Not Smoking Breaks

In my city, we have demonized an activity that was once commonplace and acceptable. I refer, of course, to smoking. Smoking used to be cool, in the days of black and white movies, but now pulling out a cigarette is shorthand for “I have money to burn and I can’t read warning labels.” I’m not writing to attack or defend the institution of smoking. Personally, I have smoked more cigarettes with my ear than with my mouth. That’s another story that I do not wish to recall at this moment.

The cynical might wonder if some people take up smoking just for the breaks. Every couple hours, or more frequently for the more hopelessly enslaved, smokers trudge outside for a breath of “fresh air”. Employers on a whole tend to tolerate these breaks, and I believe they are wise to do so. Freshness of air aside, a couple minutes on the hour to catch one’s breath—figuratively, at least—makes the rest of the hour productive. This is at least true of office work, which rarely brings forth a sweat, but often brings forth a headache.

I have taken to stepping outside myself, to take a few minutes and not smoke. Sometimes I even walk around the building. On my sanctioned lunch break, I’ll even walk around the block, which is dominated by the Winnipeg Technical College. There is a retention pond and an open field teeming with grasshoppers. The retention pond, with a busy highway behind it, may not have stunning beauty but it often has geese. In the suburbs one has to take what one can get.

In my specific case, these breaks may not improve productivity at work at all. Walking in the open air, watching the geese fly around and recalling the names of clouds, my thoughts are pushed to broader, loftier spheres. I contemplate all that I know of the world, or perhaps my own problems and concerns. Sometimes there is a wonderful revelation, but usually just a sense of being part of a large and fascinating world. Either way, when I return to whatever it is that sits on my desk, it seems mundane and insignificant by comparison. I return less motivated than before!

If these breaks are bad for productivity, they are at least good for actual quality of life. A change in scenery and a breath of outside air is a good reminder of the present moment, that I’m actually in a certain place, at a certain time. It is true that when I try to imagine myself from far away, I start with the now-familiar opening screen of Google Earth—but such are the times. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think there’s time to head outside to not smoke one more time before bed...