Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Really Short Time Wasters?
rueger writes "At various times during the day I need a quick break from serious work. Browsing the 'net is not a good choice because it invariably winds up consuming an hour on places like Slashdot, so right now that means my break is a game of Solitaire. Loads in seconds, takes maybe a minute to play, then back to stuff that matters.
I'm wondering what other goodies could fill that role — maybe games, maybe something that actually leads to knowledge, skills, or a measurable output? Think of it as an on-screen micro-hobby. Any Ideas?"
I quite like it. Shortish puzzles, an "open" mode where you compete against others; an all around good lil game
[Insert euphemism for masturbation here]
Staring out the window is actually beneficial. If you spend alot of time on "near work" such as staring at a screen, it is good for your eyes to take a break and stare at something in the distance for a short while. If you can walk to an empty conference room/break room that has a window.
But, don't overlook Angry Birds or Bad Piggies. I find Bad Piggies tends to appeal more to geeks who like engineering, since you need to build things to solve the level.
Whenever I need a break, I play chess.
In 5 minutes, you can think of a move in a high-level long game, or play a couple of games of speed chess.
It's mental, fun, and doesn't have to stretch into any more time than you want.
http://wololo.net/download/
Initial setup for the game and building a deck are somewhat time intensive, but once you are familiar with the game you can start it up and play a game or two and then shut it down.
We're all nerds here, and this game has enough complexity to satisfy. You can also help with coding if you like by hacking on the game files, since the official game that Wagic is based on is always moving forward!
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
Get up and take a short walk outside - rest your eyes, get the blood flowing and some vitamin D absorption if it's a sunny day. Your body will thank you in the long term.
Did you ever wake up in the morning, with a Zombie Woof behind your eyes? -- FZ
Khan Academy has a bunch of exercises to keep you up to speed in various skills in math.
Um... I spend my day commenting on Slashdot at EMC. During my short break, I post troll comments rather than shill comments on all the Dice Slashvertisements.
If you're looking for a way to improve your skills, a couple of quick rounds of Robocode and changing a couple of lines of code will give you a quick distraction along with a small increase (or creation) of your Java skills. More about it here: http://robo-code.blogspot.com/
It only takes a few minutes at the mid levels.
I started playing CSR Racing. It burns through a "tank" of fuel in 10 minutes, it's free, and as long as you have your headphones on, you look like you're really intently working on something.
To be clear, it's not a great game. It's still a short distraction and is fun for those few minutes.
My actual favorite, as in while I'm waiting for the "tank" to fill up again, is going for a walk. It sounds goofy, but I actually enjoy just walking out the front door to check the mail. I live in a warm climate so it's possible to do this any time of the year.
Plant a tree in a developing country.
vocabulary flashcards (either "college words" in your native language, or a new language)
listen to a song
smoke a cigarette
do 10 lunges
doodle, or paint (i like doodling on my tablet, but i also carry watercolors and a stack of 3x5 notecards)
If it is me - and this guy sounds just like me - he needs to take that time and do anything but be on a computer. Take 5 minutes for longer breaks to grab a coffee or make a phone call you have been putting off. Or if you need a short break, sort out your desk or stare out the window for 30 seconds.
Your wrists will thank you - if you are an information worker, you are at risk of being seriously debilitated in mere years if you don't take steps now.
What greater waste of time do you need?
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
Just not a computer language. I use flashcard programs and mp3s from Pimsleur and Japanese Pod 101 to learn Japanese. You can do the mp3s while walking outside as others have suggested. It has worked well for me, though my breaks last about 15 minutes.
How about just walking, going up and down some stairs, stretching, looking out the window, eating a fruit, or drinking a glass of water? If you want to gamify that activity, you could even place a pebble into a jar every time you performed that activity to keep track of your progress.
Juggling is great for short breaks.
I can think of one particular time-honored activity that only takes a couple minutes. And as a bonus, your wrists get a workout!
Short rounds, no more than 15 minutes each. Or, usually, much less.
"If it's stupid and it works....it's not stupid."
I find the best breaks are alone, but some like the coffee machine chit chat.
A quick walk around the block is great. Greet people and animals, buy knick-knacks (like your next meal ^^).
You can choose to remain seated, though that's less of a breather. Music maybe ?
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
Race from one Wikipedia article to another using only your mouse. Takes a minute or 2 per game and it pretty funny trying to make the connections.
http://thewikigame.com/
This site has done an amazing job of turning learning a language into a game...Duolingo
What can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.
I study Japanese so I'll run through a few vocabulary cards (using Mnemosyne, but Anki is reportedly good too) whenever I need a quick mental break. Works nicely as a way to shift focus, even for a minute or less.
Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
Seriously, just do as many pushups as you can. It gets the blood flowing, the body working, and the girls swooning.
enough said.
BD is awesome, and being tick-based it's perfect for short breaks here and there. It forces you to take those breaks, because you want to see progress on the game, you sent some units out, wanna see how it went, or check if you are being attacked, etc. And the amount of things you can do in a tick usually won't go over 2 minutes.
Best MMORPG ever.
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
A little strategic galactic conquest in real time. Better than minesweeper... and it may improve your office political play too!
Also Neptune's Pride.
That is, if you are compelled to play a game...
Assuming you use Windows, which is really a terrible assumption, play minesweeper. Variants exist for other OS's.
..it's still awesome!
Sex!
Although, seeing as I'm an AC, it is usually solo.
I've been playing a game called Robot Rising on Facebook which is pretty good. Sort of an action RPG with robots, Diablo style, and free to play... You can play through a level in 5-10 minutes. One caveat, it requires the Unity plugin, which isn't a big deal for me because I already had it installed, but some people don't like plugins...
Besides being an enjoyable time-waster, you'll eventually get good at playing the harmonica and chicks dig musicians.
Anyone can blow "Oh, Susanna" on day one but in a few months, you can play real blues harp. Watch your friends' faces when you pull a harp out of your pocket and wail on the opening bars of "Juke" by Little Walter or "Whammer Jammer". There are scores of quick two-minute lessons on YouTube to get you started. It's relaxing and there's evidence that it improves lung function.
A Hohner Special 20 in the key of A (useful when you play with a guitar player) will set you back less than $40.
You are welcome on my lawn.
I like to put sleeves on my Magic: The Gathering and Call of Cthulhu cards during breaks.
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
meta-x tetris-mode.
Build a filter on stackoverflow.com (or equivalent) focusing on the technologies you like/know-something-about and watch the new/unanswered queue. Answer one. Usually doesn't take that long, good questions put you in a different mindset, and you're helping someone out.
Thinking FTW.
I recommend playing chess at the Free Internet Chess Club. You can play a 5 minute game and there is a time cap of 10 minutes. And you get a relaxing mental excercise that distracts from work without putting you to sleep.
or your favorite beverage that requires walking more than 3 feet to refill.*
*if your coffeemaker or fridge is that close to your keyboard, you get points for efficiency but you'll need to find a different micro-break. May I suggest moving it across the room?
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Dice.com. I hear it's a nice place.
I load up my fave game (Beat Hazard, available through Steam) and blast away on one of my fave MP3s. As short as 3 mins, or as long as 30. Obviously it won't fit the bill if you're using a work PC, but I code at home.
I'm not associated with the company, related to the developers, etc, etc. I just find it a very good time-waster for short amounts of time.
Hal Spacejock: Science Fiction with Nuts
Try GBrainy. It's a brain teaser sort of thing. I found it when it came with Edubuntu.
https://live.gnome.org/gbrainy
If you have a pair of headphones handy, one session of dual N-back demands complete concetration a couple of minutes. I found it a good way resetting mentally.
Of course, if you're trying to learn a foreign language, vocab tests will be an efficient use of time (provided you are not testing yourself on vocab you already know).
For me, I've found no more effective complement to difficult work than short breaks of juggling, but I doubt this meets your criteria.
I find juggling takes me away from the part of my brain I use for work, and allows me to enter a playful, free state of mind. I am still managing a task which has rewards (catching the balls), so it is structured enough to engage you and make you feel good as you progress, but functions very differently than a computer game. It helps blood flow, and likely helps things like reaction time, coordination, and recognizing sequences. You can juggle casually, or you can really get into it if you want - I often think about patterns as I juggle, leading me to entertain thoughts about geometry, physics, dance, human physiology, etc. while I get a little exercise.
When submitting statistical jobs on a mainframe, which would take much longer in real time than in CPU time, I used to read examples in the statistics programming manual. I would see interesting functions to try out, and then I had to buy a stats text book so that I could understand what the functions were doing in more detail and how to interpret them. Gradually I taught myself lots of stats AND I was able to try out new functions and apply them to my work.
I am anarch of all I survey.
angry birds
also...what a shit question... get a life and get off /.
This is when you write documentation...
On a more serious note: http://www.khanacademy.org/ just watch a little at a time. Most of his videos are broken down into chunks under 10 min.
Two words: arcade games.
MAME emulates a lot of arcade hardware out there, and it's reasonably simple to setup. 99% of the games (ROM based games, anyways) take up very little space- usually around 1 to 20mb/piece (disk and drive based games are around 250-2GB though, but most of those games aren't emulated properly or don't even work). There's a bucket of fantastic titles to pick from, spanning anywhere from the early 1980s to 2008 and beyond.
The great thing about arcade games is that they're great fun for short amounts of time. If you spend 5 minutes playing Raiden Fighters then die, you're probably not going to feel like playing it again right after that. Pace yourself and don't credit feed (continually insert quarters) the games, tell yourself when you're dead you're dead until your next break.
We setup a MAME cabinet in the office where I work specifically because of this- the games are short, intensive bursts of extreme fun. And, well, the quarters go towards filling the community fridge with various pops, cheeses, and the cupboards with chocolate bars and such. So it's really a win-win. Nobody has abused the machine for any length of time since most folks are only interested in one or two games, and those games might last 2-5 minutes/pop. All in all it seemed to lighten the mood considerably in the office since everyone has something in common- best scores on whatever their favourite game is.
In any case, MAME is easy enough to setup and run on your computer. It loads fast and runs quickly, so you can get into an arcade game in about 5 seconds flat. Since arcade games are designed to push quarters, you'll find that most games don't last more then 3-4 minutes, but they're really bloody fun while you're playing them. Just pace yourself and refuse to keep inserting quarters, because that's absolutely no fun. Give yourself enough credits to start the game and that's it. When you die, you go back to work.
I find that Dicewars is just the perfect lunch/dinner-time thing for me. It's turn-based so I make a move, then turn to take a bite and chew while AI goes, then back to my turn. It seems to take the exact amount of time that it takes me to eat (~15 min). Sometimes I do wish there was a bit more hardcore, classic fantasy/sci-fi, and/or useful skill-building equivalent that I could find.
We know where leadership by an anti-intellectual "strongman" who scapegoats minorities and likes boisterous rallies goes
The post right before yours might work for you
How about TED talks? They are often educational and can get your mental juices flowing. Most of them tend to be short and easy to listen to.
Here's something I used in that way years ago.
I download some books as text files from Project Gutenberg, and had a program which would randomly select a ~10 line section from a random file. It would then encode this file as a simple substitution cypher. Finally I had a little program to aid with decoding - it would display the cypher text, and let me try various cypher-letter to plaintext-letter assignments.
I left word spacing and punctuation intact, which makes the problem pretty easy and entertaining. For example, a cypher word 'ABCA" is very likely to be "that" (or otherwise "else" or "says".) If you see words "ABC" and "DBC" they are probably "the" and "she".
Here is the encyphering program. (I couldn't find my original of this, so I've just rewritten it now. I remember the original was a one-liner using all sorts of trickery, but my Perl is too rusty to reproduce that now.) It acts as a pipe - it takes the text to be encyphered on standard input and writes the cypher text to standard output.
#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
my $plain = join "", map{lc}<STDIN>; /[a-z]/) {
my %translate = ();
my $nextCodeChar = 'a';
my $cypher = "";
for my $plainChar (split "", $plain) {
if ($plainChar =~
if (!defined($translate{$plainChar})) {
$translate{$plainChar}=$nextCodeChar++;
}
print $translate{$plainChar};
} else {
print $plainChar;
}
}
I've managed to find the decoding program, reproduced below. This program is designed to run from a text terminal, and takes the filename of the cyphertext as a command line argument. Automatically extracting the random plain text, encyphering it, and then running the decypherment program on the result is left as an exercise to the programmer.
