Getting Hangry at Work
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How does hunger affect your work, including mood, productivity, and more? Do you need to actively manage it throughout the day, such as having small snacks or a regular lunch time you do not miss? Have you ever noticed (or suspected) that hunger was negatively affecting a colleague?
I think I've written before about how I was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and I couldn't resist screenshotting a tweet (that I now cannot find, darn it) that said something to the effect of “I waited too long to eat and now I'm mean and also crying — an ADHD memoir.” And man, that hit home! I've also noticed this with my kids, particularly when they were younger and didn't recognize hunger as well. If there are mood and behavior problems, half of the time it's because they're hangry.
I am fully guilty of being one of those people who will get so focused on my work that lunchtime passes me by — the number of times that I'm eating my first true meal of the day at 3:30 p.m. is far too many.
It's kind of funny because years ago I had a colleague (a superior) who was also guilty of this, and it would drive me nuts — I was actually thinking of her when we talked about the worst coworker habits. She would get mean, irrational, emotional — and suddenly I'd realize it was 4:00 p.m. and we'd been working since 10:00 a.m. cloistered in one of the small conference rooms at the law firm, and she probably hadn't eaten all day (or hydrated at all). I think she thought I was overly obsessed with food because I kept suggesting a lunch or dinner break, but it was the best way I knew to manage her moods and be able to work with her in harmony.
Eating regularly, recognizing hunger — all of this is now seen as part of “executive functioning skills,” a phrase I didn't know back in those days of being trapped in a conference room with my colleague. There's even a term for easy lunches and dinners when you're just out of spoons for the day: low-executive-functioning dinners.
Personally, I tend to try to fight this by keeping a lot of things immediately at my desk. I sit down with a 32-oz. bottle of water, not a single glass. I try to have a washed apple in front of me while I'm working. And yes, I have way too many protein bars and the like scattered near my workplace. (It's been too long since we discussed great snacks for the office!) I'm not sure if it's blood sugar or what, but eating small snacks keeps my energy and mood stable in ways that just drinking water alone does not.
I tend to think of my longtime favorite Jimmy Dean frozen egg sandwiches as my “I'm too hungry to decide what to eat” meal, but I'll also take a spoonful of peanut butter if the four minutes to make the Jimmy Dean just isn't going to happen in that moment. When I worked at a law firm, even if I couldn't get away for lunch I could go to the break room and make myself a glass of milk with a little bit of coffee to get a few calories in.
Readers, maybe a weird question for today, but I can't be the only one who has this issue: How does hunger affect your work, including mood, productivity, and more? Do you need to actively manage it throughout the day, such as having small snacks or a regular lunch time you do not miss? Have you ever noticed (or suspected) that hunger was negatively affecting a colleague?
Stock photo via Deposit Photos / fedemarsicano.
I was not aware of my behavior until my good friend and colleague pointed it out. We travel for work trips and a few times she said, “oh, we need to get you a snack.”
I can get hangry, and it impacts both my mood and ability to focus. I have regular meals, and have backup snacks available just in case. For high stakes meetings I try not to schedule them to run into lunch time, or snack before if it’s unavoidable.
As a litigator, I insist on breaking for lunch during depositions. Many of my (male) colleagues insist that they can power through, but no one else seems to notice the inevitable 3pm meltdown from both lawyers and witnesses. I’ve even had my own clients ask if they can keep going through lunch so they can get out earlier, and I tell them that if they choose to do that, it would be against the advice of counsel. (Said with a smile, but most of my clients have been with me long enough that they know I’m not playing!)
It’s also rude to the court reporters who sometimes feel like they can’t speak up if the lawyers are insisting that they work through lunch.
I can be such a jerk when I’m hungry. It’s really embarrassing; I’m an adult, I should be able to be hungry and pleasant. But nope. I’m a critical, impatient, and kind of defensive jerk.
I solved this by snacking all day long and prioritizing lunch over meetings.