Whether you're working from home or in an office, we're all guilty of skipping a lunch break or just wasting the time on social media. I hold my hands up to years of not moving from my desk as I cram a sandwich down my throat and attempt to keep working through emails. I think a lot of it stems from the fact that I entered the workforce when we were already knee-deep in the recession. That time of endless pressure and watching as many took voluntary redundancy around me. While my job may have been safe, it also meant that I was forced to take on the workload of those around me. It wasn't an unfamiliar story to those first starting out in the industry, but quickly meant a lunch break was a thing of the past.
It was only after around 18 months of doing this non-stop when I finally cracked and realised how unhealthy it was. This mindset of working until you were broken just wasn't good for the quality of work you produced, or for the staff. Ever since that job, I have placed a real importance on my work/life balance. I refuse to work myself into the ground, and I refuse to work extra hours unless they are compensated in some form. It all comes down to setting boundaries and I think that's an important skill we learn as we go through life. Being strong enough to draw your limits and enforce them is one of the most valuable skills you can learn.
The big issue I have with this is that what can easily start as a one-off favour, can quickly turn into a pattern of behaviour. I know a lot of people who easily slip into these patterns – and I was once one of these people. Perhaps you have a meeting that overruns, or no time for a proper break between customers, so you sacrifice 10 minutes, then the next day it's 20 minutes. Before you know it, you're taking a 10 minute lunch and working an extra 50 minutes per day. when you add that up, you're working an extra 4 hours per week unpaid. You will never get this time back. By the end of the year, you will have worked an extra 9 days – unpaid and unclaimed.
Don't forget that in the UK – every worker is entitled to take a 20 minute break for 6 hours of work. Most companies will give a 30 minute/1 hour break for 8 hours of work. Find out exactly what you are entitled to and don't be afraid to enforce it. If you are being asked by bosses to work through breaks without getting the time back – speak to human resources or to your line manager to discuss the issue.
You will work in one of two types of company:
If you work in the first type of company, it is important that you follow the structure both during working times but also around the breaks. They are there for a reason – it's not normal to work 8 hours without a break. Humans don't function properly without a chance to rest and refuel. Don't think that you are the exception – there's no such thing. By telling yourself to push through you are simply stepping closer to burnout.
If you get an hour for lunch – take it and enjoy a break to eat, take a walk and get outside. It can be annoying if you are forced to take these breaks and can't instead take back the time. But if that's not an option, just enjoy the time instead of slipping into unhealthy patterns.
Those working in the second type of company will have a little more flexibility over working times. For instance, I previously worked with a great German company who were very focused on staff maintaining a good work/life balance. We had the option to work remotely, which I did from the UK for six months and several times while based in Germany also.
We also had a window of working hours – we could start anytime between 8-10am and finish anytime between 5-7pm. As an early riser, I used to come in at 8am and work until 5pm, with an hour for lunch which gave me plenty of time to eat, socialise and go on a long walk. So if you have this option – choose the hours that work best for your lifestyle and arrange your lunch break around that – many people I worked with preferred to start later and take 30 mins for lunch instead.
Working remotely is the way of the future for a lot of people and many companies worldwide are finally catching up with this movement. But as with anything, a new way of working means we have to adapt our habits and mindsets. Working from home takes a great deal of responsibility and accountability. Honestly? Not everyone can do it. But just as it is important to take responsibility for getting your work done, you must take responsibility for closing that laptop when you're done. It's 10x harder to not bring your work home when you actually work from home!
As someone who has worked remotely for several years – my best advice is to get yourself a routine. Still get dressed and schedule stuff as though you were in an office. This will encourage you to actually take a break at lunchtime. I always like to throw on some joggers and go for a long walk or run, get some sunshine and fresh air before eating lunch. Usually, I take a minimum of 30 minutes depending on what I'm doing that day/meetings. I usually prefer to take a shorter 30 minute lunch and then work shorter hours overall. Getting out and active helps me to break up the day and gives me something to look forward to.
A big part of this change is shifting your own attitudes towards working. I know that some of my earlier jobs really gave me this mindset that I needed to give 200% and really work myself into the ground until I was exhausted. That was neither healthy, not productive. It meant the quality of work always suffered in the race to get everything done. I have a lot of respect for companies that are changing perspectives and are realising that people need more balance. It took some horrible working conditions to realise this for myself and to change my priorities when it came to my career.
But I'm glad I did this because my last few jobs have been amazing and have really been for companies that have valued me both as a worker and as a person. I'm lucky to have the privilege of being picky about employers – I know many people are not so lucky. But if you are in the same position, I urge you to think carefully about what you expect from an employer. More importantly, about what support you deserve from an employer. It's that age-old saying – if you don't ask, you don't get. So if you don't raise your standards and expectations, how can you ever expect to get more from your job?
There are countless ways to make the most of that lunch hour, but here are some of the ones that have had the biggest impact on my mental health. Try them and see if they work for you!
If you work in an office – this makes a huge difference. Humans were never meant to be sitting hunched over a computer screen all day long. It's not healthy or good for you. So give your eyes a break and go for a walk. This is a great time to get some fresh air and refresh your mind after too many emails. I always used to make sure I would go for a good walk around the older part of the town centre and the river – it was great to get out of the office. I would always return feeling refreshed and ready to get back to work. This also works great from home and I still do this daily – I just head to the woods/fields instead.
It's so easy for us to throw away this time instead of taking the time to slow down, appreciate and savour it. When we're always in a rush to get on with the next thing, it can suddenly mean hours have escaped us. If there's one thing that will really make you enjoy life more and feel happier overall – it's mindfulness. Try leaving the soggy sandwiches and Cuppa Soup behind and instead batch cook some lovely healthy lunches on Sunday. This gives you great food to look forward to and means you are more likely to slow down and enjoy. When eating, think about the food, don't rush yourself and instead savour the dish. Try using the time to think about what you are grateful for – this has been proven to improve mindset and mood.
If you're having a busy or tiring week, it could be a great time for some pampering. Perhaps you don't ever get time to treat yourself, so squeezing a manicure, pedicure or even a hair cut into a lunch break can be a lovely thing to do. I used to squeeze my 45 minute wash, cut and blow dry into my lunch break and would still have time for a sandwich! Plus then you can breeze back to the office feeling super glam.
Depending on where you work – this might be a brisk walk or even a run on your lunch break. Or, if you're near a gym or somewhere that offers classes, you could pop along for a lunchtime swim or yoga class. I know some bigger offices even offer these in-house which is lovely! I used to do morning yoga classes at one workplace which was great, and sometimes when I work from home I will squeeze in a lunchtime HIIT class. It's a great way to give yourself an rush of energy and to flood your body with endorphins for the afternoon. Plus then you have a free evening ahead when you don't need to squeeze in a workout!
If you really don't feel you need a lunch break and would prefer to work, but aren't allowed. Why not get productive and use your lunch to tick off some of those to-do's? I always call these days "life admin" days. When perhaps I have to pop to the bank, or the post office, I have odd jobs that I need to finish off. I used to sometimes use my lunch breaks for creating content for this blog if I was feeling creative. Or you could even do your weekly food shop – whether you're near a supermarket or you do it online for delivery. It's a great way to tick off a boring job and to give yourself more free time outside of work.
So much of our shopping is done online these days, but if you fancy a new top, skirt or lipstick, why not pop to the shops? There's something nice when you usually do everything online about actually shopping for products in-store. You could spend time trying on clothes or testing foundation shades. Or you could even shop for items for your home and pick up some new bits.
If you work nearby your friends, or even work with them, you could plan a friends date! Some of the girls I used to work with in an office would regularly organise a lunch date. We would head to a lovely cafe for cake and to chat about our lives outside the office. It was always so much fun and felt like we'd had double the time away by the time we got back to our desks. Why not plan a coffee date with your bestie or even just browse the shops together. Years ago when we were 16 and poor, my best mate and I used to meet up and eat our sandwiches at the back of the buildings we worked in.
If you're in a relationship with someone who works different hours to you. It can mean you're limited on the time you get together. My ex-boyfriend and I had this issue. So we started to organise weekly coffee dates together where we could just spend an hour together. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, sometimes it's nice just to catch up on the week. Likewise, if you're doing long-distance or coffee shop dates aren't an option, why not schedule a Facetime?
If an hour feels like too long for a lunch break and you want to fill the time – why not try a new skill? I'm currently working on learning Spanish and can easily spend 20-30 minutes practicing each day. Or, in the past some friends and I have learnt to knit thanks to a lovely colleague of ours. You could do this independently, or as a group, and start trying something you've always wanted to do. Or just grab a camera or a sketchbook and start teaching yourself new skills. It's easy to find a how-to guide and a Youtube video online about pretty much every topic so you can always find the basics.
