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Sometimes I like to eat lunch at my desk, other times I eat in the dining area with co-workers, and other times I eat out. Why does it need to be an all or noth

Sometimes I like to eat lunch at my desk, other times I eat in the dining area with co-workers, and other times I eat out. Why does it need to be an all or nothing proposition? There are days when I'm very busy on a problem and I don't want the distraction of taking lunch so I'll either eat it at my desk or eat something low impact like a protein bar/shake. Alternatively when I get stuck on a problem I'll take a longer lunch and get away from my computer for a while.

themodelplumber 13y ago
>Why does it need to be an all or nothing proposition? This can depend on personality, circumstances, etc. IMO if someone is stuck in a rut and decides the only way out is a complete polar switch, good for them. At least they are making a change for what they feel is the better. They might already know that they don't do well with half-switches and tend to fall back into the same orbit. Or they might just be really overwhelmed in general and find the feel of small yet firm changes appealing. It can be annoying to have to put up with others' all-or-nothing viewpoints, but it can still be useful to appreciate that their perspective might be informed by experiences that differ from our own.
- marknutter 13y ago
  I'm fine with people making polar switches but there's no need to write about it as though the thing they switched from is the "wrong" choice. Can't it just be wrong sometimes and/or for some people? Of course, "Sometimes Going Back - A Week of Sometimes Not Eating Lunch at My Desk " doesn't play as well as the original title..
  - nimblegorilla 13y ago
    I think eating at your desk is a wrong choice. There is almost no benefit to eating at your desk. The only potential upside is that you get "more" work done. Anyone who has the opportunity should leave their desk at least three times a week for lunch.
    - pkaye 13y ago
      Right now I'm browsing HN while eating at my desk.
    - nanidin 13y ago
      When I eat at my desk, it is because eating at my desk means eating in a relaxed quiet environment without lots of people around. You're making a huge assumption that people eating at their desks are doing work while eating.
wil421 13y ago
Agreed depending on the day and my workload I may sit at my desk. Other days I may need to get out of the office and I will go out to eat by myself. >Alternatively when I get stuck on a problem I'll take a longer lunch and get away from my computer for a while. Exactly sometimes problems are solved by taking time away from them to reflect. My lunch varies by my mood and workday but I dont choose to stick with one scenario or another. I adapt to what my needs are.
psychometry 13y ago
>Why does it need to be an all or nothing proposition? Because that would make for a completely reasonable, non-inflammatory headline and you'll never get to the top of HN with headlines like that, son.
randomdrake 13y ago
This is an excellent point. To answer your question: I don't think it needs to be an all or nothing proposition. For me, I had acquiesced to always eating at my desk; convincing myself I was making the best decision for me. I know myself well enough to know there are aspects of my life I'm not good at regulating or balancing. I also know that I'm good at convincing myself of things that aren't in my best interest. Experiments like this are useful to me for that reason. I discovered that I was wrong about what I thought I wanted from this particular aspect of life. This discovery was important enough, for me, to make a clear cut decision to alleviate the chances of convincing myself my old routine was a good one. An analogy that comes to mind is how some people stop smoking cigarettes: cold turkey isn't for everyone, but for those who know it is, they go for it and they stop and they feel better for it. There's science to show eating lunch at the desk is unhealthy. I've found I tremendously enjoy the alternative and the benefits that come with it. So, I've gone cold turkey. But that doesn't mean it's for everyone.
- corresation 13y ago
  >An analogy that comes to mind is how some people stop smoking cigarettes: cold turkey isn't for everyone, but for those who know it is, they go for it and they stop and they feel better for it. While it's a bit tenuous to compare where you eat your lunch with a long term physical addiction, it's worth noting that the vast majority of people who quit "cold turkey" fail. Indeed, I'll broaden that and say more casually that when people make public pronouncements, using absolute words like never, their failure rate comes within a measurement error of 100%. Cliffbean says in another post that such absolutism is "an attempt by many people to play against their own psychology.", and I absolutely agree with that, although my take tends to be much more cynical than theirs: It is an attempt to essentially shackle future you with the fickle and short-term observations of current you. Future you, most people eventually learn, doesn't really care much what current you thinks, and will reassess in the future based upon new information. Which is how we see an unending stream of these disposable lifehack "one week in" observations, always presented as if it's profoundly revealing information that has changed the speaker forever. In a month you can write a "Why I was always eat at my desk", detailing the unhealthiness of take out food and the great financial savings you've enjoyed, the benefits of taking a moment to relax and unwind, and on and on. Everyone is different. We all have different social patterns, different diets, different behaviors. Do what works best for you, and what works best for you will undoubtedly change over the years. Life is dynamic and is a constantly changing set of circumstances and situations. But if I have one piece of advice for you, it's to never use the word never. Unless you're telling someone to never use the word never. The only result of making never declarations is that over time your word starts to lose any value.
cliffbean 13y ago
I think the all-or-nothing attitude is an attempt by many people to play against their own psychology. For many people, "I'll just do whatever I feel like each day" is problematic, because the moment right before lunch isn't their brain's best time to make that decision. In that moment, the task at hand looms large in their attention, so they are disproportionately tempted to submit to it and keep working. The benefits of taking the break are somewhere out in the future, they're abstract, and even if you intellectually believe in the benefits, it can be easy to discount them, right there, in that moment. The task at hand is right there, right then, very concrete, no discount. For such people, all-or-nothing is a way for them to make a decision ahead of time, in a moment of less stress and greater foresight, and perhaps commit themselves to it in a way that takes the decision out of their hands in their weaker moments. They may not come out ahead every day, but if the strategy works, they should come out ahead in the long run.
- n0nick 13y ago
  ^ This. Exactly! Thanks for articulating the thought process I'm having almost every day right before lunch time.
catilac 13y ago
I don't think it has to be an all or nothing thing. Do whats right for you! But I definitely know some people do it out of guilt. Indulging themselves, and their co-workers in Productivity Theater.

