch to recharge. Thanks for asking though, maybe dinner?"
- TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
  Go occasionally, do your own thing most of the time.
- JDiculous 10y ago
  Just say you're busy / in the middle of something. Decline their offer enough and they'll eventually stop asking you. No hard feelings (I say this as the guy who often invites others out).
  - wapz 10y ago
    This is what I recommend too. If someone declines me politely with a reason like "Sorry I'm busy today, maybe next time." I'll probably wait a week or so and invite them again if I want to eat lunch with them. If they reply with something shorter like "I got something to do, sorry," with a less kind intonation I probably wouldn't invite them again.
- taneq 10y ago
  "Oh, I brought my lunch. Sorry!"
macNchz 10y ago
My office is very near Washington Square Park in NYC. When the weather is warm there's almost always a band playing jazz in the park at lunchtime. As often as possible I'll bring a sandwich to the park and just enjoy the moment there, watching people walk by, listening to the music, staring up at the big trees swaying overhead. Like you, I usually find myself refreshed afterwards, and often wind up walking back to the office excited to tackle something that I'd been dreading when I arrived in the morning.
- francamps 10y ago
  That was also one of my favorite moments of the day when I worked in NYC, lunch at Washington Square, listening to whatever jazz band was playing and watching people. A thousand times better than Union Square :)
- akgerber 10y ago
  Every nice day, I love walking up to Washington Square and grabbing a dosa or uttapam from the dosa man.
cmarschner 10y ago
I've always found the habit of eating at one's desk almost insulting. It is not about the annoyances that at-the-desk-eaters create for their immediate surroundings. Eating creates noise and smell pollution. I don't want to smell your tacos, and I don't want to hear the scratching of a spoon in an empty joghurt cup. It is also not the thought about hygienic implications. Lots of the food consumed at desks is finger food. I've grown up getting taught to wash hands before eating and to use knife and spoon. The thought that someone changes between food and operating the keyboard, a piece that has been proven to be dirtier than toilet seats, is unsettling. No, it is the fact that the person sees eating as a mindless task that can be done _while working_ that bothers me most. As if it was filling up gas at the pump. No, eating to me has two dimensions that these cultureless creatures spurn: that food is, next to breathing and sleeping, one of the most important things that keep you alive. You liteeally are what you eat. Your body tells you very directly what it needs and how much. But you got to listen to it while you're eating. It is already a series of sensations that require being mindful. Just think of the texture, smell, and taste of a leaf of basil. Of olive oil. Of fresh fish. Wonderful. The other side is that eating is a social endeavour. It is an opportunity to bond and build empathy. It's an opportunity to relax and get good ideas as a team. Also to exchange information. I would say those of our team that go out for lunch regularly are more successful than the ones who don't. So, I think eating at the desk while working is wrong in many dimensions. Taking a walk is definitely a good idea, too.
- nicky0 10y ago
  I agree on all points except the part where you say eating is a social endeavour. It can be a social activity or not. There is no particular reason eating should be done in the company of others.
  - m_fayer 10y ago
    Anecdata: I'm all for social breakfast and dinner. But I prefer to eat lunch by myself, maybe with a good book. In this way lunch is a pause where I can slow down and recenter for the afternoon. And I don't think anything is wrong with that.
- 10y ago
ddingus 10y ago
I have always done this. I use the time in different ways, depending. Sometimes I sleep. I have a nice, super comfy setup in the car, should I need it. Often, I play. Or walk. Just get into idle and stay there for long enough to matter.
soufron 10y ago
My office is in front of the Seine in Paris. When it's sunny and warm, I go on the banks of the river. There are some trees that provide a comfortable shade, I chose a bench and I usually stay there for one or two hours, semi-sleeping. I dont think it increases my productivity one bit, but I love it and I think it's precisely because I am already good and productive at what I do that I can enjoy these sort of relaxing moments.
QuantumGravy 10y ago
Per my company policy, if I eat my desk, that time counts toward hours worked, else I have to take a full hour off which doesn't count toward the standard eight hour day. So if I want that extra hour at home with my kid, I'm eating at my desk.
- SketchySeaBeast 10y ago
  That's my reasoning as well - while we don't do "our 40 and go home", it looks conspicuously similar, and we bill the client by our hours worked, and so any time I'm at work not putting in billable time is my own time I'm wasting.

dev1n 10y ago

How do you escape coworker's asking to go to lunch without seeming like an uninterested a$$? Would love some advice in this area.