If you like to escape in your own little world and enjoy some time to yourself – this is perfect for you. Why not find yourself a good book, audio-book or a podcast? It will give your eyes a break from the screen and you can escape for a while into another world. If you work somewhere central, you might have access to free museums or local exhibitions. This could be great if you fancy getting out and seeing something new. Cities are great areas for this kind of thing. There is always something going on so always check What's On Guides.
How do you make the most of your lunch breaks? Have you got any good tips for ways of filling that lunch hour?
One of the hardest things for many long-term travellers is developing healthy eating habits – and maintaining them – while on the road. For many, their weight fluctuates between bloated from too much fried food and cocktails. To super skinny after a bad bout of food poisoning. We've all been there – you have all these ideas about being tanned and looking great in a bikini. But when you're so busy making new friends, trying delicious foods and partying. It can be hard to find time to balance that with exercise. Over the years, I've gone from being curvy to skinny and back again. But in my six years of travel, I've finally found a balance that works for me. It took nearly 50 countries, but I've found a lifestyle that keeps me feeling happy. Now I'm healthy and most of all – strong and ready to take on the world.
Now I'm going to share what works for me. I hope it will help other backpackers and travellers to find a balance that works for them. Every body is different, and I'm not a nutritionist so I can't offer specific advice. But I will share my tried and tested methods that I have discovered over the years and which have worked well for me. I live a very active lifestyle – walking a lot each day, swimming and hiking regularly. So my diet has to maintain my energy levels. This is very important to me. I also love to enjoy food and dine out, trying different dishes when I travel. Food is a huge part of travel for me. So I don't believe in restricting your diet in order to stay fit and healthy. Instead I prefer to find a balance of healthy foods and treats.
If you're someone who lacks routine and regularly flits between timezones – you might find these tips helpful. When I travel, I know the one constant is that I have no real schedule. Some days I go to bed late and sleep in, other days I get up at sunrise and go to bed early. So how I keep on top of this and try to create some schedule for my healthy eating habits is really important to me. Because even if I'm tired, I can still have lots of energy if I eat the right things.
I've read a lot about intermittent fasting over the last few years – and it's funny because it was something I was already doing quite a lot without even realising. Basically the thinking behind it is to take long periods of time where you don't eat and instead allow the body to use up its reserves of energy. In Western society, we already eat far too much and don't give our bodies a chance to feel hungry. I don't do this all the time – but most days I will eat dinner at around 5-7pm and then won't eat after that until around lunchtime the following day. This includes around 8 hours of sleep (hopefully) and then I will have a late brunch to start the day.
This works really well for me as I often like to exercise in the morning and naturally wouldn't eat until after I had done that anyway. Instead I stick to water, fruit tea or coffee during these hours. Why do I do this? Because it actually gives me so much more energy and I also find myself eating more consciously.
This naturally leads into another dietary choice I have made. Cutting back on the number of meals in exchange for larger meals and snacks. I find because of my usually busy schedule when travelling it makes sense not to break up activities to cram in another meal. Usually if I find myself hungry, I will get a snack from a street vendor or some fruit – try to focus on healthy snack instead of fried things. Then will wait until later to eat dinner with friends. I love to explore food markets or share a social dinner with friends and usually when travelling I will end up eating later – around 7-8pm sometimes.
I want to make it clear that I don't cut back on the amount of food I am eating overall – simply the times at which I am eating this food. My goal is not to be skinny, but to be healthy. This routine is one that not only fits well with different timezones and jet lag, but stops you missing meals and gorging yourself on unhealthy foods. Plus I find that when I do eat, I don't end up bloated or feeling overly-full.
If you're struggling to get all of your 5 a day into your daily meals, or have limited options for fruit and veggies when you order meals. You could try getting a fresh fruit juice or smoothie each day. In Asia, Central America and South America these are easy and cheap to buy – plus it means you can squeeze 5x fruit/veg into one drink. If you're on a tight schedule, or simply don't want to order a healthy dinner that day, it can be a good way to refresh yourself while topping up your vitamins. I know when I was in Central America where the main foods centre around rice, beans, meat and plantain – I was getting a lot of vitamins in juice or smoothie form.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
If you want to know which of these healthy eating habits will have the biggest impact – this is the one. Over the last five years, I've gone through phases of cutting out meat, fish, dairy and animal products in varying amounts. I consider myself a flexitarian – I don't stick to any rules and my diet changes all the time depending on the country I am in and what food is available. But I've not eaten meat in several years and have cut most animal products out of my diet. It is one of the best decisions I have ever made – why?