themodelplumber 13y ago

>Why does it need to be an all or nothing proposition? This can depend on personality, circumstances, etc. IMO if someone is stuck in a rut and decides the only way out is a complete polar switch, good for them. At least they are making a change for what they feel is the better. They might already know that they don't do well with half-switches and tend to fall back into the same orbit. Or they might just be really overwhelmed in general and find the feel of small yet firm changes appealing. It can be annoying to have to put up with others' all-or-nothing viewpoints, but it can still be useful to appreciate that their perspective might be informed by experiences that differ from our own.

marknutter 13y ago
I'm fine with people making polar switches but there's no need to write about it as though the thing they switched from is the "wrong" choice. Can't it just be wrong sometimes and/or for some people? Of course, "Sometimes Going Back - A Week of Sometimes Not Eating Lunch at My Desk " doesn't play as well as the original title..
- nimblegorilla 13y ago
  I think eating at your desk is a wrong choice. There is almost no benefit to eating at your desk. The only potential upside is that you get "more" work done. Anyone who has the opportunity should leave their desk at least three times a week for lunch.
  - pkaye 13y ago
    Right now I'm browsing HN while eating at my desk.
  - nanidin 13y ago
    When I eat at my desk, it is because eating at my desk means eating in a relaxed quiet environment without lots of people around. You're making a huge assumption that people eating at their desks are doing work while eating.

wil421 13y ago

Agreed depending on the day and my workload I may sit at my desk. Other days I may need to get out of the office and I will go out to eat by myself. >Alternatively when I get stuck on a problem I'll take a longer lunch and get away from my computer for a while. Exactly sometimes problems are solved by taking time away from them to reflect. My lunch varies by my mood and workday but I dont choose to stick with one scenario or another. I adapt to what my needs are.

psychometry 13y ago

>Why does it need to be an all or nothing proposition? Because that would make for a completely reasonable, non-inflammatory headline and you'll never get to the top of HN with headlines like that, son.

randomdrake 13y ago

This is an excellent point. To answer your question: I don't think it needs to be an all or nothing proposition. For me, I had acquiesced to always eating at my desk; convincing myself I was making the best decision for me. I know myself well enough to know there are aspects of my life I'm not good at regulating or balancing. I also know that I'm good at convincing myself of things that aren't in my best interest. Experiments like this are useful to me for that reason. I discovered that I was wrong about what I thought I wanted from this particular aspect of life. This discovery was important enough, for me, to make a clear cut decision to alleviate the chances of convincing myself my old routine was a good one. An analogy that comes to mind is how some people stop smoking cigarettes: cold turkey isn't for everyone, but for those who know it is, they go for it and they stop and they feel better for it. There's science to show eating lunch at the desk is unhealthy. I've found I tremendously enjoy the alternative and the benefits that come with it. So, I've gone cold turkey. But that doesn't mean it's for everyone.

corresation 13y ago
>An analogy that comes to mind is how some people stop smoking cigarettes: cold turkey isn't for everyone, but for those who know it is, they go for it and they stop and they feel better for it. While it's a bit tenuous to compare where you eat your lunch with a long term physical addiction, it's worth noting that the vast majority of people who quit "cold turkey" fail. Indeed, I'll broaden that and say more casually that when people make public pronouncements, using absolute words like never, their failure rate comes within a measurement error of 100%. Cliffbean says in another post that such absolutism is "an attempt by many people to play against their own psychology.", and I absolutely agree with that, although my take tends to be much more cynical than theirs: It is an attempt to essentially shackle future you with the fickle and short-term observations of current you. Future you, most people eventually learn, doesn't really care much what current you thinks, and will reassess in the future based upon new information. Which is how we see an unending stream of these disposable lifehack "one week in" observations, always presented as if it's profoundly revealing information that has changed the speaker forever. In a month you can write a "Why I was always eat at my desk", detailing the unhealthiness of take out food and the great financial savings you've enjoyed, the benefits of taking a moment to relax and unwind, and on and on. Everyone is different. We all have different social patterns, different diets, different behaviors. Do what works best for you, and what works best for you will undoubtedly change over the years. Life is dynamic and is a constantly changing set of circumstances and situations. But if I have one piece of advice for you, it's to never use the word never. Unless you're telling someone to never use the word never. The only result of making never declarations is that over time your word starts to lose any value.

cliffbean 13y ago

I think the all-or-nothing attitude is an attempt by many people to play against their own psychology. For many people, "I'll just do whatever I feel like each day" is problematic, because the moment right before lunch isn't their brain's best time to make that decision. In that moment, the task at hand looms large in their attention, so they are disproportionately tempted to submit to it and keep working. The benefits of taking the break are somewhere out in the future, they're abstract, and even if you intellectually believe in the benefits, it can be easy to discount them, right there, in that moment. The task at hand is right there, right then, very concrete, no discount. For such people, all-or-nothing is a way for them to make a decision ahead of time, in a moment of less stress and greater foresight, and perhaps commit themselves to it in a way that takes the decision out of their hands in their weaker moments. They may not come out ahead every day, but if the strategy works, they should come out ahead in the long run.

n0nick 13y ago
^ This. Exactly! Thanks for articulating the thought process I'm having almost every day right before lunch time.

catilac 13y ago

I don't think it has to be an all or nothing thing. Do whats right for you! But I definitely know some people do it out of guilt. Indulging themselves, and their co-workers in Productivity Theater.