by Jordan Miller

Created on: February 07, 2009

That biology exam is only 15 hours away. Right now, one's primary focus should be on studying the difference between "microphlagea" and "microphoenia". So, what is one to do to help in this endeavor? Slacking off in more creative ways than just visiting Facebook for several hours or checking emails every five seconds. These get tiring after a while and, eventually, lead to the grueling task of studying. The best way to waste time is through ingenious means.

Construct a Rube Goldberg contraption throughout the room with the most valuables -

Anyone could get a bowling ball to knock into the button, turning on the fan so the ship float across the sink and pops the balloon, plunging the Slinky down the flight of makeshift book stairs to turn on a simple lightbulb, but can one do that without breaking that precious China teacup? How about using that priceless bowling trophy from '83 somewhere in the contraption? Extra points for turning on the light in one try. Double the points if there's a video of it uploaded to the internet (on a 56k Modem, of course, there is no rush here).

Solve a puzzle -

Rubiks cubes are a coin toss. If one does not know how to solve it, there goes a few hours. If one does, however, spice it up by juggling three at once and solving them simultaneously. Jigsaw puzzles are a good way to kill some time, so long as there are over one thousand pieces to place. Figuring out how to pass an economic stimulus bill through the House of Representatives overnight nets one an automatic A+ on an upcoming exam.

Host a board game with fellow slackers -
Any game is good so long as there are friends nearby who are willing to join in with the . Small, short games like Boggle and Poker are nice for a few minutes, but this gets tiresome after some time. The longer it takes to finish the game, the better. Monopoly is a good place to start, as getting Boardwalk and Park Place Hotels takes several days. Risk is also a good candidate, as overthrowing the continent of Asia takes a fortnight to accomplish. A Dungeons and Dragons campaign is the absolute champion in time wasting. It takes about a month to level up enough to kill the Dragon, and another month just to find the beast. Even then, the journey is never over, as the campaign could theoretically last forever. Although, to be fair, if everyone knows how to play D'nD beforehand, they are probably smart enough to know the material on the test already and thus have no need for studying in the first place.

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