I have more energy than I have ever had, my hair, skin and nails are super strong, I almost never get ill and most of all – I feel great. It makes me happy to know that I am healthy, reducing my carbon footprint and I'm not supporting the meat farming industry. You don't have to be perfect, you don't have to do it 24/7 or declare yourself vegan. But cutting back on animal products and meat will help you to feel much healthier. If your motivation is looking good in a bikini, I'm also the leanest and most toned I have ever been since starting to focus on a plant-based diet.
This one is not only super good for your body, but it's great for your bank balance! When travelling – many of the local cultures around the world focus their diets around basic staples. In Asia, it's rice, noodles, veggies and spice. Over in Central & South America, it's rice, beans, plantains. In Europe, it's potatoes and veggies whether in hearty, warming meals or Mediterranean fare. Or in parts of Africa, it's rice, lentils, veggies. All of these ingredients make up a plant-based diet which means it's a diet you can eat anywhere in the world.
It's simple, cheap and authentic local food which means you can eat the local dishes. But it also means you can eat cheap while staying healthy – most of these foods are widely available from street vendors. In comparison, Westernised food is much more unhealthy and focuses on sugary, doughy and fatty dishes. Nothing wrong with treating yourself and having a cheeky takeaway pizza if you fancy it, but it's all about balance and finding the right healthy eating habits.
Making sure you are eating a healthy and balanced diet is important whether you eat meat, or are vegan. Don't forget that just because you're eating a plat-based diet, you still need to make sure you're eating a variety of food. One thing I struggled with in Central America was the vegan diet of rice, beans, plantain and avocado – I knew I wasn't getting enough vitamins and this is why I got sick when I was there. It's important to eat a range of greens, colourful fruits and veggies, plus lots of fibre and protein. If you're not getting enough of any of these food groups. It can weaken your immune system and make you more likely to get ill. Always remember to try and eat the rainbow. If you're not getting enough in restaurants – find a fruit & veg seller and get some snacks!
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
This one can have a big impact on what your body does when you travel. Some people drink a lot and end up putting on weight and bloating from the fried food and unhealthy snacks they crave. Others drink a lot and end up losing weight because they don't get hungry. If you're partying a lot, it's important to try and balance this out with what you're eating. Every traveller goes through phases where they drink more and eat less, or when they stop drinking and eat more.
Find a healthy eating habits balance that works for you and balances out the amount of sugar that you are putting into your body. It also means accounting for your choice of drink – if you prefer beer or sugary cocktails, you are more likely to put on weight and feel bloated or sluggish. If you are drinking wine or spirits, I find you tend to feel the sugar crash less and don't get the fatty.sugar cravings afterwards. Take these things into account when figuring out a balance.
This is super important if you're travelling hot countries. If you're not drinking enough water, thirst can manifest as hunger pangs and confuse the body into thinking you want food. I read somewhere that half the time when we think we're hungry, we're actually just thirsty. So make sure you're drinking plenty of water throughout the day. At least 2 litres and maybe more if you're walking around a hot country. If you're getting peckish, have a big drink of water before you eat, to see if that hunger goes away. Likewise – in the heat you can often lose your appetite. So make sure if this happens you are still eating enough.
If you're terrible at keeping track of what you're eating and drinking, or find it hard to balance. Why not try getting a Fitbit or food tracking app to log everything you eat and drink, plus your exercise? It might help to educate you on what you are putting in your body and what your exercise is burning off. Again I want to stress this is not about losing weight. More about maintaining a good level that is healthy for your body type and mindset. After all, when we look good, we feel good. Everyone wants that glowing skin and healthy hair, to feel comfortable on the beach. So this is a great way to keep track of yourself and figure out a balance of these healthy eating habits that works.
Make sure you are exercising daily – this makes a huge difference. I like to walk a lot around cities or hike trails – often clocking up 15,000+ steps a day. Plus swimming in the ocean, running or doing yoga. All of these make a big difference to my mindset and when I'm acting healthy, I want to eat healthy. It's easy to walk a lot when travelling and I see this as my main source of exercise but it's easy to increase. Start adding small exercises to your daily routine and you will reap the benefits. After all – food can make you gain or lose weight, but exercise will tone, it will build muscle and make you feel confident.
What healthy eating habits help you stay on track when you travel? Do you prefer to focus on food or exercise? How do you maintain a balance?
