August 2, 2011 at 9:12 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item It’s Good to Eat Alone
August 2, 2011 at 10:44 pm
I usually eat alone because that's time I take to process challenges encountered in the morning and come up with afternoon solutions (hopefully). When I have lunch with workmates it's usually a distracting 2 hour affair that causes me to stay later in the evening, which I don't want to do. However, I do enjoy a Friday long lunch to catch-up on the happenings of the week.
James Stover, McDBA
August 3, 2011 at 2:27 am
I pretty much always eat alone, and use the opportunity to do non-work-related web browsing whenever possible!
August 3, 2011 at 3:04 am
It depends 🙂
Usually I don't eat alone, but sometimes when I have lots of work to do I eat alone.
Or when I have to surf the net or make some phone calls.
Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP
August 3, 2011 at 3:10 am
As often as possible. I don't like it if people interrupt lunch time. I like to surf the net for the latest footy news or read Kindle books on my iPhone.
August 3, 2011 at 3:13 am
I either eat alone browsing the news - keeping up with politics, football (soccer for Americans) and cricket, as a young family means I cannot do this at home, or nip out for a swim, gym session or game of squash (my preference).
Maybe I might go a little over the hour for sporting purposes but I think it is well worth an extra half hour in the evening to avoid being sedentary all day. Though I do cycle to work and often go to the gym in the morning too. I think my employer gets good value for me being healthy and fit - the time spent really recharges the mind IMO - though maybe it is just me!
August 3, 2011 at 6:17 am
Having been in this business over 3 decades, and having worked for both large corporate organizations and medium sized ones, I still have never cracked one mystery about lunch...
Like most techies I am either eating at my desk while working, or indeed like you Andy, reading a book or magazine while I down yet another salad (to keep my doctor happy...)
So here's the mystery... Why is time for Sales and Marketing guys different from those of us in the tech arena? If a techie goes to lunch for "an hour", he/she is back usually within the hour. But if a Sales and Marketing guy (or guys) go to lunch for "an hour", they leave at Noon and return at about 3:00 PM.
Is there some great tear in the fabric of time and space? Do Sales and Marketing guys hunt for their food, cook it, and then devour it? Do their watches stop when they are outside the office?
In all these years the only hint I have at what is really going on comes from a time when I was out picking up the pizza for the tech staff and I happened to notice a gang of our Sales and Marketing guys who had "gone to lunch" - and actually were at the driving range blasting golf balls into the netherworld.
Oh, and thats another mystery I have never resolved... What does playing golf or driving golf balls have to do with successfully selling software? My theory? You line up the clients, slap a few golf balls and hopefully hit a few clients in the head - thereby making the sale easier as the client stands there dazed and confused. I suppose this is just the fabric of mankind: Ug the caveman found a cavewoman by whacking her in the head (apparently), and we have simply carried on that sometimes-successful strategy to this day.
August 3, 2011 at 6:29 am
For 4 years I went home and had lunch with my wife most of the time. The last 6 weeks, I've been "required" to be away from my desk for 30 minutes at lunch. Since the weather is good I usually go sit outside to eat and then read using the kindle app on my phone or call my wife to see how things are going at home. With my current position I'd rather eat at my desk and leave early, but it isn't an option. Since I'm a contractor paid hourly I don't go out to eat with co-workers because I don't want to have to stay later to make up for the long lunch. I'd rather be home with my wife and kids.
Jack Corbett
Consultant - Straight Path Solutions
Check out these links on how to get faster and more accurate answers:
Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help
Need an Answer? Actually, No ... You Need a Question
August 3, 2011 at 6:33 am
Typically I eat alone and browse online news/sports. It's a quick break from work. Occassionally I'll eat with others but that usually takes longer and distracts me more from work than eating alone.
August 3, 2011 at 6:34 am
For me, eating alone is the safest choice, and for a couple of reasons:
- I keep costs down by bringing my lunch
- I stay away from 'clothing-optional' waitstaff-type places that my co-workers seem to gravitate towards like little boys in the treehouse with nudie mags
At my age (40-something) I find that a power-nap down in the parking lot after eating helps me to maximize my work-life balance, giving me a re-charge going into after-hours, be it for evening family time or home maintenance/improvement. No matter what happens, you'll never regret too much time with family once the kids are grown.
August 3, 2011 at 6:53 am
Half and half. I think it is very important to build and maintain those relationships at work through a lunch now and then, and it is also important to use that time to do that technical reading you can only get to during work hours, while it doesn't impose on actual work, or personal time at home.
I like the calculation of how much 20 minutes twice a week adds up to. I'm finding myself consistently stretched more thinly every year, and it's nice to hear how much a few minutes now and then can accomplish over the course of a year. Going to have to keep that perspective in mind. Thanks!
August 3, 2011 at 7:27 am
I prefer to eat alone at my desk, but this luxury has been taken away since other people think that I am not "part of them". "Communication skills" as DBA is so..."important".
August 3, 2011 at 7:43 am
Gosh, so many loners in the software/DBA world... no wonder some people get the idea we are nerds lol.
I do enjoy some time alone for contemplation but rarely at lunch. Going to lunch with other people from your place of work is valuable in terms of building relationships on a broader level than you just in a meeting or over by the water cooler.
It is also important to go to lunch with people from other departments than just the guy in the cube next to you. By doing this you broaden your base, develop allies you may need later on and break up your brain focus for a while which can give new insights. You may end up developing some great new friendships as well.
I think the tendency for techies to be loners is not a good trend overall. It doesn't tend to enhance your networking base which can be very important to getting a new job or maybe just keeping an old one.
The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival.
August 3, 2011 at 8:06 am
I tend to eat "alone", but this is because I'm usually talking to the wife, taking a power nap, reading, or otherwise distracting myself from work. I typically have a lot of high pressure items on my plate and need the time for my brain to sort out and come up with solutions... and the main way is to distract my conscious mind and let my brain work uninterrupted. Yes, it's fun to take lunch with others, but often I just need a break from everyone and everything.
August 3, 2011 at 8:34 am
We eat as team in the cafeteria - it is the best way to keep in touch with the grapevine and also meet other people. If there is a personal issue or a serious work issue we eat at the desk and that is totaly fine. I have learnt certain things the hard way...learning to read the grapevine and informal ties is one of them.It would be nice if one could just work at one's desk and go home..but normally people like that are termed 'loners' , people don't approach you easily, nobody knows who you are...not good at all.
Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 36 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply