Goofing off at the office game

Research has shown the productivity benefits of the "Creative Pause," a time for the brain to step back and take time away from work in order to solve problems and think creatively. Our brains don't do well chained to a desk.

Playing games and exploring the world gives us time to make connections, see things differently, break out of old habits and come up with new ideas. When people are "goofing off," they're not necessarily forgetting about work problems, questions or dilemmas; their brains are, instead, actually thinking about all those things unconsciously, coming up with new approaches, perspectives and ideas.

We tend to think that work happens only when we're completely focused on a task, but often the opposite is true. Creative inspiration often comes when we look away, do something else for a while, and then return.

Play creates new neurological pathways and makes the brain more flexible, giving it the chance to develop unique solutions. Play can, therefore, have a serious goal—in addition to simply being fun. Playing volleyball or ping pong at the office can be a great way to enhance collegiality and encourage people to work together. Too often, people work in silos, separate from and oblivious to each other. Games, hikes, nights out or other social activities can help foster togetherness, particularly if they're voluntary or spontaneous.

Through games and fun activities, people can grow to see each other not just as co-workers, but as partners and co-collaborators. People who play together gain an understanding of each other that carries over into the workplace, making the time they work together ultimately more productive. Engaging in fun activities can be good for the physical, mental and emotional health of employees. It doesn't help any employer to have unhealthy and inactive workers, many of whom might have long commutes, family duties and little time outside of the work day to get fit.

A few caveats: The proxy may be slower than a direct connection, and it may limit you to one free session for a specific period of time. And finally, be careful when choosing a free anonymous proxy , as many are fronts for identity thieves who hope to steal your personal information. How can you goof off when your back is to the boss? Velcro fasteners are included in the kit. No more surprise and distracting!

The only problem with C. Nevertheless, with your newfound monkey powers, you should be able to come up with some clever excuse. Moonlighting on company time? Virtual desktops can save your paycheck by creating mini-workspaces, each one running its own suite of apps. Think of them as parallel universes for your PC.

Mac OS X starting with version Windows users should seek out a third-party utility such as WindowsPager , which integrates nicely with the Windows taskbar. If someone approaches you, just point to the headset and wave them away.

Works like a charm. Some activities practically hide themselves, if you use the right tools. For Twitter fiends, ScraperWiki is all the stealth anyone needs. Designed for social media pros and data scientists, ScraperWiki is a powerful tool for extracting data from the web.

We recommend omitting the profile image column for maximum effect. You can click the upper-left corner of the window to change the skin on the fly to better match your Windows or Mac screen environment. In a slacker move as old as the web itself , you could always create a desktop background that looks like a screen full of business apps.