I mentioned this to a friend of mine who has worked in human resources for years and has consulted with many people who are unemployed or work from home about how to get work stuff together when your office is your dining room. Her advice was simple: Treat your job like you are doing it in an office. Pretend that dining room table is really a cubicle.
What does that mean for my lunch?
It means that I need to leave my "office" every day to get lunch or I need to bring my lunch to my "office." Since there are very few places where I can pick up a healthy, quick meal, that means I should brown bag it to my own home, according to my HR friend.
It sounds weird, doesn't it -- packing a lunch to put in my own refrigerator to eat later in my own home? I know it does. But I also know that it works. Or at least, is working.
I knew it wouldn't be enough for me to throw a bunch of random foods, like the ones I was already eating, into Ziploc bags or plastic containers and stack them up in my fridge. I knew I'd need to lure myself into lunch. That's where the pretty, perfect little lunch bag comes in.
A few months ago, I got neoprene lunch tote from BUILT, a company that uses the same material that your laptop sleeve is made out of to produce reusable bags for food, water bottles, wine, and many household items. The material is easy to clean, machine washable, and durable. The tote, the company hopes, will replace lots and lots of unnecessary plastic and paper bags.
Oh, and did I mention how cute the fabric patterns are? So cute. The bright stripes on mine scream to me, "THIS IS YOUR LUNCH, LADY! EAT IT!" and still coordinate with my purse and work bag so I don't look dorky should I ever (gasp!) leave my house to eat a meal.
I now use this lunch tote (nearly) every work day (it's a process, people), and pack myself a good, balanced lunch right after I pack my son's lunch. His lunch box goes with him to summer camp and my bag stays put for my own "office" lunch hour a few feet from the refrigerator.
I'm pretty proud to report that I am eating much healthier lunches now that I have a cute bag full of good stuff all prepped and ready to go as soon as I am hungry. Of course, it means I have a nice energy boost for the afternoon (without relying on coffee) and that I feel better and less irritated after rummaging around for a few stale pretzels and noodle soup from a box.
I feel like I am taking better care of myself and for finding a solution (even if it is a bit silly) that works for me while I'm working from home. If that takes investing in an adorable bag so that I smile -- rather than sigh or roll my eyes or stare blankly at empty shelves -- when I see my lunch, then that is what it takes. If that takes an extra five minutes of prep the night before and a little pretend play, then so be it. Did I need a bag, especially one by this company, to make over my lunch time? Clearly not. But since this is what's doing the trick, I'm not going to question it too much.
This afternoon, my sassy BUILT bag will be empty, my belly will be full, and I will head back to my cube to wrap up my work day.
What's your work-from-home lunch strategy? How is it working for you?
I have the Gourmet Getaway lunch tote in Nolita Stripe. The name of this style clearly fuels my office fantasy but the other styles -- bigger, more compact, made to hold a water bottle, with a carrying strap -- may work better for your own office situation. They all fold up nice and flat and are so great, you will surely catch your kids, husband, or co-workers trying to steal it. BUILT's lunch totes all run from about $20 to $25.
