4 Time-Kill Apps to Access When You Need a Break

Anyone that knows me, knows I love apps. Most of the time, I’m touting my favorite business-related apps. I love them because they save time and money for me and my clients. In fact, I love apps so much that I have a webinar series where I review apps and share my recommendations.

True confession time … I have a secret. I also love apps that don’t save me time; in fact, they are a complete time suck, but oh so fun. I pull these out when waiting for a flight at the airport, when sitting in on a boring conference call, waiting in carpool line at school or when I just need to rest my brain for a few minutes.

Here are four of my favorite time-wasting apps for a mental break:

1. Kindle – I know, I know, it’s just an app that you use to read books, but man, I read a lot of books. In April of this year, I really embraced eBooks and started reading the John Sanford Prey Series; I’m now on #23 of 27. Just know this: I’ve read 25 books in 24 weeks, so this is obviously my #1 time suck app.
2. Words With Friends (iOS or Android) – This is like Scrabble, but more funner (which, by the way, is not an acceptable word!). I usually have a few games going at once with my friend Helen Brosnan from Intuit, my best friend and my husband.
3. BaconReader for Reddit (iOS or Android) – I use this app to browse Reddit. All I’m going to say about it is this: Reddit is my favorite internet rabbit hole to fall through.
4. Neko Atsume (iOS or Android) – Here, you collect cats. The only thing you do with this app is put out food and toys, and hope that cats come visit you … and hope you check it at the right time to get a picture of them for your album. That’s all you do: collect cats.

Now that you know my little secret, I’ll let you in on something else. Don’t let anyone see that you’re not being productive! No one needs to know what you’re doing; for all they know, you might be managing your client’s bank feed. So, the next time you’re on your tablet or phone wasting a little time, play it cool, even if you’re just collecting cats or creating a new two-letter word.

Editor’s note: There are many more personal apps all of us use, so what are a few of your favorites? Share your apps with others by leaving a comment below.