Never eat lunch alone

Nurture connections over meals — even virtual ones

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thunderstruck adjective shocked and amazed by the power of fun
on Carnival Riding Bolt, the world's first roller coaster, would
see Brian got funderstruck so hard is ninety three year
old grandmother felt it three thousand miles away in Nebraska
and immediately booked the cruise Get Understruck starting at two nine.

(00:20):
Carnival Shoes, Fun Cruiser and US Alway properson double documency,
Texas fees and port expense. Additional restrictions apply. For details
on Carnival dot Com, STIPs, Red Street, Bahamas, Pandava. Conquer
your New Year's resolutions with the Before Breakfast podcast. In
each bite sized daily episode, you'll learn how to make
the most of your time with practical tools to help
you feel less busy and get more done. Listen to

(00:41):
Before Breakfast on the I Heart Radio app four wherever
you get your podcasts. What Girls in the Forest, our
imagination and our family bonds. The forest is closer than
you think. Find a forest near you and discover the
Forest dot Org. Brought to you by the United States
for Service and the AD Council. Good morning, This is Laura.

(01:08):
Welcome to the New Corner Office the podcast where we
share strategies for thriving in the new world of work,
where their location and hours are more flexible than in
the past. Today's tip is to never eat lunch alone,
even if you're not physically in an office. Lunchtime can

(01:29):
and should be social time, regardless of the circumstances, and
even if you have to get a little bit creative
about making it work. You've almost certainly heard the phrase
to never eat alone before. Keith Ferazzi, for instance, he
used this phrase as the title of his book about
Relationships and professional Success. We all know that networking is

(01:49):
vital to our career growth, and we also know that
relaxed interactions like lunch help build authentic relationships. What's new
now is that many people are working remotely for the
first time, as the world engages in social distancing measures
to slow the spread of COVID nineteen. If you work
from home, even in normal times, it can be tempting

(02:11):
to embrace your freedom and flexibility and to avoid scheduled commitments.
If you're in charge of your own schedule, you may
not want to stop for lunch until you're hungry, and
there may be some wisdom in that which will discuss
in other episodes. Or to be honest, maybe you're sitting
there and sweatpants and don't feel like needing to shower

(02:31):
by a certain time. Having lunch with a companion then
seems to disrupt your efficiency, and perhaps it does, but
that's true. If you're a workplace too, you may have
to stop your work when you're in a state of
flow to go to scheduled lunch date. So be it.
What's gained in relationships will probably make up for what's
lost in efficiency. For those of us who work at home,

(02:54):
whether by choice or necessity, more intentionality is required for
developing and maintaining relationships. Lunch dates can be a key
part of fostering our professional relationships, since we don't cross
paths with each other as much as in office workers do.
When social distancing is over, it will be great to
do these dates in person. Right now, virtual lunch dates

(03:19):
are a great substitute. Here's how this works. Make yourself
lunch and then log on to a video call for
conversation with a professional colleague or friend. If you haven't
done this before, you may be surprised at how much
real connection can happen and how much you'll enjoy it. Yes,

(03:39):
it's a little weird to eat on a video call,
but you watch people eat when you're in a restaurant too,
you'll figure out how to avoid doing anything uncouth. You
can schedule these lunch dates or text one of your
colleagues last minute to join you, just like you would
in person. Lunch dates can happen with people in your
house too. If you have a partner or kids who

(04:02):
are home right now, you can have lunch with them.
Not just grab and ghost sandwiches that everybody eats in
front of their own screens, but lunch on a plate
at a table, talking with each other. Enjoy the opportunity
to share a meal together in the middle of the day.
Someday this will all be over and family lunches on

(04:23):
a Tuesday will be a lot harder to pull off,
So embrace it now. If you commit to never eating
lunch alone, even if it means having virtual lunch dates,
let me know how it goes. You can reach me
at Laura at Laura vander Kim dot com. In the meantime,
this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's the succeeding

(04:47):
in the new Corner office. The New Corner Office is
a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts, visit
the I Heart Radio app. Apple podcasts are where ever
you get your favorite shows. Unto you always had the

(05:20):
feeling that there's something strange about reality. According to the
Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast, there is. On the
show post Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick examine neurological quandaries,
cosmic mysteries, evolutionary marvels, and much more. Prosthetics are true
testaments to not only human craftsmanship and ingenuity, but also
to the plasticity of the human brain. Listen this Stuff

(05:42):
to Blow Your Mind on the I Heart Radio apper
Wherever you get your podcast brought to you by dot
dot go. Protect your privacy online for free with dot
dot go. After thirty years, it's time to return to
the halls of West Beverly High and hang out at
the peach pit. On the podcast nine two one o
m G visit Jenny Garth and Tori Spelling for a
rewatch of the hit series Beverly Hills nine O two

(06:02):
one oh. From the very beginning, we get to tell
the fans all of the behind the scenes stories to
actually happen, so They know what happened on camera, obviously,
but we can tell them all the good stuff that
happened off camera. Listen to nine O two one o
MG on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts.