5 Apps to Make Bathroom Breaks Productive
We all take them. Most times they’re necessary. Other times, you just simply need a break from the monitor. Bathroom breaks are a natural byproduct of the 8-hour workday (unless you work for this company…)
Gone are the days of flipping through sports or glamour magazines while doing one’s business – our go-to weapon for combating boredom is smartphones.
It’s fun to browse Instagram feeds and message friends on Facebook – it’s serves as a nice breather at work. For those other instances when you want more than just a crappy use of time, here are 5 apps that can help you make the most of your bathroom break:
1. AL JAZEERA ENGLISH
In her TED talk, Alisa Miller takes a quick 5 minutes to visually represent America’s lack of awareness of world news. I bet that is no news to most of us – but hopefully Al Jazeera’s concise and informational articles will be. Just 5 minutes a day could help us expand our scope of awareness beyond the news feed that Facebook provides.
2. TED
How’d I stumble upon Alisa’s TED talk? Right on this app. If you’re the type who doesn't mind hiding a pair of earphones in your pocket on your walk to the restroom, then the TED app has a nifty feature for you – the user can discover random TED talks based on the category and duration they choose.
3. VOCABULARY.COM ($2.99)
Learn a new word or two! Yes, the app costs $3 – but the investment could pay more dividends than the utility of a Starbucks coffee on which you would have spent those $3. Effective communication is irrefutably valuable in social and professional lives. Just fancy SAT words don’t mean much, but knowing when and how to use them does. The Vocabulary.com app packs a bigger punch than your typical dictionary or flashcard app thanks to its addictive learning system and clean UI.
4. LINKEDIN PULSE
I often seek out interesting articles, but at times the sheer amount of them that circulate the internet can be overwhelming and unorganized. The Linkedin Pulse app (formerly Pulse) allows the user to consolidate his/her favorite news sources into one dashboard – whether it’s news outlets like TIME magazine and CNN, or entertainment blogs like Cracked and The Onion. Give it a try!
5. NO APP AT ALL
Leave the phone on your desk. Keep things simple. Grab a magazine or book. Or not. Enjoy a refreshing 5 minutes of silence, breathe, and empty out the mind. The way they used to do bathroom breaks in the pre-smartphone days…just 10 years ago.
