When I think about how many lunches I’ve spent rushing through the meal or eating at my desk, it’s hard to believe.  Frequently, I am thinking I’ll get more work done.  Or that , if I don’t have a client lunch or one with a friend scheduled, that I should use the time to catch up on other things.  I think a lot of people do this.

“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking, if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.”   Voltaire

Find a Quiet Hideaway

Instead of rushing though every lunchtime, try making a pledge to “take yourself out to lunch”, even if it’s just once a week.  Brink a notebook along and see how refreshing it can be to write out a few notes.  Not about work and not a “to do” list.  Just write about your thoughts in the moment.  It can change your mood from stressed to relaxed, almost immediately.  If you need to take any devices with you, try to put them aside and avoid using them during your meal.

Bring a notebook!

Your meal can be a really simple one, but it should be special.  I like to select a quiet cafe and one that might even have music.  The ambiance and music can transport you, even before your food arrives.  And it also helps re-set your mind and inspire your thoughts.   Here’s a delicious meal at a little French Bistro, where the setting, along with Edith-Piaf style Parisienne music and a Croque Monsieur provide a perfect lunchtime escape.

Croque Monsieur and a salad! Delicieux!

By all means, take time to find a really unique lunchtime escape and treat yourself to a well deserved lunch on your own.  You’ll go back to work completely refreshed and ready to plunge back into all those “to do’s”.  What could be a  better result for taking time to break for lunch with “A Table For One?”

Copyright 2015 Marion O’Grady