Top Desktop Diversions, 2007

Here's the latest installment of harmless Web sites that can give you a mini-vacation during the workday

by Liz Ryan

You work hard, you sit in meetings, you scramble and juggle, bob and weave all day long. On top of that, you read more every day in your e-mail account than our great-grandparents read in their lifetimes. You brain gets tired. Your eyes get tired. You deserve a break, every now and then, even at work. Maybe especially at work.

Don't even have the energy to leave your desk? Take a look at our third annual list of Top 10 desktop diversions. (For last year's, see BusinessWeek.com, 3/27/06, "Top Ten Desktop Diversions, 2006") This new batch are all free, require no downloads, and are just a few mouse clicks away. Best of all, they're perfectly appropriate for the workplace, provided you don't spend too much time on any of them!

1. It's a Draw

At youdraw.com you get to make a little drawing, enter it into a gallery along with a few million other drawings created by other people, and even send your little drawing to a friend via e-mail. There's probably even a business application for YouDraw, like if you had to draw a picture of the new logo you're designing for the fall new-products catalog… O.K., maybe there's no business application, but it's fun.

2. Word Games

At urbandictionary.com you can stay abreast of the latest slang emerging from wherever slang emerges from, and even define a new slang term before anyone else. You'll never be as cool as your kids, but you can still impress them (and the twentysomethings in your office) by knowing what "United Statians" and "iPerbole" mean.

3. Mr. or Ms. Know-How

Visit wikihow.com/Main-Page to learn how to do absolutely anything (e.g., Get Rid of Roaches, Sleep Better, or Make a Tropical Breakfast) or add your own advice to educate the masses. WikiHow is populated by regular humans who don't mind sharing their expertise on how-tos of all stripes. (There is even an entry on How to Waste Time, but don't get excited: It starts with a tip about looking for things that need doing, like cleaning a room or walking the dog.)

4. Plan a Movie Night

Movie reviews are collected over at rottentomatoes.com so that all you have to do is type in the name of a movie, and all of the reviews (plus a handy, overall Critics Tomatometer rating) are collected for your convenience. Rotten Tomatoes also features regular "best of" lists, such as the site's current compilation of the 100 best-reviewed sci-fi movies.

5. Get Little

It's not a diversion exactly, but every working person should know about TinyURL, which is so indispensable that there should be a special key on our keyboards that takes us directly to the site. You can stick any seven-lines-long, tedious URL into the little box, click your mouse, and get a compact URL back, suitable for posting or e-mailing without those annoying line breaks.

6. Pig Therapy

At http://drawapig.desktopcreatures.com, not only do you get the rare opportunity to draw a pig in any style or genre you fancy, but you also get a personalized analysis or what your pig drawing says about you! And when I say "a personalized analysis," I mean you can avoid years of costly therapy, just by drawing a pig. Seriously.