I believe that it's called al fresco...

Yesterday's summation that keeping the sunshine outside as a treat was consolidated this morning by an article in The Metro.

It said if we take our lunch break outside of the office, it makes us a happier person.  How many of us take lunch at our desks?  More than half apparently and I am the worst offender.  Wherever I happen to be working, my lunch break consists of me dashing across a busy road, standing in a queue in Pret and then back to the office where I settle in front of my screen with a sandwich.  This is certainly lunch but it definitely isn't a break and those who pause properly are most productive in the afternoons. 

We're all given breaks by our employers but how many of us use them effectively?  Also, do any of us who work for ourselves seek the benefit of a rest break or two during the day?  After all, Andy Murray didn't win Wimbledon without having a little sit down with a banana and a swig of Robinson's Barley Water, did he?

Taking a break promotes productivity and happiness.  A recent study by the University of Sussex found that eating your baguette on a bench or the beach (the beach! I have to find contracts in Brighton!) make your day a more enjoyable one.  Taking lunch in the designated works canteen appears to have little change in your general wellbeing but eating your lunch at your desk is a definite no no.  It actually makes you unhappy.  The study showed that people who shovelled their salad at their workstation actually suffered as a result, emotionally and productively.

Eating outside is the way to go.  Interestingly, even lunch in a restaurant didn't increase the happy factor too much, it appears we all need a little bit of sunshine and fresh air during the day.  Perhaps this is why my mum used to make me eat my dinner outside with the dog some nights?  Only joking, my mum loved that dog, she'd never let him eat next to me.

In our crazy, cutthroat, time-sensitive world, it's a misconception that lunch taken at our desks will help us get out of the office on time to spend the evening with our families.  It's a false economy.  As little as 15 minutes can perk us up and boost our productivity which may even see us leaving the office earlier.   And anyway, so what if that 15 minute break does end up extending our working day by a measly quarter of an hour?  It makes our day wholly more pleasurable.  Wolfing down your lunch is the equivalent of putting your foot down on the motorway and stressfully weaving in and out of the traffic just to arrive at your destination approximately six minutes earlier.  It's not worth it.  Take the scenic route.  Enjoy the ride and arrive at your destination refreshed.  Savour your sustenance. 

I'm sat writing this in a client's office, watching Cecile, the French girl in accounts, scarfing her Subway, eyes fixed to her screen, scrolling away like the internet would implode without her constant participation.  I guarantee she will crash at 4pm when her intestines have a pile up, bottlenecked at the sliproad to her bowel.  She won't quite know why but her creativity will cease and she'll struggle through rest of the day.

The most effective serving suggestion is to dine outside alone minus your smartphone.  If you take away the constant stimulation of your colleagues and devices, your brain relaxes and thought and creativity naturally gestate.  That difficult tagline that just won't come to you in the boardroom?  Don't be surprised if it rises to the top while you're dining al fresco.

If you're still not convinced perhaps it's worth bearing in mind that your desk harbours 400 times more harmful bacteria than your office toilet seat.  Now there's food for thought.




I'm hoping that Kevin from IT reads this entry.  His Tarka Daal makes the office smell like a moshpit at a Korn concert.  Not very appetising for anyone.

I ate my lunch outside today.  The business didn't crash.  I got all my work done and I went home at the usual time and yes, I did feel a little bit happier.  Until I got home and found that my son had given the rainbow trout to our foster cat.  Fifteen pounds that cost!  I have a feeling somebody else will be eating outside tonight!