Remember when it was okay to waste time online without being social? Remember what it was like before the web started paying the bills?
When you’re stressed, a complete disconnect from work and the world for a short amount of time can recharge your batteries and get you back on track. Usually, “taking a break” means standing up and walking away from the computer. That’s always a good thing to do. But every once in a while, give yourself permission to take a break without walking away from the computer.
Some tips to make the most of being useless and solo online.
Rule #1: No guilt allowed. Web 2.0 is all about connecting with other people and their preferences through the social web. Sometimes all this effort to push what everyone else is thinking and doing into our faces can be overwhelming. In small doses, why shouldn’t it be okay to disconnect without disconnecting?
As web workers, many of us are driven by a mentality that says that any time spent with our fingers on a keyboard has to be productive. Let it go. Schedule unproductive online “me” time into your day. Don’t call it a “distraction.” That implies that your focus is misguided. Focus on the fact that you’re not focusing. If you start with a plan, that hour you’ll spend wasting your time won’t be a waste of time.
All good things must come to an end. If being unproductive is like a potato chip to you, where you can’t stop at just a few minutes, then go for measured portions. Whatever you do should have a beginning, middle and an end. Suggestion: watch a favorite television episode. NBC, CBS and ABC air their top shows for free the day after they’re on broadcast TV. Maybe watch a video podcast. Don’t do an untimed activity without setting some way to snap yourself back to productivity. Hours will go by before you know it. Pick one episode or light podcast to watch, and do just that. 40 some-odd minutes later, you’re back to work.
Be nostalgic. What was your favorite book, music or movie when you were a kid? Google it. Chances are some fans have created pages devoted to the entertainment of your youth you can lose yourself in for a little while. You can’t be thinking about work when you’re finding out whatever happened to the lead singer of your favorite one-hit-wonder band.
“Wilf” a little. What’s “wilfing”? Short for “what was I looking for,” it’s a term coined by a British study about mindless surfing. You know, click a link in the sidebar to a blog you’ve never seen, which leads you to a YouTube clip, which leads you to a comment that takes you to a blog you want to subscribe to, then you start reading feeds…. The study pegs “wilfing” as marriage-destroying harm, but sites like StumbleUpon are popular for a reason. Give yourself over to random discovery for a while and get it out of your system. Go out of your way to avoid anything that has anything to do with work, at least until your pre-set “wilfing” time is up.
Wanna play a game? Sites like Pogo.com, WorldWinner.com, Shockwave.com, or GameHouse offer flash-based games. Most are free. They tend to be puzzle, casino or strategy games that are ideal for de-stressing in short doses. Keep an eye on DownloadSquad’s “Time Waster” category. They link to quick & easy web games that can kill off just the amount of time you need to refresh and refocus.
Admit it, when you’re on line at the grocery checkout you scan the headlines of the gossip rags. But you don’t dare pick up the magazine for fear anyone will see you reading that junk? If you’re nodding, then spend a few minutes catching up with Britney, Justin, and the entire American Idol gang. Read some gossip that’s far away from where your head usually is online. Go ahead, no one’s looking. WeSmirch is one-stop shopping for the juiciest trash to get your mind off that upcoming deadline for a few minutes.
Pick an activity that isn’t going to compel you to action. For example only read gardening, cooking and momblogs if it’s something you truly enjoy and isn’t related to any source of income. Be sure you’re not going to end up feeling guilty for what you’re not doing.
What’s your favorite time waster? How do you ration your “free” time online so it doesn’t impact your productivity when you need to be productive?
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