This article was originally about decorating your space on a budget. However, unlike most articles I’ve written, it just didn’t flow like it usually does. If you know me personally, you know I can talk for hours about anything and everything, which is why my writer’s block was really frustrating. As I read the article I absolutely hated it; I was getting annoyed with my own words, which is not the feeling you want when you know your work is going to be published.
The next day, I suddenly came to the realization of why the article had been so difficult to write. It’s the ninth week of the quarter! Who in their right mind is worrying about what their room looks like with finals rapidly approaching? We’re catching up on weeks of reading, and our bank account balances are dangerously low from all the snacks we’ve bought for those late night “study” sessions. I don’t think I’ve cleaned my room in the past two weeks, let alone thought about how cute it looks.
Since finals are coming up, projects are due, and professors are cramming in twice the amount of information as normal. So I decided to write about stress relievers. This won’t be another article telling you to count your breaths or not to procrastinate. Instead, I’m going to give you what you really want. I don’t know how many times I’ve decided to take just a five-minute break to check my Facebook or catch the ending of a Law and Order episode, I ended up wasting two hours. This happens because Facebook and television pull us in and entertain us a bit too much. Although you don’t want to sit there for 5 minutes staring at the wall, you also don’t want to get too into your distraction.
I’ve compiled a list of my favorite websites to visit when I need a quick break. These sites are interesting, but they won’t take you completely off course. Enjoy, but like with everything, enjoy in moderation!
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1. I Waste So Much Time
This website could not be named more perfectly. This website is a collection of images, quotes, and animated GIFs that are meant to make you laugh, think twice, and generally entertain you. They update daily, so there’s always something new to look at. I discovered this site one day during lecture while Googling the name, not knowing I was going to find the perfect quick distraction.
2. Dear Blank Please Blank
Dear Blank Please Blank is a partner site of I Waste So Much Time which features 1-2 sentence letters. Most are meant to be comical, but some are deeper. Like the previous website, they update daily and even have a DBPB fail page of entries that weren’t quite what they were looking for, but are still worthy of being showcased.
3. Attack of the Cute
Just like it sounds, if you don’t say “aaaww” at least once while scrolling down the page you must be made of stone. If you are ever having a really bad day, go visit this website because they publish adorable photos of animals on a daily basis. For those of us who are tired of seeing puppies hanging off clothes lines and kittens in buckets, this website does not disappoint. Scrolling down the first page, there are photographs of gophers, monkeys and cheetahs. Aaawwww.
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4. Grouchy Rabbit
If my last suggestion made you gag, or you just want something a bit less embarrassing to scroll through during lecture, don’t worry, this next website is the one for you. Grouchy Rabbit is a site where all sarcastic and socially awkward comments are fully appreciated. This site is definitely not for everyone, but if you ever find your level of sarcasm to be to the point where other people think you’re the stupid one, definitely check this site out.
5. I Raff I Ruse
At first I was planning on suggesting you make your own Tumblr, then I quickly realized that Tumblr can become a worse addiction than Facebook. So instead, I highly recommend that you bookmark the Tumblr page I Raff I Ruse to satisfy the teenage boy inside all of us (no sexual undertones intended). The site is composed of memes and images that will make you laugh and think “WTF?” This site, like Grouchy Rabbit, may not be for everyone, but if you need a quick laugh, check it out.
6. BuzzFeed
We all know one of those people: those people who are always up to date with current events. They not only hear the Snooki pregnancy rumors first, they also can name the presidential candidates and predict who is on track to making it to the Super Bowl. They better refresh their Yahoo! Homepage a bit more quickly because a few months ago I discovered the secret weapon to knowing everything about anything, and no it’s not Wikipedia. BuzzFeed is a site that takes all the interesting articles that are trending on the Internet and organizes them into one place. I usually go straight to the What’s Hot tab and click Viral on the Web, but you can also choose to only be shown articles under the headings, “LOL,” “OMG,” “Cute,” or “WTF?”
In closing, I will list the sites you should visit under no circumstances if you need a quick break from studying.
1. Facebook: Think about it; you might not have any notifications, but that post you casually commented on might turn into an entire conversation. Or, your friend decides now is the time to catch you up on her entire week over chat. Even worse, the guy you’ve been crushing on “liked” some random girl’s status, leaving you no option other than trolling all 300 of her tagged pictures.
2. Tumblr: It is commonly known that Tumblr is the end of peoples’ social lives. With all of those hilarious memes and inspirational quotes to reblog, your quick study break will turn into a two hour long reblog session where you can’t decide which theme better suits your Tumblr page. Beware, just like you can’t only eat one chip, you cant only reblog one thing.
3. Hulu/Netflix: This has happened to me countless times. I say I’ll only watch one episode of Modern Family, then another until I finish my dinner. Next thing I know I’ve finished Season One, and I’m too tired to go back to studying. Stay off these sites! Their limited commercials and quick loading will suck you in.