lunch hour

Lunch Workouts: How to Fit Them Into Your Workday

03/08/2016 by Kat

Lunch workouts: are you able to fit them into your workday? What are your best tips and tricks for exercising during your lunch break? I’ve blogged before about some of the quickest workouts you can do at work, as well as some of the best workout DVDs you can even do in an office — but we haven’t talked about this in far too long, so let’s discuss.

Lift weights. Cardio is great for getting out anxiety, but strength training plays an important part in burning calories, setting your metabolism, and keeping your body and bones strong — and a plus for weights is that you don’t necessarily sweat a ton while doing them, making for an ideal midday workout. Another option if weights aren’t your thing: look for a studio class like barre, yoga (not bikram!) or Pilates.

Make it easy to freshen up. Get over the idea that you need a full shower — dry shampoo and baby wipes can go a long way after lunch workouts. Here a few things to try instead of a real shower, depending on how sweaty you get and what’s important to you to clean:

If you really want your body clean, but are OK with dry shampoo on your hair: wear a shower cap so your hair stays dry in the shower.
If you’re okay with just wiping down your body with baby wipes (or post-workout wipes like these) but want your face clean: wash your face.
If you have bangs (or other parts of your hair) that look horrible after the gym, consider just washing them, either in the sink or shower, and leaving the rest of your hair tucked into a shower cap.

Move your “lunch” break. When I worked in an office, I often worked until 8 PM or even 10 PM. Work permitting, I found that a great time to go to the gym was 4:00 or later. You can come back to the office just as your support staff is leaving and meetings are winding down, which means you can switch from weekday clothes to to evening/weekend workwear, i.e., comfy clothes. Know your office, but I think wet hair in a bun or clip would be more accepted at most offices after 5PM than right after lunch.

Keep it simple. If you’re trying to move more or start a fitness regimen, remember that exercising doesn’t always have to mean a SoulCycle class or CrossFit session — going for a 20-minute walk at lunch or a coffee break is a great way to get started with lunch workouts.

Ladies, how do you fit exercise into your workday? Are you a fan of workouts in the mornings, evenings, or afternoons? How do you commit to lunch workouts?

Pictured.

How to Handle Personal Phone Calls at Work (And: How to Plan Your Wedding During Office Hours)

11/03/2010 by Kat

2018 Update: We still stand by this discussion on making personal calls while you’re on the clock — but you may also want to check out our more recent discussion of how to handle necessary personal calls at work, as well as our more recent discussions about how to plan a wedding while working full time.

Today’s request is from reader C, who has a question about how to handle personal calls while she’s at the office…

I am currently planning my wedding for next summer and as you know, it’s quite time consuming. Coupled with a demanding job and my involvement with several organizations and activities outside of work, I have to fit the wedding planning in wherever I can and that sometimes includes work hours. I sit at an open cubicle and since I am in finance, I work almost entirely with men. A couple of the guys in my group were recently married so they would talk wedding stuff occasionally, but it was rather infrequent and typically consisted of a few “yes” and “whatever you want is fine with me honey” type responses. I, on the other hand, have begun to field calls from everyone from potential wedding planners to my future mother in law and those require discussing details I’d rather keep to myself. What is your advice for the engaged readers out there? Should I ignore my wedding planner’s calls until I can get away from my desk? Should I hang up on my mother when the conversation turns into a debate on salmon vs. fuschia? How much wedding talk is too much before my coworkers think they’ve died and woken up in a sorority house? I’d love to hear what you and your readers have to say.

This is a great question, because everyone has awkward personal calls to make at work, whether you’re planning a wedding or not.

(Current image via Stencil. Original image (2010): Scenic Telephone Box, originally uploaded to Flickr by fakelvis.)

Most bosses will tell you that you’re not supposed to take personal calls while you’re on the clock, and I would agree with that. Aside from a quick discussion about evening plans (yes, we’re meeting at __ at ____), or a quick call to Grandma to wish her a happy birthday, in general, you should schedule your phone calls for your off hours. (In fact, reader C mentions talking to her mother and stopping her when the conversation turns to wedding — unless you and your mother work together, it doesn’t really matter WHAT you’re talking about — it sounds like you’re already stepping into dicey territory. Just my $.02, though.)

That said, I do think there are some exceptions to the rule… [Read more…]