Your daily lunch break: Is it rushed? Inconvenient? More stressful than relaxing?

Do you even take a lunch break, or do you gulp down an energy drink at your desk and keep working ‘til it’s time to commute home?

If that sounds like you, you’re not alone. Most Americans don’t capitalize on the opportunities a workplace break offers to them. Winding down for a half hour in the middle of the day is a healthy habit for mind and body, but a lot of people feel like it’s more of a hassle than a health benefit. In fact, most Americans work straight through what should be a midday reprieve from workplace stress because, for many of us, stepping away from our desks can mean losing momentum and fighting to keep focus for the rest of the afternoon.

If walking away from your desk for a half hour halfway through the day is stressful, you need to reorganize your workday. Lunch breaks are meant to revive your brain and gear you up for the rest of the day. If you’re not taking one, you’re not getting the most out of your professional capacities.

Making the most of your midday break takes preparation; however, in three hassle-free steps, I can take you from noontime stress to 12 p.m. rejuvenation.

All you need is ten minutes.

7 a.m.: Take 10 Minutes To Schedule Your Day

Nothing worth having ever comes without a good deal of planning ahead. Eating well, for instance—any worthwhile regime’s success is heftily contingent on making a game plan and sticking it out. The Truth About Abs reviews, (from one particular eating plan), describe many testaments from folks who’ve only found success losing weight and increasing health through some thorough strategizing. This success is equally applicable to succeeding in the workplace.

So, every morning before you dive head first into the pile of work on your desk, take ten minutes to prioritize tasks and carve blocks of dedicated time out of your workday. Be realistic about your work blocks and give yourself enough time to account for unforeseen distractions, like urgent orders from your boss or a coworker’s request for some last-minute help.

Knowing what’s ahead of you for the day will create a mental map of where your focus needs to be and when, gearing your brain up for when to be on task and when to wind down.

11:30 a.m.: 10 Minutes To Assess Progress And Wind Down

Retrospection is crucial to successful forward movement. Mid-morning, take a look back at what you’ve accomplished.

Not only will this help you plan out the remainder of your afternoon, it will give you a sense of satisfaction. Rehashing your small victories of the morning—maybe you finally turned in a big project to your boss, or were able to deescalate a disagreement with a coworker without issue—will change your brain’s gears from “work, work, and work” to “reward, reward, and reward.”

After recounting the morning’s workload to yourself, spend the hour between your mid-morning check-in and your lunch break tying up loose ends and preparing your work for the afternoon. Don’t start anything too intensive, but don’t let yourself lose focus, either.

Instead, ride on the high of your morning’s victories and create a blueprint for an equally successful afternoon.

12:30 p.m.: 10 Beautiful Minutes Of YOU

Remember: it’s lunch, but it’s also a break. A break for breathing, restoring your energy, and appreciating yourself.

Take your healthy brown-bag lunch on a walk and find a quiet spot in a nearby park, or treat yourself to a health-conscious meal at a restaurant close to where you work. Sit quietly with every bite of your meal and focus on yourself.

Acknowledge any worries or stresses present in the front of your mind, but appreciate foremost the time you’re devoting in this moment to take care of yourself. Being healthy isn’t just about eating lots of veggies and running a mile every day; it’s about loving yourself and wanting the best for you.

If you take a look at, you’ll get an overload of information on the importance of putting a love for yourself ahead of any other goal when it comes to getting healthy.

No matter how you approach it, do yourself—and your health — a favor, and make time for a valuable, reflective lunch break.

About the Author: Dr. Mike Tremba loves lunch breaks, or any chance he gets to appreciate how great life is.  He loves sharing his uncommon weight loss tips through his website at http://www.naturalweightlosstruth.com.  In his free time, he constantly looks for new activities to stir his imagination, while spending time with his wife and best friend, Shari