#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
# decypher: aids solving simple substitution cyphers.
# usage: decypher filename
my (%freq, %cypher, %decypher);
# Read the cyphertext
my @cyphertext = map{lc}<>;
# Count the characters
my @copy = @cyphertext;
map{s/[a-z]/$freq{$&}++/ge} @copy;
# To do:
# Print cypher and frequency ordered by plaintext
# one, two, three letter words and frequencies.
# digraph frequencies?
# Loop getting commands /^([a-z])=([a-z ])/i) { guess($1,$2); } /^([a-z])=$/i) { guess($1," "); }
while (defined(chomp(my $command=<STDIN>))) {
if ($command eq "f") { freq_table(); }
elsif ($command eq "p") { plain_text(); }
elsif ($command eq "q") { last; }
elsif ($command eq "c") { clear(); }
elsif ($command =~
elsif ($command =~
else { print
"Unknown command '$command'
Commands are:
'f': print frequency table
'p': print cypher and partial plain text
'q': quit
'c': clear letter associations
<letter1>=<letter2>: associate cypher letter1 with plaintext letter2
<letter>=: remove plaintext association to plaintext letter\n"; }
}
sub freq_table {
my $count = 0;
for (sort keys %freq) {
printf "%s%s %3d %s", $_, $cypher{$_} ? "=$cypher{$_}" : " ", $freq{$_}, (++$count%5 ? "" : "\n");
}
print $count%6 ? "\n\n" : "\n";
}
sub plain_text {
my $tr = "";
foreach ("a".."z") {
Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
Over in a couple of minutes with measurable output. Benefit of stress relief on the side. Can't say you'll keep that job for long though........
If you'd like to improve some of your typing skills, you could always try TypeRacer
Nothing to see here
Practice doing mental math: get 2 to 4 ten-sided dice from your local game store (or another random number generator of your choice) and practice doing addition, subtraction, and multiplication in your head. If you're good, you can do things like raising e to a random power, multiplying a number by pi, finding the sine/cosine of a number, etc.
Slashdot is not a game, Slashdot is not a game. Crap, I just lost points.
Ask your boss for more work.
I enjoy working my way through the lesson trees at https://www.khanacademy.org/. Most of the stuff is pretty simple but the multiple choice tests are enjoyable to me. And the Lesson Dashboard is shiny and sparkly.
"Luck is a tag given by the mediocre to account for the accomplishments of genius." -Heinlein
At the risk of sounding too mushy, taking just a couple minutes every day to email someone important to you might be the most worthwhile thing to do. Just that little bit each day is something a lot of us antisocial nerds don't do.
For example, if you're interested in physics, pick a section out of Halliday's Fundamentals of Physics PDF, read it, then later during another break take a look at an example or practice problem. Hell, practice the method of Loci memorization technique. You'll get something out of that if you stick with it.
Really, just pick anything you're interested in.
Sometimes I notice a lot of people here bitching about how slashdot has lost its way, or whining about other people's stupid questions, and I usually ignore them and move on, thinking they are getting old and cranky. But what the hell? Somebody asks how to kill ten minutes because he can think of NOTHING to do with that time, and the post gets approved? Seriously? For fuck's sake, come on... Take up crossword puzzles, or try walking, or just play Angry Birds like everybody else. Or is that too many choices? Need to know where to go for lunch, too?
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
I found this for android: "Guess-free minesweeper"
It has an ad-supported free version and a cheap paid version, $1 - $2 I think . It's like the puzzle game that comes free in Windows but less frustrating... you never get to an unsolvable point.
It still requires enough focus that it'll close your brain off from your serious work, and on the "expert" setting you'll find that you're better challenged than the old windows one... you keep searching (rather than guessing) for a solution because you know there is one.
I think someone's made something similar for windows too as freeware. Anyhow, it's good... but surprisingly addictive. I guess that's different problem though :)
A nice short game
I have four two-inch 1.1 pound steel ball bearings (What did you THINK I meant?!) that I can whip out and twirl or juggle if I'm feeling particularly adventurous. It's a nice break from typing and they're heavy enough for it to feel like real exercise. You can get 'em on amazon.com, just search for 2" steel ball bearing. Make sure you actually click on the 2" ones, they're just the right size!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Ted talks are usually 5 - 20 minutes, just find something interesting and go.
Always random, quite fresh, plenty of replay value, cheap as dirt. Also loaded with tons of references.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
You'll feel better and may learn you like a finger up your ass!
Walk to the break room, make a fresh pot of coffee, and guard it while it brews. Snarl at the other coders who are attracted to the scent of prey, and would steal the most rich first cup, taking the most caffeine for themselves while the pot yet brews, and leaving only tasteless watered down dregs for the rest.
Alternatively: Enjoy your pecking order and take that most delicious blackest life-blood for your own!
All of the games are pretty decent time wasters. I play Angry Birds when I'm sitting on the toilet.
Get your free Dropbox account with 2 GB Free storage!
No, really.
