The combination of a slow, hot Friday in August and an excellent interactive Google Doodle can be murder on your productivity.
And Friday's Doodle, a soccer penalty shoot-out where you play the goalie, was particularly addictive. The balls went faster and faster, so it was hard to beat a high score. Beating a high score suddenly became Very Important.
If Mashable's office is any harbinger of online trends — and let's face it, it usually is — this is probably going to be among the most addictive, time-sucking, attention-grabbing Doodles in Google history. And it'll certainly be one of those Doodles.
You know — the ones (such as the Pac-Man Doodle) that cause economists to start speculating about how many hours of productivity that have been lost to the U.S. economy (Pac-Man Doodle was said to have zapped 4.7 billion hours), and how many billions of dollars that represents. Implication: Doodles are hurting America.
Not so. As many productivity experts will tell you, building a good chunk of downtime into your day isn't just helpful in recharging yourself and your creativity. It's essential.
Ever tried the Pomodoro technique? It's a popular productivity tool that has you working on a task for 25 minutes at a time (using a Pomodoro timer, hence the name), then taking a five-minute break. Every third break, make it last 15 minutes.
Don't cheat the downtime. Don't try to sneak in a quick phone call or an email. Really use the time to do something not work-related — such as play an interactive Google Doodle.
You don't need me to tell you why switching off is useful if you've read enough of those articles about why we come up with our best ideas in the shower. It's just the proper care and feeding of your unconscious, left-brain, creative mind — whatever you want to call it.
There are many great apps that automate the Pomodoro technique — and I'd argue an app is essential to giving you the confidence that the timer will go off, and you can enjoy your break guilt-free.
Not only can you focus on work better in 25-minute chunks, you can focus better on beating the high score in your breaks. Win-win.
That's why economists who calculate lost hours of productivity miss the point. That's why some of your bosses miss the point. Goofing off keeps your mind fighting fit, if done properly.
The hours that all those breaks add up to could always be thought as hours lost to the economy. But that's like saying a healthy lunch is an hour you could have spent exercising. Your body needs both.
So I'm glad to see Google coming up with ever-more addictive Doodle games, and that the company puts them front and center on one of the world's most trafficked pages.
Let's hope they don't slow down after the Olympics. They're a reminder to all of us to stop, smell roses, take a breath, lighten up, enjoy yourself. In today's never-stop culture, you need as many reminders not to burn out as you can get.
I like to think Google is subtly spreading its concept of 80% time — which is kind of its version of the Pomodoro technique. Every employee has to take 20% of the time to work on their own projects, or do whatever they want.
It is on 20% time, no doubt, that many a Google Doodle was thought up. And that's the other value of goofing off — what you build, almost by accident, in that time can often be more creative than what you were working on anyway.
Do you put structured goofing-off time in your day? Let us know in the comments.
This Google Doodle, displayed Jan. 17, features a group of children playing hopscotch — an homage to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Thomas Edison, the inventor and scientist, was celebrated this year on his birthday, Feb. 11.
Legendary illusionist Harry Houdini was honored on Mar. 24, which would have been his 137th birthday.
Chemist Robert Bunsen, inventor of the Bunsen burner, and the elements caesium and rubidium, was celebrated on Mar. 31. He would have been 200.
Google celebrated Charlie Chaplin's 122nd birthday with a short film in Chaplin's own style.
Google celebrated an animated, interactive Doodle to raise awareness for Earth Day on April 22.
Since 2000, Google has celebrated Mother's Day with a tribute on its homepage, and this year proved to be no different.
Roger Hargreaves — of the Mr. Men children's book fame — would have turned 76 this year, and to celebrate, Google released various Doodles featuring the author's characters.
American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham would have been 117 May 11, so Google celebrated her with this dance-themed doodle.
Matteo Lopez, an aspiring space explorer, won a $15,000 college scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for his school with this doodle.
Famous guitarist Les Paul received an interactive Google Doodle so popular, it lived on in its own web page.
Just like Mother's Day, Google has also celebrated dads all over the world with a special doodle for Father's Day since 2000.
To celebrate the 2011 summer solstice, Google used a colorful modified logo, created by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
Genetics pioneer Gregor Mendel was celebrated on July 20, for what would have been his 189th birthday.
Mobile artist Alexander Calder was celebrated July 22 on Google's homepage.
An interactive Google Doodle displayed on Aug. 6, to commemorate what would have been comedian Lucile Ball's 100th birthday.
Math Pioneer Pierre de Fermat's 410th birthday was celebrated on Google's homepage Aug. 17.
