Lunch

I went to lunch today with a friend of mine. He was having a bad day, so I went there thinking I would cheer him up. But I have to say that by the end of the lunch, I was very frustrated with him (and told him so). I'm sure he will be upset if he reads this, but there is a good lesson to be learned here.

Just because this was a casual lunch and not a business meeting doesn't give anyone the right to waste a person's time. During our lunch, he was texting on and off. Now I understand that there are sometimes reasons why you must answer your phone or reply to a text during lunch. But to do it the entire time sends the message that he or she really doesn't care about anything you are talking about. I found this article on Lunch Etiquette by Catherine Franz which addresses this issue and more.

My lesson learned from this is to be respectful to others. Cancel the lunch if you have issues you need to address and reschedule for another time when you can give the person your full attention. Stay focused.