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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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 :)
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.
Sounds like a neat idea. If you were actually getting a new coffee every 10 minutes you would probably approach a lethal dose pretty quick though :)
i'd like to see you do 10 lunges while smoking a cigarette....not saying you can't...saying it would be entertaining.
...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
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.