The ultimate time waster?
What to do when you’re stuck waiting for the doctor to come into the exam room?
Ooh, ooh! I’ve got one. It’s what you do when you’re waiting to board an airplane.
Or definitely what you might want to do when the plane is tearing down the runway.
Facebook reels, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube…choose your poison. The reality is that there are dozens of ways to waste our time with the smart phone of your choice. What did we do before smart phones? Crossword puzzles? Still do those but a bit of a drag to carry pencil and paper around all the time. Oh, wait. You can also do them on your smart phone. Solitaire? A deck of cards is hardly portable, and you can play that game on your phone as well.
Now I know the book people are thinking, why not read a good book. A paperback is relatively portable and an iPad mini or Kindle makes it even easier. Plus, you can read in the dark. Okay, I accept that option as a great way to fill the downtime. But what if you are just trying to avoid any intellectual engagement and just want mindless fun? Then you’re off to the app store to get Angry Birds, Tetris, Sudoku, Words with Friends, Wordscapes, Minecraft, Candy Crush, or Sonic Dash.
If this is all starting to sound like it might be too much work, you might want to try Viridi. You grow and care for a pot of succulents in real time. Seriously. People say it’s great when you’re waiting for the Wi-Fi to kick back in (or there is none).
Gardening not your thing? Try Zen Koi. Yes, you can raise koi on your phone.
You could also try Fluid Monkey, where you drag your fingers through pools of liquid in the quest to make fabulous designs. This is ideal for when you’re on hold with customer service.
How about Prune? Not the fruit. This meditative app lets you retreat from the world in order to trim your digital bonsai tree.
Similarly, you could methodically wrap carved wooden objects with rope in Zen Bound. If you like puzzles, you could try Monument Valley where you get to guide a princess through simple Escher-like structures.
Perhaps the ultimate time waster is going to the app store to find something you like. With any luck, that should help you blow off an entire afternoon.
Jay Harrison is a writer and creative consultant for DesignConcept. You can also visit his author page here. His newest mystery novel, Rio Puerco Demise is available on Amazon. His first mystery novel, Head Above Water, is also available on Amazon. But that’s not all. You can also purchase the Best of BoomSpeak on Amazon.
