I don’t smoke. I have never smoked and don’t intend to start now. What I do intend to do is take advantage of a previously smoker-only exemption to work. The Smoke Break.

I work with a couple of smokers and have worked with them in the past. They would disappear a couple of times per day for a few precious minutes to feed an addiction outside or in a special room.

I’ve decided to take advantage of this break as long as the weather is nice. When the temperature is above 60 and it’s not raining, I go outside to sit on a bench and enjoy the sun and fresh air for a few minutes.

I work in a basement 9 hours a day, 5 days a week without so much as a window, let alone a breath of fresh air. When the weather permits it, I go and sit on a bench under a tree and enjoy the day.

These brief moments help clear my head. Sometimes a problem I’ve tried to solve all morning will come to me. Sometimes I will get an idea for an other path to take in finding a resolution. Sometimes I write a few words that have bounced around my head.

Other days, I just sit and breathe the air.