Fire up WinUAE on a usb stick. Download some old RPG or strategy games. Bards Tale, Phantasie, Ultima, Civilization, Nuclear War...whatever. Play for 5 or 10 minutes. No need to get back to the inn or some other save spot to stop playing - just use the Save State function (F12 - miscellaneous - state files) to save your spot. Works like a charm and it's just the thing to burn a quick ten minutes.
Remember to use the End-Break key combination to emulate at maximum speed to reduce your load times and skip through intro screens. You've only got 10 minutes, make the most of them.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
I favor online riichi mahjong. I usually play at Tenhou. Games are pretty short and entertaining.
Tenhou: http://tenhou.net/
How to play at Tenhou, including links to introduction materials for riichi mahjong, in English: http://arcturus.su/tenhou/
What I will often do when I have some downtime is proofread some pages at http://www.pgdp.net/. It's essentially a project to take OCR'd out-of-copyright books and proofread and format them for Project Gutenberg. You only have to do one page at a time, so (depending on the type of book you choose to work on), it can take anywhere from just a minute or two on up, and the result is something useful.
And while I've been doing it, every once in a while something will catch my interest that I would normally have never read.
How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
http://www.galcon.com/flash/
This is my short time waster.
I usually have two 10 minute breaks during a working day. Both times I read the daily news. My collection of RSS feeds keeps updating enough between the breaks that I have new news each time.
Also I don't read every news. There are usually maybe five articles that I'm actually interested in, so it doesn't take that much time.
Alternatively I read an industry magazine, but it takes more time. I'm usually able to read only one article per break.
CHESS
I always keep a lego project going on my desk. Whenever I'm waiting for a long operation to complete I just add a few more pieces to the model.
Anki has free flashcards about any topic you can imagine.
Open source runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, Android, Blackberry, web.
A session is 10 minutes by default, but you can change it to 1 minute.
I use it even when I know I only have 20 seconds (ex: queueing)
http://ankisrs.net/
Just go ahead and grab a new round of $BEVERAGE and maybe pick one station that's not on your floor but another floor so you get some stair exercise at the same thing. A walkabout is sometimes useful to straighten out the lines of thoughts and even get a chat on the way with someone.
Work is more than just looking forward - work is a lot like driving in traffic - you need to pay attention to your surroundings too in order to catch the flow. Organized meetings appear only when the tide has turned, the small informal meetings are the important ones.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
Solitaire for grown-ups....
MrCreosote Meow!Thump!Meow!Thump!Meow!Thump! "You're right! There isn't enough room to swing a cat in here!"
If you have insurance, no reason not to get a doc's advice. That said, I have been using the workrave app for about 5 years now and I think it has saved me from significant deterioration. It has both 'nix and Windows implementations. Basically reminds you to take a micro break every 5 minutes and a coffee break every ten. I manage to keep working during these breaks. Usually it is a phone call or a convo with the boss or a colleague. And you can always count on a meeting as a good opportunity for a break.
Best piece of nagware out there IMHO.
Do you compose music? A pad of five-line stave can be bought cheaply at music shops or some news/magazine vendors, and a pen/pencil. There are some simple notation rules, that are easily looked up. A few notes at a time.... You never know when you'll write the next big hit.
Electrical circuit design takes some understanding, but it can be taken up and put down. It takes a blank sheet of paper, and a pen/pencil. Again, there are some simple notation rules, that are easily looked up. Try a simple one-transistor audio amplifier... Soon, you could be doodling a whole multi-input guitar amplifier with effects, or a super-het receiver.
Looking at space, radio, science and computing from a 'down-under' amateur enthusiast perspective.
See if the boss has a good looking secretary. Normally subsequent activities would also take an hour, but as geeks on this site know, that can easily be shortened to about three minutes.
Juggling is a great time waster. It's a fun skill to learn and you can impress your friends.
How about taking your pants off and sitting at the crapper? I find it most relaxing :-)
I play Tetris on my phone when I'm taking a dump. It takes too long to get to the upper levels most of the time so I impose a rule on myself to make it harder. Much harder. I don't flip or turn the blocks. I average around 35 lines, with a high of 86. Try it some time. It's a real lesson in triage.
LOL @ "Loads in seconds"
Farmville!
and floss your teeth. Not a waste of time. Might prevent cardiovascular disease, definitely prevents tooth decay and gingivitis.
...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
is my favourite time-waster. Just draw some buildings, put in a cycle path. It gives a nice feeling that the time you spent there is not wasted and will benefit others.