Google commemorated Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges on Aug. 24, which would have been his 112th birthday.
In honor of the birthday of Queen's former front man Freddie Mercury, Google came out with this interesting video.
Hungarian scientist and Nobel prize winner Albert Szent-Györgyi, who is credited with discovering vitamin C, was celebrated on Sept. 16.
To honor the 75th birthday of famous puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets, Google created this interactive doodle.
Google celebrated its 13th birthday with this retro-themed birthday party pic.
When tech icon Steve Jobs died, Google put differences aside to pay tribute to the late Apple co-founder.
Stop motion pioneer Art Clokey, best known for his characters Gumby and Pokey, was celebrated on Google's homepage Oct. 12.
Marie Curie, the famous Polish-French physicist and chemist was celebrated Nov. 7.
Louis Daguerre, the French physicist who invented daguerreotype, the first commercially successful form of photography, received an honorary Google Doodle Nov. 18.
Google celebrated Thanksgiving with this child-like drawing of a turkey. Also integrated was the search engine's social network, Google+.
Mark Twain's 176th birthday was celebrated Nov. 30 with a famous reference from Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," where Tom cleverly gets other boys to paint a fence instead of him.
Mexican painter and communist icon Diego Rivera was celebrated on Google's homepage Dec. 8.
Robert Noyce, the co-founder of Intel and co-inventor of the microchip, was born Dec. 12. To commemorate him, Google displayed this doodle.
This Google Doodle, displayed Jan. 17, features a group of children playing hopscotch — an homage to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Thomas Edison, the inventor and scientist, was celebrated this year on his birthday, Feb. 11.
Legendary illusionist Harry Houdini was honored on Mar. 24, which would have been his 137th birthday.
Chemist Robert Bunsen, inventor of the Bunsen burner, and the elements caesium and rubidium, was celebrated on Mar. 31. He would have been 200.
Google celebrated Charlie Chaplin's 122nd birthday with a short film in Chaplin's own style.
Google celebrated an animated, interactive Doodle to raise awareness for Earth Day on April 22.
Since 2000, Google has celebrated Mother's Day with a tribute on its homepage, and this year proved to be no different.
Roger Hargreaves — of the Mr. Men children's book fame — would have turned 76 this year, and to celebrate, Google released various Doodles featuring the author's characters.
American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham would have been 117 May 11, so Google celebrated her with this dance-themed doodle.
Matteo Lopez, an aspiring space explorer, won a $15,000 college scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for his school with this doodle.
Famous guitarist Les Paul received an interactive Google Doodle so popular, it lived on in its own web page.
Just like Mother's Day, Google has also celebrated dads all over the world with a special doodle for Father's Day since 2000.
To celebrate the 2011 summer solstice, Google used a colorful modified logo, created by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
Genetics pioneer Gregor Mendel was celebrated on July 20, for what would have been his 189th birthday.
Mobile artist Alexander Calder was celebrated July 22 on Google's homepage.
An interactive Google Doodle displayed on Aug. 6, to commemorate what would have been comedian Lucile Ball's 100th birthday.
Math Pioneer Pierre de Fermat's 410th birthday was celebrated on Google's homepage Aug. 17.
Google commemorated Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges on Aug. 24, which would have been his 112th birthday.
In honor of the birthday of Queen's former front man Freddie Mercury, Google came out with this interesting video.
Hungarian scientist and Nobel prize winner Albert Szent-Györgyi, who is credited with discovering vitamin C, was celebrated on Sept. 16.
To honor the 75th birthday of famous puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets, Google created this interactive doodle.
Google celebrated its 13th birthday with this retro-themed birthday party pic.
When tech icon Steve Jobs died, Google put differences aside to pay tribute to the late Apple co-founder.
Stop motion pioneer Art Clokey, best known for his characters Gumby and Pokey, was celebrated on Google's homepage Oct. 12.
Marie Curie, the famous Polish-French physicist and chemist was celebrated Nov. 7.
Louis Daguerre, the French physicist who invented daguerreotype, the first commercially successful form of photography, received an honorary Google Doodle Nov. 18.
Google celebrated Thanksgiving with this child-like drawing of a turkey. Also integrated was the search engine's social network, Google+.
Mark Twain's 176th birthday was celebrated Nov. 30 with a famous reference from Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," where Tom cleverly gets other boys to paint a fence instead of him.
Mexican painter and communist icon Diego Rivera was celebrated on Google's homepage Dec. 8.
Robert Noyce, the co-founder of Intel and co-inventor of the microchip, was born Dec. 12. To commemorate him, Google displayed this doodle.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, PeskyMonkey
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