alansammarone 10y ago
I've been faced with the same dilemma. Eventually, I just started telling people "I have something important to do". After all, being on your own every now and then is something important.
- rdiddly 10y ago
  You can also say you've got a previous appointment or engagement... which is also true, even though it's with yourself.
  - mack73 10y ago
    You must all be very popular people since you have to have a strategy to get out of doing things with others. Most people have the opposite problem. You'll seem very unsincere after a while though, if your strategy is to not tell the truth. Is it that you don't want to hurt the feelings of others that you lie? It's a little immature.
- suneilp 10y ago
  Some good ones are you're saving money for whatever reason. Or you're trying to eat healthier and can't eat out as much.
johnfn 10y ago
Can't you just tell them what you're doing..? "I like to wander around campus a little during lunch to recharge. Thanks for asking though, maybe dinner?"
TheSpiceIsLife 10y ago
Go occasionally, do your own thing most of the time.
JDiculous 10y ago
Just say you're busy / in the middle of something. Decline their offer enough and they'll eventually stop asking you. No hard feelings (I say this as the guy who often invites others out).
- wapz 10y ago
  This is what I recommend too. If someone declines me politely with a reason like "Sorry I'm busy today, maybe next time." I'll probably wait a week or so and invite them again if I want to eat lunch with them. If they reply with something shorter like "I got something to do, sorry," with a less kind intonation I probably wouldn't invite them again.
taneq 10y ago
"Oh, I brought my lunch. Sorry!"

macNchz 10y ago

My office is very near Washington Square Park in NYC. When the weather is warm there's almost always a band playing jazz in the park at lunchtime. As often as possible I'll bring a sandwich to the park and just enjoy the moment there, watching people walk by, listening to the music, staring up at the big trees swaying overhead. Like you, I usually find myself refreshed afterwards, and often wind up walking back to the office excited to tackle something that I'd been dreading when I arrived in the morning.

francamps 10y ago
That was also one of my favorite moments of the day when I worked in NYC, lunch at Washington Square, listening to whatever jazz band was playing and watching people. A thousand times better than Union Square :)
akgerber 10y ago
Every nice day, I love walking up to Washington Square and grabbing a dosa or uttapam from the dosa man.

cmarschner 10y ago

I've always found the habit of eating at one's desk almost insulting. It is not about the annoyances that at-the-desk-eaters create for their immediate surroundings. Eating creates noise and smell pollution. I don't want to smell your tacos, and I don't want to hear the scratching of a spoon in an empty joghurt cup. It is also not the thought about hygienic implications. Lots of the food consumed at desks is finger food. I've grown up getting taught to wash hands before eating and to use knife and spoon. The thought that someone changes between food and operating the keyboard, a piece that has been proven to be dirtier than toilet seats, is unsettling. No, it is the fact that the person sees eating as a mindless task that can be done _while working_ that bothers me most. As if it was filling up gas at the pump. No, eating to me has two dimensions that these cultureless creatures spurn: that food is, next to breathing and sleeping, one of the most important things that keep you alive. You liteeally are what you eat. Your body tells you very directly what it needs and how much. But you got to listen to it while you're eating. It is already a series of sensations that require being mindful. Just think of the texture, smell, and taste of a leaf of basil. Of olive oil. Of fresh fish. Wonderful. The other side is that eating is a social endeavour. It is an opportunity to bond and build empathy. It's an opportunity to relax and get good ideas as a team. Also to exchange information. I would say those of our team that go out for lunch regularly are more successful than the ones who don't. So, I think eating at the desk while working is wrong in many dimensions. Taking a walk is definitely a good idea, too.

nicky0 10y ago
I agree on all points except the part where you say eating is a social endeavour. It can be a social activity or not. There is no particular reason eating should be done in the company of others.
- m_fayer 10y ago
  Anecdata: I'm all for social breakfast and dinner. But I prefer to eat lunch by myself, maybe with a good book. In this way lunch is a pause where I can slow down and recenter for the afternoon. And I don't think anything is wrong with that.
10y ago

ddingus 10y ago

I have always done this. I use the time in different ways, depending. Sometimes I sleep. I have a nice, super comfy setup in the car, should I need it. Often, I play. Or walk. Just get into idle and stay there for long enough to matter.

soufron 10y ago

My office is in front of the Seine in Paris. When it's sunny and warm, I go on the banks of the river. There are some trees that provide a comfortable shade, I chose a bench and I usually stay there for one or two hours, semi-sleeping. I dont think it increases my productivity one bit, but I love it and I think it's precisely because I am already good and productive at what I do that I can enjoy these sort of relaxing moments.

QuantumGravy 10y ago

Per my company policy, if I eat my desk, that time counts toward hours worked, else I have to take a full hour off which doesn't count toward the standard eight hour day. So if I want that extra hour at home with my kid, I'm eating at my desk.

SketchySeaBeast 10y ago
That's my reasoning as well - while we don't do "our 40 and go home", it looks conspicuously similar, and we bill the client by our hours worked, and so any time I'm at work not putting in billable time is my own time I'm wasting.