10 ?"Hello World" life was simple then
I'm playing scales on a solid body electric guitar
solid body => it's not loud
it helps relaxing your fingers
it's like meditation really...
and it relieves stress
Not for your workmates.
... Just learn to solve it first. From then on, it won't take you much more than 2 minutes.
Visit http://ringbreak.dnd.utwente.nl/~mrjb/growingbettersoftware to download your free copy of the book
I gave Warwick Davis a couple of blintzes to paint my fence, but he never did it!
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Put on your robe and wizard hat.
I'm guessing that wasn't on their radar screen...
Learn to fall asleep very fast. You need a room where you won't get disturbed and that you can lie down in in relative comfort. Set the alarm on your phone for 10 or 15 mins; I find 15 to be optimal; and switch off. If you have problems clearing your mind then learn some meditation techniques or listening to something quiet and gentle can work. You can get white noise generator apps for your phone. Sleep is restorative and consolidates learning and if youre anything like me, this helps to balance out staying up too late cus someone on the internet is wrong.
Learn to juggle! Seriously! I learned to juggle with three balls during a particularly stressful software project some 15 years ago. Nowadays when I feel blocked, I pick up three round objects and go somewhere else to juggle for a while. I haven't progressed beyond three objects but then again I'm not doing it for the fame and the money. :)
Juggling activates other parts of your brain than you (as a software engineer or IT guy) normally use. You can juggle as long as you like, ten seconds or ten minutes. The materials (e.g. stress balls, tennis balls, apples, oranges, whatever) are cheap and small. Does you good to get up out of that chair and stop staring at the monitor for a moment. If someone asks what you are doing, say that you're taking a minute to think about some small creative problem e.g. structuring the next three paragraphs you are writing, or looking for alternative ways to implement some feature. The learning threshold is admittedly steep, but the Internet should be full of tutorial videos by now. Also, juggling is a nice party trick, kids especially are fascinated.
Think of it as an off-screen microhobby...
--Bud
mille, as long as Hasbro doesn't kill it (I presume that's why there's no "bornes" in the name). At one point, it was one of my favorite toys for "compiling!" xmille (and the accompanying README) if you want a GUI.
Skritter is a game where you draw Chinese characters. Like anything you do repeatedly, they will burrow into your brain and take up residence. Result: you have learned Chinese on your lunch breaks.
Work on Wikipedia. It's rare to find a Wikipedia article not in need of some work. You get to learn about various topics and you get to make something better for everyone. Wikipedia is reportedly the fifth most popular web site in the world. As you learn more about editing, it's easier and easier to find things that are broken that are easy to spot and fix in a couple of minutes.
you could learn how to calculate the day of the week for any given date and then start training being fast in it.
Optionally you could write a program in the language of your choice that questions you with random dates. Or just use an App that does this for you:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goltzkiste.guessaday
... and practice making the perfect espresso - that's a five minutes break where you also have to be focused. When you can make a perfect espresso you can move on to latte art. As an added bonus you can get a job at Starbucks if/when the singularity happens.
The interactive way to Go -- http://www.playgo.to/iwtg/en/
I recommend meditation or "mindfulness".
The goal of meditation is to let go of useless thoughts (you cannot imagine how much we have useless thoughts and worries).
This provides a greater sense of presence (the world seems different), and when you practice seriously, you'll start being happy without any reason.
Meditation done seriously activates the whole brain's hemispheres, it becomes more active and you'll become more intuitive, which is useful when programming.
Meditation can be done in 2 or 3 minutes.
My preferred meditation is based upon the sense of "I".
Just tell yourself "I, I, I..." with the desire to discover who you are.
Everybody knows this is why god had jesus invent cigarettes. The perfect short break that getsem to heaven faster. It's wins all around.
minesweaper.
1. Go to OpenStreetMap.org
2. Find a place which is not yet fully mapped (i.e. anywhere but Europe). I usuallly find a place which I've just read about in the news, or my next holiday area.
3. Click on "Edit".
4. Draw a couple of roads.
5. Profit (and let the others profit as well).
Admitely, quite a few people find it boring but if, like me, you enjoy seeing the world from above and seeing new places, it's great. It really changes your mind, and can be stopped at any moment.
wastebin basketball.
as short as you want, gains skills, takes eyes off screen, optionally annoys coworkers
Jerking off in the restroom. Can't think of a better relief.
