There might not be time for a full exercise class, but what about a short, brisk walk? Here is how to introduce the small, helpful habits that suit you • Sign up here to get the whole series straight to your inbox My quest for the ideal lunch break is definitely a triumph of hope over experience. From inventing endless super-soups that might banish the mid-afternoon snack attack, to wildly optimistic lunchtime to-do lists, I have tried and failed countless times. The executive coach Zoe Thomson is not surprised. “One of the biggest things for people is they overestimate how much time and energy they are going to have in their lunch hour,” says Thomson, who previously had a 20-year career with the Avon and Somerset police. “And they underestimate how much time and energy they might need to achieve it.” I tell her that this has been the flaw with most of my doomed lunchtime masterplans. “The problem is, unpredictable things happen. Say you plan to do a 45-minute spin class in a 60-minute lunch break, but your last call overruns by 10 minutes. Your plan is no longer feasible. If you decided instead to do a 10-minute walk around the block every day, and then have a nice cup of tea after your sandwich, you’re winning. Even if something urgent comes up, the 10-minute walk is still possible. And on a really good day you could walk four times around the block.” Continue reading...