15 min breaks...food

happyauntie2015
happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I work at home and am on the phone 6 to 8 hours a day. If a call comes in and completely runs past my break time I don't get that break. Here is the problem I get hungry when I eat bfast with hubby at 530 am before he goes to work. I start between 8 and 9 am. What options may I have since I can't eat obviously while I'm on a call and may not get my break? I about choked on a hard-boiled egg trying one day because a call came in as I was chewing! Lol...I'm thinking of meal replacement shakes however not sure if that's my only option

Replies

  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    A hands free telephone?
  • H_Ock12
    H_Ock12 Posts: 1,152 Member
    Try taking smaller bites of your food to make it easier to quickly swallow when a call comes in. You could also eat a large meal prior to starting work and fast until dinner time.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Grab a couple of bites each time you take a bathroom break.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Have a coffee with your husband, eat your breakfast just before you start work, that way you won't be hungry so soon?
  • bellaa_x0
    bellaa_x0 Posts: 1,062 Member
    if you work from home i'm sure you can find a minute or two to eat something quickly...
  • figures101
    figures101 Posts: 7 Member
    I like the idea of eating a large meal before work. I work long hours on my feet and often do not get a break, then I feel guilty for not eating for 8 to 9 hrs straight.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited November 2016
    I secret eat when I am on phone all the time .. I have been working from home for 6 years.. you get good at it.. I am sure that you have to get up and stretch your legs every now and then too.

    I will prep my snacks early in the a.m. (weigh them have them ready to grab)..it takes me 5 minutes since I usually eat the same things..
  • happyauntie2015
    happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
    cityruss wrote: »
    A hands free telephone?

    Oh I wish it was allowed! They will actually terminate employment if they test our system to make sure we are completely hardwired! I can't even use a wireless mouse. :(
  • happyauntie2015
    happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
    MotherOfSharpei wrote: »
    Try taking smaller bites of your food to make it easier to quickly swallow when a call comes in. You could also eat a large meal prior to starting work and fast until dinner time.

    Thanks for the suggestion. I will try eating breakfast before work instead of eating with my husband. As far as smaller bites I can't take a much smaller bite than the nibble I already do lol. Thanks again
  • happyauntie2015
    happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Grab a couple of bites each time you take a bathroom break.

    I had to laugh at this not because it's not a great idea but simply because we are not permitted bathroom breaks other than our 15 min break unless we have a medical accommodation. Crazy I know. They do allow us 2 personal breaks a month if we go over we get a write up
  • happyauntie2015
    happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    Have a coffee with your husband, eat your breakfast just before you start work, that way you won't be hungry so soon?

    Thanks exactly what I'm going to do!
  • happyauntie2015
    happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
    bellaa_x0 wrote: »
    if you work from home i'm sure you can find a minute or two to eat something quickly...

    Oh I only wish it worked that way. I don't think anyone truly understands just how busy different WAH jobs can be they aren't all the same. Right now is my companies busiest time of the year. Sure during the first few months I had no problems with snacking on almonds or string cheese heck even cottage cheese and fruit however calls come in back to back so there just isn't time. Thanks though
  • marm1962
    marm1962 Posts: 950 Member
    happyauntie2015 wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Grab a couple of bites each time you take a bathroom break.

    I had to laugh at this not because it's not a great idea but simply because we are not permitted bathroom breaks other than our 15 min break unless we have a medical accommodation. Crazy I know. They do allow us 2 personal breaks a month if we go over we get a write up

    and you stated above that if you missed your break because of a phone call then you don't get a break, other than food I'd invest in some depends!
  • happyauntie2015
    happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    I secret eat when I am on phone all the time .. I have been working from home for 6 years.. you get good at it.. I am sure that you have to get up and stretch your legs every now and then too.

    I will prep my snacks early in the a.m. (weigh them have them ready to grab)..it takes me 5 minutes since I usually eat the same things..

    Thanks!!! The boiled egg was a big fail for me the yolk crumbled and that's what caused me to choke lol. I will have to put extra thought into simple snacks and start prepping those as I do my weekly dinners and breakfast! I am new to WAH it's only been 7 months and now that this is the busy season I'm working right through my breaks because of call volume or long difficult calls. Thanks
  • texasleahgirl
    texasleahgirl Posts: 96 Member
    how about yogurt? you can finish it quietly without the client knowing that you are chewing.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,750 Member
    at my last job i was superbusy & didn't get a dinner break till after 6 hours so i made my own trail mix & took small handfulls, also now we make our own shakes
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Do they still make wired headsets?
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    marm1962 wrote: »
    happyauntie2015 wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Grab a couple of bites each time you take a bathroom break.

    I had to laugh at this not because it's not a great idea but simply because we are not permitted bathroom breaks other than our 15 min break unless we have a medical accommodation. Crazy I know. They do allow us 2 personal breaks a month if we go over we get a write up

    and you stated above that if you missed your break because of a phone call then you don't get a break, other than food I'd invest in some depends!

    Especially if replacing food with shakes :open_mouth:
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    edited November 2016
    double post :confounded:
  • laur357
    laur357 Posts: 896 Member
    Could you keep something warm in a mini-crockpot, and take a few bites here and there between calls?
    Campbell's soup on the go
    String cheese (no crunching on the phone)
    Fruit and veggies pre-prepped into very small slices so you can get through your bite quickly if a call comes in
  • AngryViking1970
    AngryViking1970 Posts: 2,847 Member
    cross2bear wrote: »
    Jeepers what kind of despotic, inhumane organization do you work for where you cant go to the bathroom when you need to?!

    That's kind of what I was thinking.
  • happyauntie2015
    happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    Do they still make wired headsets?

    They do but we aren't aloud to use them. Everything has to be hard wired :(
  • happyauntie2015
    happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
    laur357 wrote: »
    Could you keep something warm in a mini-crockpot, and take a few bites here and there between calls?
    Campbell's soup on the go
    String cheese (no crunching on the phone)
    Fruit and veggies pre-prepped into very small slices so you can get through your bite quickly if a call comes in

    Thanks for the great ideas! I will give those a try :)
  • KiyaK
    KiyaK Posts: 519 Member
    Sounds to me like you need a new job.

    My other suggestions would be a hardwired hands-free headset. They exist, because earlier this year I worked in a customer service call center & we all had them. There is a wire that goes from the headset thru a box that has a mute & hangup button & into the phone.

    Also, smoothies would be a good snack. Yogurt, banana & whatever type of fruit you wanted. Could drink thru a straw between calls.

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