I Reading News Feeds from www.feeddistiller.com, for each subject i'm interested in, i tend to filt about to different subjects on different days. If i come up with a subject that's not there, i add it, only takes a minute to add a subject there, because of a funky google mash up to find rss and atom feeds.
see Randy Newman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUlIv3Ca8AI
who where what when now?
This is probably only a good idea if you're working at home.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
http://tacticalneuronics.com/content/ChessWithDice.asp - Chess with Dice for Android - a game lasts from 1 to 3 minutes. Sharpens the Brain!
Somebody had to say it...
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Chat Noir
I have a small GPL'd OCAML program that gives you a small island to wander around on and find eight things. You get a map. It's still easy to get lost. No monsters, nothing to fight, and it doesn't even stop you when you've found everything. Diverting for a few minutes, but not addictive. http://topoi.pooq.com/hendrik/dv/free/fun/wander/wander-lpc.tar.gz
-- hendrik
But www.b3ta.com and www.sikipedia.com both are both generally good for a ten minute break. Obviously if you're too straight laced they are prolly not for you :)
Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
Which is a game based around the TV game show Countdown. Simple to pick up and play a few rounds.
I've got a Sodoku and a Solotaire app on my phone which work nicely for those 5 to 10 minute down times...
Any activity that I can leave at a moment's notice can work though - I might read /. and check my Facebook a few times during the day too...
There are also a million work-related things I can do during downtime... update KB articles, write new demos for our product (we sell an SDK, so you can ALWAYS come up with a new demo... either "how to do X" or "look a the really neat stuff you can do with this component"
The Digital Sorceress
Last summer there was the Liberated Pixel Cup challenge, http://lpc.opengameart.org/
It was a contest to produce game art in one month, and to write free/libre games the second month. You might like to browse the entries, pick a few and try to compille and play them. But you might have bad luck and find a few that are actually engrossing.
Or you could improve them, because they're all CC'd and/or GPL'd.
Get a guitar. Learn to play it.
Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
A hand of bridge is a good choice, because each is like a puzzle to solve. :)
I keep alive an old Handspring Visor PDA for this sole purpose.
Don't tie up the bathroom stall when people are waiting though
I've started learning Origami during my mini work breaks. Origami is quick to learn, only takes a few minutes to create a single item, I'm exercising my brain, and my kids love them. It also helps that post-it notes are square and office environments are full of them. For really quick breaks (2-3 minutes), I'll solve a Rubik's Cube just to loosen up by brain a bit.
This will probably disappear in the void of other comments, but I wouldn't be myself if I hadn't recommended Crimsonland to you.
a body standing still all day is just plain wrong, ask any doctor how to fix that I recently moved to a small town because there is a lot of competition in the big city for the business I am investing in. I am currently writing this in my pajamas 8:30 am, this used to be the time AFTER I was rushing to work in the big city, I enjoy walking around more here, people smile and say good morning/afternoon/evening and the chicks love geeks who understand their smartphones need I say more? naaaa
Open source Texas Holdem' http://www.pokerth.net/
UrbanDead
Pardus
A Nap
Many other good answers (I like juggling and learning Chinese, especially)
'nuff said.
The reason there were so many programmers who knew how to juggle is that the compile/build/run cycle in older compilers was slow enough that they needed something short to kill that time. Juggling also had the side benefit of actually getting you off your butt and doing something different, which freed your mind, raised your heart rate and circulation, and often gave you enough distance to figure out what the heck you were doing wrong.
Steam has a game on it's free to play list called dwarfs.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/213650/?snr=1_200_200_Free+to+Play_tab-NewReleasesFilteredDLC_1;
It's a fun quick game to play. The basics of it are that there are these dwarfs that go about digging tunnels looking for treasure. For the most part they go where they want but you have some abilities to direct them. Along the way the eventually dig into Lava, or water or some evil minions causing a crisis which you then have to manage.
What makes it a good break game is that you choose how long your going to play for at the start of the game.
So you can play a quick 15 minute or 30 minute game.
This little game lights up my synapses like a Christmas tree in just a few seconds... http://distractionware.com/games/flash/hexagon/ This game is a dick, though...not recommended if you're easily frustrated.
MineThings : Free Browser multiplayer Game
http://www.minethings.com/miners/index/+103419
Burn....
I have seasonal affective disorder and I kid around saying I'm solar-powered.
Sunlight does make me happier and energized. However, due to the nature of my career as digital artist of sorts, I need consistent color on my monitor in order for the images to be color-balanced/ graded. In short, I actually demanded a dark office away from any windows, or that would throw off my visual sense of "neutral."
