Yeah, I know what you're thinking: What's productive about fun? Well, in the short term, probably nothing. But in the long term, taking time to restore your mental energy and even test parts of your brain can allow you to do your best work. And there's no substitute for the healing, energizing power of laughter. Here are some of my favorite sites for restoring my brain.
image stolen shamelessly from www.cakewrecks.blogspot.com/
One of the funniest sites I've ever seen is Cake Wrecks, a blog that captures all the messed-up magic that occurs when professional cake decorators make mistakes, take the customer's order far too literally (as shown above) or just don't care. It's updated almost every day, and also includes examples of cakes done well. Still, for my money, it's hard to top the image of partygoers responding to the sight of a cake proudly proclaiming "It a Gril!"
image stolen shamelessly from www.thechive.com
Another source of endless mirth for me is people messing up other people's photos, whether deliberately or accidentally. This practice is known as photobombing, and like all arts, when it's done well, it's a thing of beauty and a joy forever. My two favorite sites for P-bomb giggles are This Is Photobomb and the photobomb galleries on The Chive. Just be aware: not all photobombs are safe for work.
And y'all know about I Can Has Cheezburger, right?
Games can also help you unwind, but the challenge for that is: how not to get sucked into an epic, hours-long session. Fortunately, free online games tend to be short because they're just that little taste to get you to buy the whole thing. Of course, if you're on a Mac, it's unlikely the whole thing will be available for purchase anyway, so you can enjoy the short online demos, then get back to creating.
I'm a big fan of puzzle-type games, so Cubis (kinda like Tetris, only in 3D and with bright colors) is right up my alley. The online demo here has only 10 playable levels, so you're done in 30 minutes or less.
Even shorter is the online version of Galactrix, which only gives you one level to play. (How many times you play that particular level is up to you.) I'm not sure you can turn the music off, which can be a drawback in an office, but if you're by yourself, it can make you feel like Admiral Adama.
And let's not overlook the mini-games available on Facebook, which many of you probably use to unwind anyway. In fact, I invite anyone reading this to challenge me to a head-to-head game of Scramble. Let's get our pseudo-Boggle on!
What other online escapes do you use to recharge your brain so you can get back to creating? Let me know in the comments!
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