It’s no secret that I’m lazy.  And as much as I want this blog to work, I’ve been pretty lazy with blogging lately.  It could be that it’s hard to get anything done online with a toddler banging on the keyboard, or it could just be the weather and ugly depression that comes with it.  It could be as simple as writer’s block, or “blogger’s block” as I’ve heard it referred to.  I’d love to say that instead of blogging, I’ve been doing something productive, like getting a head start on spring cleaning or knitting sweaters for homeless dogs.  Unfortunately, neither of those things are true, but I will share some of the things I have been doing when I’m online, in no particular order.  Let this serve as a guide for what to do when you have blogger’s block, or just what to do when you’re bored and stuck in the house.

Reading other blogs – There are some awesome blogs out there.  For any interest you have, or want to pretend you have, there is a blog about it.  For me, this is almost helpful to my blog since I can get ideas by reading other blogs.  Some blogs can get me stuck for hours, always wanting to read just one more post.  I love all fashion blogs, both small, unknown ones and hugely popular ones, like Refinery29.  Another blog I find myself on all the time is xoJane; not solely a fashion blog, it has articles about everything for women.  I think I would even go so far as to call it my favorite blog.

Taking surveys – I suppose I can’t call this one unproductive either, since I’m making money by taking surveys.  Dull, yes, but I just love seeing that cash add up.  For some more info on survey taking online, see my Internet Moneymaking Guide articles.

Playing online games – Now this can go both ways.  While the majority of online games I play are completely unproductive and have no point, there are tons of online games that can actually earn you money, making them productive.  There are the popular casino gaming sites, where you can play poker, blackjack, and even bingo to win real money.  I have played bingo online at assorted sites similar to the popular CheekyBingo, and I have won money from them a few times.  I also used to date someone who played online poker all the time, and he has won a lot of money doing that.  While not quite as productive, I love playing games on Swagbucks.com (more about this site in a later post), where I can earn small amounts of Swagbucks just for playing.  Then there are the just-for fun games, like any of the Facebook games, or Text Twist; I can waste a lot of time with those.

Shopping online – I don’t even know if what I do can be considered shopping, since I rarely actually buy anything.  What is the online name for window shopping?  That’s what I do, I browse.  Ebay is probably my favorite place to shop online, since I can hunt for deals I can’t find anywhere else.  I also love checking all of the daily deal sites like Modnique, No More Rack, Hautelook, and others.  Even though I don’t usually buy anything, browsing all of the stuff I could buy still fills some kind of primal womanly need in me, and I guess I could say that is productive.

Entering giveaways & sweepstakes – You all know about my love for winning stuff, and even the act of entering and dreaming about the things I could win makes me kind of excited.  There are millions of giveaway and sweepstakes going on at any time, and I love having the hopeful feeling of opening my emails every morning and looking for the email that says, “You’re a winner!”  Getting those emails just makes my entire day, and getting the packages in the mail is like getting birthday presents.  You may call that time wasting, but I just don’t see it that way (most of the time).

Discovering new music – I listen to Pandora Radio a lot during the day.  I love being able to type in my favorite bands and have songs played for me that I’m almost guaranteed to like, by artists I’ve never heard before.  I get sick of listening to the same music over and over, and this has been the easiest way for me to find new music to listen to.

Whether these things are wasting my time or not, this is how I spend the majority of my time online.  Maybe now that I have seen my day all laid out like this, it will inspire me to make blogging my priority.  Maybe not.  With the weather getting nicer, maybe I can spend all of my computer time on my blog, and the rest of my time outside, as that would be the ideal situation.  I’d love to know what other people do when they’re online.  Do any of my time-suckers also suck your time?  Do you also try to reason with yourself that what you’re doing is actually productive and important?  Leave me a comment, and share with me your biggest time wasting activities.

As for me, I think I need to take a look into the Hardly a Housewife archives and find that article on procrastinating.