You Deserve A Break Today!
Mom always told us that the most important meal of the day is breakfast. I'm sure she was right, but as we go through our increasingly busy days, bouncing from priority to priority and deadline to deadline, let's not forget the importance of taking a mid-day break to recharge our energy, both mentally and physically.
One of our newest employees at the agency, Brooke Aronoff, talks a bit about taking a much needed lunch break -- away from the desk!
What's your experience, Brooke? Jim.
My usual morning routine consists of taking the 7:25 a.m. bus from New Jersey to Port Authority, followed by a sweaty 8th avenue to 7th avenue underground trek, concluding with a packed subway venture to Union Square. You can imagine it’s not your typical or pleasurable commuting experience.
However, I look forward to browsing through the morning paper, what I consider my reward for making it up the 14th street subway stairs in one piece. Stacks of free "AM-New York" in hand, I anxiously await to grab the paper from that same nice man, who I can always count on to wish me a beautiful morning.
The front page usually doesn’t excite me too much. I normally head straight to the “buzz” section or the horoscopes. But, on Wednesday morning, I was intrigued by the front page and quickly flipped to the cover story titled “Step away from the desk
Let’s be honest, work is important, and we all want to excel and succeed. When you arrive in the morning, you tell yourself “today is the day I will FINALLY take a real lunch break” and enjoy the summer sun or a chat with co-workers outside of the office. But of course, the clock strikes 1’ o clock, and you just received a request from your boss that suddenly becomes top of mind. Yes, we are all guilty of it.
To confirm this trend, recent surveys from The Energy Project claim that the average person takes less than 20 minutes for lunch, and eating out or taking a stroll has pretty much become extinct. This is just not ok. Have we really turned into workaholics that have completely let go of our well-deserved lunch breaks? I'm not even going to try to quote the studies that show afternoon productivity sky rockets after a break at lunch.
I guess what I am trying to say through all of this (and I know I should be practicing what I preach), is set 30 minutes each day to step away from the desk and eat your lunch. Even if you ate your lunch at your desk already, take a stroll in the park or check out what the graffiti artist is whipping up as he attempts to entertain the NYC tourists. Us New Yorkers have no excuse to stay inside, especially during the summer, because the weather is beautiful and there is so much action going on that deserves our attention.
As I pledge to take a proper lunch and explore the NYC streets during my much-needed break from the computer screen, I am in need of suggestions for lunchtime activities or eateries for those on a budget. Please share your ideas with me and spread the message to your friends. Trust me, work will be a lot more worthwhile, productive and healthy when you take the time for a little R&R.
- Brooke Aronoff from Lippe Taylor Brand Communications