The Tab guide to procrastination websites

As exam time rolls around again, we enter Procrastination Nation again with the burning question of “How can I escape from the concept of my imminent failure for a few short minutes (or hours)?” on the tip of our tongues.

We have the answer: the definitive list of all the best websites to procrastinate on during exam season.

The All Rounders

1)      Buzzfeed

2)      Distractify

3)         Happy Place

What’s Good About them: Bright layouts, lots of pictures and very funny memes. Everything is in list form and we all know how GREAT lists are… Varies layouts from the boldness of Buzzfeed to the more laidback and chilled nature of Distractify. You only have to go by all their names to know you’ll have an exciting and relaxing time surfing these babies.

What’s Bad About them: The varied nature of all three can prove a pain as some have less material than others but hey you know what they say…sometimes less is more! These sites are sometimes too American and therefore don’t make sense on occasions, with querky TV show references well over your head.

Good For: These sites are an easy escape plan from the boredom of essays writing or note taking; simple, effective and straight to the point. Just like a good essay….oh wait…

The online photo albums: the hub of self-pretentiousness, adorability and the outright funny

1)      Imgur

2)      Pinterest

3)        I waste so much time

What’s Good about them: Pages upon pages of images varying from the self-loving to the self-loathing. These sites will never let you down if you want to feel better about yourself or just simply see a cat play a keyboard! Again the variety these sites bring get in touch with the technological ones to the more chilled ones out there. Because of the global nature of these websiteS, stuff is uploaded every millisecond, meaning you always have new material. They’re quirky, friendly, vibe, and are almost always funny.

What’s Bad about them: People take themselves too seriously and sometimes get way too personal. I’m here to laugh at the grumpy cat meme, not to hear about your weird thoughts about your sister. Get help.

Good For: “I’m-too-tired-to-focus-my-eyes” scrolling. The copious amount of pictures make these incredibly lazy but enjoyable forms of procrastination.

The ‘I promise it’s educational and I’m doing work!’ sites.

1)        Sporcle

2)        Upworthy

What’s Good about them: Fun AND educational! It feels like you’re doing work. Also, knowing every state in America or all the European Capitals makes a great party trick. At Warwick at least….. Upworthy is equally educational but is also genuinely a fulfilling use of your downtime, with videos about gender, race, business and any topic deemed worthwhile. It does actually broaden your mind considerably, but still isn’t too challenging.

What’s Bad about them: Upworthy is all over facebook, which means it’s unavoidable. On the website itself they are quite pushy about sharing on facebook and twitter, meaning you may become an accomplice in distracting others. Cheeky! With Sporcle you end up convincing yourself it’s not a real break, resulting in a downward spiral of procrastination lasting all afternoon.

Good For: Reinspiring yourself and/or making your facebook persona look deep and politically active. We may be about to fail exams but at least we’re up to date on TedX. When you’ve had too much caffeine to focus on legitimate work but still need to be thinking. And if you are overcome with guilt about wasting learning time.

So that’s it, all you need to survive the exam period in one piece. If all else fails of course, you could always visit The Tab, I hear it’s great. Apologies if I’ve just ruined your degree, I don’t like being alone in failure. Happy browsing!