Healthy Lunchtime, Healthy Business
As business has accelerated due to computers working ever faster, it’s become popular to try to speed up everything you do. Is it reasonable to think you can keep up with computers? Of course not. AI will be taking over some aspects of some jobs, and that won’t be possible to keep up either.
In theory, in a different world, the advent of AI would mean we could all work less and let AI do more of the jobs. That would allow us humans to do more human things like talk to our friends and do the activities we enjoy. Capitalism, however, is probably going to demand that we work even more with the threat of automation hanging over our heads.
But don’t worry, people will still be needed. Some industries will probably be mostly done by AI in the near future, but people will still be needed for prompting, delivering, and working with the data that AI generates.
I think a lot of people, including business owners, will try to speed up everything to try to outwork AI. That’s just not possible. That’s an express road to burnout.
Instead, maybe it’s time to focus on the human things that will still be necessary. Identify what in the business really needs a human touch, and focus on that. Instead of trying to work at AI speed, work at human speed. That’s how you get off the highway to hell, and start building yourself a fulfilling life.
One way to do that is to eat like a human being. Most people do this in other countries around the world, because it benefits business as well as people. The 20th of June is Take Back Your Lunch Break Day, which can get us all on the path back to humanity.
Taking time for lunch? What’s the ROI or productivity improvement in that?
You know you need to eat nutritious food, because that’s what fuels your body and your brain. You also know what nutritious food is, so I’m not going to blather on about that. But because there are ways to speed up the eating of food – hitting the drive-through, getting a smoothie, nuking a frozen dinner – it may not be obvious why slowing down to eat is helpful.
If you can eat in five minutes, and given that eating is not a revenue-generating activity, you might think the smart thing is to snorf the food down so you can get back to work.
It’s efficient, but not effective. Yes, you save some time by wolfing down your food, but that doesn’t mean it’s a smart move.
By taking an actual lunch break – say, an hour – you can recharge in a way that brings you more energy in the afternoon. That means you can get more work done, without feeling so tired and drained at the end of the day.
If you bring your lunch, you can take a half hour or twenty minutes (no shorter) to eat, and spend the rest of the break taking a walk, or calling a friend, or some other recharging activity. Walks are great because you can do them in a business suit. Too hot (or cold, or wet) to go outside? Walk around your building. Do some stairs.
If you go out to eat, go with colleagues or meet a friend instead of heading for the drive-through or grabbing a smoothie. You’ll automatically slow down your eating a little bit, and you can order ahead so the food is ready when you get there. This gives you time to socialize or network. There are big benefits to sharing a meal with someone else, including a deeper connection with your lunch buddy.
There are physical and mental benefits to the lunch break, which make you more productive
As you probably know, it takes twenty minutes for the had-enough-food signal to work. Slowing down and taking at least twenty minutes to eat allows you enough time to feel sated, so you’re not eating too much at once.
Fueling yourself up at lunch, as long as you don’t go overboard, also helps prevent a big energy slump in the afternoon when you might otherwise be tempted to go for sugar or caffeine to prop yourself up
Whether you go for a walk, call a friend, or eat in a social setting, all of those help your brain renew and recharge. You’ll be more ready to tackle necessary items in the afternoon, and you’ll be able to make better decisions instead of wearing your brain out before you leave the office. You’re less likely to make mistakes that you’ll have to stay later to rectify or fix the following day.
Time spent fueling yourself (and I’m not just talking calories here) is not time wasted, even if you don’t generate any revenue from it. (Though if you go out with the right people, you might very well find that it does generate new clients for you!) You’ll keep your brain going at a higher level than if you gobble up your food in five minutes to write another email.
Take back your lunch break, and enjoy it without guilt.
Recap (tl;dr):
People just can’t attain the same speeds as machines can, so it makes no sense to try to speed up to their level. Instead, make the most of your humanity. Taking an hour-long lunch break is a great way to start.
Been speeding so long your foot’s fused to the gas pedal? You can take back control of your time and your energy. Schedule your free consultation to find a better way to work where both you and your business can thrive.
Photo by Regina Victorica on Unsplash.