How long do you typically eat dinner?

How long do you typically eat dinner on a weekday? Put another way, how long are you offline (commuting home + potential workout + dinner + clean-up). I honestly do not mind the hours, but being glued to my desk is really getting to me. Many of the VPs at my firm eat dinner at their desks, and as a result, I get pinged non-stop throughout the evening. Is this normal? And is there anything I can do to push back against this culture and protect my own well being? 

3 Comments
 

I think it depends on how long you have been there and your rapport with the VPs. If you just joined you need to build that rapport, but after 6 months or so, going to the gym at 8pm on a weekday for example for an hour shouldn’t be a a problem unless you are on something very live with a near-term deadline. I would just discuss with the VPs that that’s when you go to the gym and if there is anything urgent you’ll have your phone on and can return back quickly. At some point you need to make Tim for your health and later in the evening should not be a problem (i.e don’t be the jackass who “needs” to workout at 4pm and if others don’t like that so be it).
 

As for eating dinner, I usually eat quickly so I eat my dinner in like 10 mins so have not had a problem stepping away or that long.

 

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