Tip #6: The Lunch Session
Check with HR and get copies of the policies regarding your working hours in writing. Know the rules and use them to your advantage. It’s likely that there’s explicit language in there about your lunch break.
Establish and protect your lunch break as sacred.
If regular business hours at your workplace are 8 a.m to 5 p.m., then noon to 1 p.m. is untouchable. Leave the office at noon on the nose, and return promptly at 1 p.m. Every day.
9 a.m to 6 p.m.? Then, 1-2 p.m. is yours, comrades, and don’t make concessions.
Intruding upon your lunch break is non-negotiable. There’s not a single thing that Bossibal Lecture wants you to do that cannot and will not await your return.
Hell, it’s their policy. You’re just a stickler for the rules.
Now, writing about rules, there’s not a damn thing in that lunch policy that requires you to eat during your lunch break. So, be ready. Bring a sack lunch and fuel up at your desk right before your designated break time.
Utilize your lunch break for non-writing writing activities that can’t be accomplished at your desk.
Take a walk.
Read a book.
Take a walk to that place where you like to read your book.
Run any errands that will help you get ready for your Afternoon Session.
Stuck creatively? Go to the nearest library or bookstore and seek out inspiration.
Working on a description of a location? A church? A law office? A gas station? Make a site visit.
Is your character a pastor? A lawyer? A gas station attendant? Find one and conduct a 10-minute interview.
This isn’t goddamn work, comrades; this is your writing we’re talking about, for God’s sake.
Be proactive, productive, and efficient. You’re on the clock.