Yea, it sucks. I wish I knew about it before embarking on this career. But it's like a pilot saying he loves flying, but later finds out he has a physical aversion to heights.
I'd rather take a break by walking outside. Last thing I want is to play games on my screen, especially flashy stuff in a dark room (the end of solitaire with the cards jumping out is an optical headache).
Just my 2 cents.
Get up from the desk and do a minor chore, like wash dishes or dust, arrange books take out the trash. Works for me, then I see progress off screen as well as on screen.
"Enjoy what you're doing! If it becomes drudgery, you're doing it wrong!" - Jim Butterfield
...and my toddler is pretty short. She's too much fun to spend just a few minutes with, though.
Pull your plonker for a few minutes.
Shove a gerbil up your ass.
if you like playing card games, there are approximately aleph-null solitaire games in existence. You should be able to find a few freeware/adware apps which contain from 5 to 500 different solitaire card games. Pick the ones you like.
https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
Well, for old school strictly time wasting, I always enjoyed Pipe Dreams. For really really old school (MSDOS), there was Sopwith2. Somebody somewhere created PC-RR, where you laid tracks, saved the layout, and then ran your 5 "trains" on them. Most people I knew found PC-RR to be completely boring, but a few found it had some kind of appeal, and you wouldn't want to play it nonstop for an hour. But as far as learning something useful? I think not. Lots of adults enjoy stuff like Roller Coaster Tycoon and RR Tycoon. You can design a park, then just let it run and check on your profits, etc., maybe add a new coaster, during breaks.
I consider doing work to be a short time waster, interrupting me from my cat videos.
have a quick wander round http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings - the digital version of UK public art collection - lots of good stuff to look at
or
yoga: nothing like a good stretch for a break from typing all day
except
juggling: THE BEST EYE RELAXATION but only if you can get far enough away from your coworkers that you don't hit them
(if that has to be in the toilet, put the lid down!)
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/games/bloxorz
'Nuff said.
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/ - Limit yourself to one or two links.
Very good advice has been given here: take a short walk, look out the window, email a friend, etc.
The object is to rest your mind and -at least a little- your body. So I'll add one more piece: construct your hobby.
I love astronomy, a geeky and virtually unending hobby. So I just navigate to NASA, se the photo of the day, or download/view my latest coursera.com lectures for this week, or google a weird datum I read about in the papers this morning (like the asteroid that is passing near the Earth tomorrow).
A hobby will rest you, put you in a good mood, instruct you, give you talking subject. Oh! Did I mention it will rest you?
"If you spend alot of time on "near work" such as staring at a screen..."
Here's a way to waste a few seconds: Make up idiot non-words like "alot." Hey, you beat me to it!
If it hurts, back off. I can't stress this enough. For your own sake, if you're already at the 'wrist pain most of the time', it's time to find a job that doesn't overstress your wrists/hands/arms.
If you're lucky, and haven't let this problem get too out of control, you could be pain free in a couple of years. If you're not fortunate you could be dealing with this for the rest of your life. Sorry to be so blunt.
After only a few months of extremely high volume Photoshop work, I developed persistent wrist pain. I tried different input devices (tablet, trackball, neutral hand position mouse). That just moved the pain elsewhere, i.e. elbow, shoulder. I stopped doing that work and started trying to find a new career. I was out of work for years, and suffered a decrease in pay for starting a new line of work. I consider myself extremely lucky that most days if I don't do too much mousing or typing I don't experience much or any pain.
Consider your long term physical and mental health. Chronic pain can be physically debilitating and also cause depression.
I know this is pretty rough advice, but you've only got one body. I'd rather have better health than more money. Sure, you could keep doing what hurts you until you're unable to do it. Then you can file for Workers Comp and possibly get some sort of settlement. You also might suffer irreversible damage. Think about it. Would you step in front of a car if you knew that you could get enough cash to not have to work again (and you won't get that from WorkComp, nowhere near that) but would be crippled for the rest of your life?
Not trying to be dramatic, but it was 3 or 4 years before I was mostly healed, and I still get pain 10 years later.
I usually go to mindlinkgame.com (disclaimer: I know the co-founder) for a short break; I read a few things, make a few entries; it gets my mind going on a different track. Nice distraction from work.
fap. that shouldn't take long
You could always go wak the dinosaur:
www.walkthedinosaur.com