I've always found the habit of eating at one's desk almost insulting.

It is not about the annoyances that at-the-desk-eaters create for their immediate surroundings. Eating creates noise and smell pollution. I don't want to smell your tacos, and I don't want to hear the scratching of a spoon in an empty joghurt cup.

It is also not the thought about hygienic implications. Lots of the food consumed at desks is finger food. I've grown up getting taught to wash hands before eating and to use knife and spoon. The thought that someone changes between food and operating the keyboard, a piece that has been proven to be dirtier than toilet seats, is unsettling.

No, it is the fact that the person sees eating as a mindless task that can be done _while working_ that bothers me most. As if it was filling up gas at the pump. No, eating to me has two dimensions that these cultureless creatures spurn: that food is, next to breathing and sleeping, one of the most important things that keep you alive. You liteeally are what you eat. Your body tells you very directly what it needs and how much. But you got to listen to it while you're eating. It is already a series of sensations that require being mindful. Just think of the texture, smell, and taste of a leaf of basil. Of olive oil. Of fresh fish. Wonderful.

The other side is that eating is a social endeavour. It is an opportunity to bond and build empathy. It's an opportunity to relax and get good ideas as a team. Also to exchange information. I would say those of our team that go out for lunch regularly are more successful than the ones who don't.

So, I think eating at the desk while working is wrong in many dimensions. Taking a walk is definitely a good idea, too.

> I don't want to hear the scratching of a spoon in an empty joghurt cup

Well sheesh where did you grow up, Silenceville? Peaceful Springs? ;)

> Your body tells you very directly what it needs and how much.

True in the case of severe deficiencies. Otherwise it'll at best signal "give me all the essential aminos and" (depending on mitochondrial preference / adaptation) "fatty acids / glucose you have, in whatever hopefully digestable format".. =)

> But you got to listen to it while you're eating. It is already a series of sensations that require being mindful. Just think of the texture, smell, and taste of a leaf of basil. Of olive oil.

All these "sensations" are pure acculturation. The only signal I get from "a leaf of basil" (any leaf, really) or any vegetable oil is rejection. We're not born with any taste, just with a sucking reflex, the rest is shaped by our moms and the others around us. You can of course enjoy this situation mindfully and perceptably, more power to you! =)

> I don't want to hear the scratching of a spoon in an empty joghurt cup

This sort of thing is rage inducing in some folks - there is a neurological thing that makes folks become angry at certain sounds, to the point of wearing earplugs at dinner. Eating is a common trigger sound, as is yawning and other such sounds.

I can't stand the sounds of other people eating when I'm not.

I suspect it's something my mother induced in me. She had the same problem if anyone else at the table, was eating with their mouth open, or otherwise noisily. It doesn't bother me at the dinner table or when I'm eating. But in any other context, any crunching/chewing/sucking noise just grabs my full attention and disgusts me.

I do go with my people to the supermarket and then eat later at my desk...which is in an proper office room. With doors and stuff.

I mean, sure there are people who did not grew up with proper hygiene education and such but, please, this is not everyone. I want my keyboard clean because I work on it. I know when to wash my hands. I'm not 5.

And yes, it's a social thing too. I worked for several companies in Germany in almost all of them the dining room at 12 was a horrible gossip melting point. To me it's social pressure. I'm not even hungry at 12. I also don't want to have my break being filled with the latest office gossip. It's terrible...

So as you see. Sometimes it's just a different perspective and probably it's not the same everywhere.

I agree on all points except the part where you say eating is a social endeavour. It can be a social activity or not. There is no particular reason eating should be done in the company of others.

Anecdata: I'm all for social breakfast and dinner. But I prefer to eat lunch by myself, maybe with a good book. In this way lunch is a pause where I can slow down and recenter for the afternoon. And I don't think anything is wrong with that.

Neither of these things bug me. If people want socialize that's great. If people want to to be alone. That's also great. But I wish everyone would go to a dedicated eating area, such as a lunch room, so we don't create a culture of peer preasaure where everyone has to eat lunch at their desk in 5 minutes.

> The other side is that eating is a social endeavour.

For some perhaps.

I've always preferred eating alone and undisturbed.

Also, the last thing I want to be doing during my lunch is bouncing ideas off my team. That's work, and I do not get paid to work during my lunch, so I will do anything remotely related to work during my lunch.

It's my time, so I spend it eating alone, catching up on news or reading a book.

My office is in front of the Seine in Paris. When it's sunny and warm, I go on the banks of the river. There are some trees that provide a comfortable shade, I chose a bench and I usually stay there for one or two hours, semi-sleeping.

I dont think it increases my productivity one bit, but I love it and I think it's precisely because I am already good and productive at what I do that I can enjoy these sort of relaxing moments.

My office is very near Washington Square Park in NYC. When the weather is warm there's almost always a band playing jazz in the park at lunchtime. As often as possible I'll bring a sandwich to the park and just enjoy the moment there, watching people walk by, listening to the music, staring up at the big trees swaying overhead.

Like you, I usually find myself refreshed afterwards, and often wind up walking back to the office excited to tackle something that I'd been dreading when I arrived in the morning.

That was also one of my favorite moments of the day when I worked in NYC, lunch at Washington Square, listening to whatever jazz band was playing and watching people. A thousand times better than Union Square :)

Every nice day, I love walking up to Washington Square and grabbing a dosa or uttapam from the dosa man.

How do you escape coworker's asking to go to lunch without seeming like an uninterested a$$? Would love some advice in this area.

Can't you just tell them what you're doing..?

"I like to wander around campus a little during lunch to recharge. Thanks for asking though, maybe dinner?"

Just say you're busy / in the middle of something. Decline their offer enough and they'll eventually stop asking you. No hard feelings (I say this as the guy who often invites others out).

This is what I recommend too. If someone declines me politely with a reason like "Sorry I'm busy today, maybe next time." I'll probably wait a week or so and invite them again if I want to eat lunch with them. If they reply with something shorter like "I got something to do, sorry," with a less kind intonation I probably wouldn't invite them again.

Go occasionally, do your own thing most of the time.

"Oh, I brought my lunch. Sorry!"

I've been faced with the same dilemma. Eventually, I just started telling people "I have something important to do". After all, being on your own every now and then is something important.

You can also say you've got a previous appointment or engagement... which is also true, even though it's with yourself.

You must all be very popular people since you have to have a strategy to get out of doing things with others. Most people have the opposite problem. You'll seem very unsincere after a while though, if your strategy is to not tell the truth.

Is it that you don't want to hurt the feelings of others that you lie? It's a little immature.

Some good ones are you're saving money for whatever reason. Or you're trying to eat healthier and can't eat out as much.

Per my company policy, if I eat my desk, that time counts toward hours worked, else I have to take a full hour off which doesn't count toward the standard eight hour day. So if I want that extra hour at home with my kid, I'm eating at my desk.

That's my reasoning as well - while we don't do "our 40 and go home", it looks conspicuously similar, and we bill the client by our hours worked, and so any time I'm at work not putting in billable time is my own time I'm wasting.

I have always done this. I use the time in different ways, depending.

Sometimes I sleep. I have a nice, super comfy setup in the car, should I need it.

Often, I play. Or walk. Just get into idle and stay there for long enough to matter.