By Jacelyn Lim
Studies have shown that a heavy lunch will induce sleepiness, leading to lower concentration and productivity levels. The sugar and carbohydrates that come packaged with your meal causes insulin levels in the blood to rise, signalling the brain to take a “break” and cease activities.
We can’t do without lunch; neither can we afford to laze in the office for an hour or so. Because we are extremely sympathetic to your plight, here are a few great post-lunch activities to engage in without looking like you’re skiving:
Catch up with the news
Whether it is serious current affairs and politics news or frivolous celebrity gossip, catching up with the latest happenings around the world will ensure that you’re in touch with what’s going on. At the same time, what you’ve read can make for great post-lunchtime conversation with your colleagues. It might also give you ideas for the current project that you’re grappling with, or give birth to new initiatives that might fast-track you towards your next promotion.
Always leave less mentally-demanding tasks for after lunch
Busy yourself with thankless or physically-demanding tasks that don’t require you to use your brain. Refill the water cooler (which has the added benefit of making you look like a saviour in the eyes of your colleagues), clear the waste paper baskets or remove unwanted clutter from your desk. Completing these tasks will still ensure that you’re being productive and at the same time, burn some of those unwanted calories that you might have guzzled down during lunch.
Chat with your colleagues
Most work places encourage its employees to constantly communicate with each other. Bonding with your colleagues over a short post-lunchtime conversation will not only improve your communication skills but will come in handy during critical projects and meetings as you’ve already established a connection with each other.
Proofread a complete assignment
Open up a completed word document or Excel sheet and take on the role of Chief Editor. Spot your own mistakes and ensure that your work is devoid of any silly grammar or spelling errors that can otherwise mar an otherwise brilliant creation. The lunch break will have cleared any fatigue that you might have accumulated while writing that report, which means that you’ll have a fresher pair of eyes to look through your report and give it that much-needed polish.
Visit the other departments
Take a trip down to your HR colleagues to settle issues like leave application or claims. At the same time, make friends with the HR personnel as they are actually one of the vital but underappreciated cogs of the company. Besides being able to quickly settle any of your administrative matters, being friends with them means you’re privy to the latest company news.
Offer to do office errands
Keep a lookout for any errands that require you to go out of the office, like delivering a package or letter to the nearby post office, and offer to do it. A short walk aids in digestion and at the same time, helps you score major brownie points among your colleagues.
Send emails to yourself
Take time to reflect about the origins of the sun, stars, and the universe by typing an email to yourself. Researchers have discovered that reflecting can help in planning and prioritising, setting and achieving goals, dealing with procrastination and anxiety, and overcoming self-limiting doubts amongst many others. While trying to look productive, you are actually increasing potential productivity!
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Knuckling down to do some heavy and critical work might be a bridge too far for some of us, especially after that heavy lunch, so we hope that these tips and tricks can help you stay productive and fire up that furnace so that you will have the energy to plough through to the end of the workday.
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