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Taking a lunch break sounds counterintuitive to boosting productivity, but research suggests you’ll be happier and healthier in the long run.
Rather than tethering yourself to your desk or scarfing down your lunch in the office, step away from your computer for 45-60 minutes to restore energy and clarity. Afterward, you’ll be refreshed and ready to take on the afternoon’s tasks with renewed enthusiasm.
Health and Wellness
Taking a lunch break helps people reset their minds and bodies. It can also encourage employees to make healthy lifestyle changes, such as eating better and exercising.
A regular lunch break is one of the most important things a business can do for its employees. It allows them to refuel and refocus to tackle the second half of the day with more energy than before.
However, a Tork survey revealed that nearly 40% of people rarely take lunch breaks. This is a shame, as a lunch break can help support local restaurants and improve employee engagement and productivity.
Managers should be adamant about encouraging their teams to take regular lunch breaks. They can do this by emailing or discussing the benefits of taking a break.
Employers should also make their break rooms more comfortable by providing comfortable furniture, tables, and chairs for employees to sit down for a meal. It’s also a good idea to incentivize employees to take lunch breaks.
Aside from being good for your health, taking a break can help you get back on track with your productivity goals. It can also help prevent burnout.
Refreshed Mind
In a time of over-scheduled work and constant demands on our mental capacity, refreshing our minds is becoming increasingly essential. Mind refreshments help to alleviate stress, improve our ability to handle difficult situations, and boost our overall health and productivity.
A lunch break, like at the best lunch in Breckenridge CO, can be a powerful tool to refresh your brain and restore energy. You can use this time to think creatively, develop new ideas, or relax and refocus.
Creativity involves incorporating seemingly unrelated information to form new ideas, concepts, or solutions. This can be accomplished in many ways, including taking a lunch break, focusing on the environment, and using different tools or techniques to get creative inspiration.
You can also refresh your mind by being curious and asking questions. Researchers have discovered that curiosity is one of the keys to success in learning, and it can be an effective technique for refreshing your mind.
Curiosity can also help keep you engaged with your work, especially when bored or overwhelmed. It can be a great way to refresh your mind by looking for answers to your problems or discovering ways to make your job easier.
Whether you’re an employee or manager, promoting the benefits of taking breaks and encouraging your team members to take them is essential. This will help increase employees’ work efficiency and prevent burnout, often associated with spending too much time at the desk.
Creativity
A lunch break allows your mind to refocus and gives you a much-needed energy boost. This helps prevent a dip in productivity throughout the day.
While taking an extended break is not always possible, even short holidays help improve your creativity. Using the time to engage in creative activities such as writing, drawing, or painting can stimulate your imagination and spark new ideas.
In many workplaces, employees are expected to think creatively and develop innovative solutions to problems. To encourage creativity, managers must create an environment conducive to fostering this talent.
A team environment can also increase the potential for creativity because of the diversity and knowledge each individual brings to a task or project. This cross-pollination of ideas and perspectives can lead to more unique and creative solutions, a benefit for any business.
Employees who feel comfortable sharing their ideas and opinions with co-workers are likelier to stay at a job for extended periods. Furthermore, a survey by CareerBuilder found that making friends at work can positively impact job satisfaction.
Although it can be tempting to use the time during a lunch break to catch up on social media or check your emails, this practice is detrimental to creativity. While it is essential to take breaks from work, this doesn’t mean you should neglect your personal life. Spending your lunch hour with old friends, enjoying a hobby, or simply venting about the day’s stresses can be a great way to relieve stress and get some perspective on your work.
Motivation
A lunch break allows you to refresh your mind and restore energy for the rest of the day. Taking this time to reset mentally can help you develop more creative solutions and new ways of approaching your work.
Most people say they feel happier when they take a lunch break. A recent survey by Tork found that taking a lunch break positively affects employee engagement and productivity and helps support local restaurants.
In addition to boosting your mental health, taking a lunch break also helps you stay motivated and energized during the day. It is essential to avoid feeling burned out from overwork.
You can recharge and get some fresh air by getting up from your desk and going out to eat. It can also be an opportunity to spend time with family or friends, linked to various benefits, including improved mental health and reduced depression.
You can even use your lunch break to catch up on errands, like returning an item or picking up a package. Whether it’s a grocery store, dry cleaners, or post office, taking care of your personal needs during your lunch break can leave you feeling accomplished and less stressed about the rest of the day.
