May 07 2008
Boring Workday? Why Not Bang a Drum!
For those who have worked in the traditional office setting, you can probably relate to this. You know those days where you get to your desk, and find it hard to get going? After re-organizing your pen holder, shuffling papers from one pile to the next, and staring blankly at your computer screen in the hopes that something exciting is about to happen, you realize you’ve only killed about 45 minutes and it is going to be a long, painful day. With nothing on the agenda, trying to look busy in order to please the boss is near impossible. Fortunately, there are products available for helping us get through these moments a little easier. They are called Desk Top Toys, and while they might not make us look busy conducting work-related tasks, it is guaranteed to help break up the monotony of a slow workday.
In looking around at the hundreds of desktop toys available online, I found that the most popular seemed to be the Finger Drum Set. To me, this makes sense. How many times do I find myself tapping my pencil on the desk, my organizer, the mug that holds my pens, even the computer mouse? And everytime I do, no matter if I am busy are dead bored, my head kicks in the sound it would make if it were a real drum laying the beat for my own rock concert. I think it is human nature to do this. Either that, or I am really a lot farther out there than I thought. Well, with the Finger Drum Set, you can stop imagining the sounds and create them for real. It has five touch-sensitive areas that when tapped, create an authentic drum sound. With a cymbal, snare, and even a working bass pedal, you can create almost any beat you wish. As you tap each part of the drum you get a nice sound accompanied by a burst of light. Hit the right sections in succession, and you’ll be the Tommy Lee of the office (without the drama, hopefully).
Not only will the ability to rock out nurse you through the doldrums (no pun intended) of work, but displaying it on your desk for all to use will have even your boss killing time and giving it a whirl. After everyone has a drum solo and the post-concert discussion at the water cooler, look at your watch with a smile knowing that you just killed more than half your day. Just be careful. You don’t want to become so addicted at banging the drums that you start blowing off the days you actually have important work to get done. If that happens, you’ll surely be living the life of a one-hit wonder on the unemployment line.
The best part of this little toy is that it gives you the ability to record your jams for an encore playback. Let your legend live on hour after hour as you take it upon yourself to sound off your musical greatness at the turn of the clock, alerting the entire office of the time. Or better yet, record a rimshot for that daily “joke” you have to suffer through from Ted in accounting. No matter how you want to play it, make sure you just play. Although some could call these office toys corny, I see them as a great way to keep everyone from going crazy. If I keep buying these little trinkets, of course, there won’t be any room for work on my desk. Hey, that sounds like a pretty good idea.
[...] is out there for us bored and disgruntled workers. Searching both high and low, I found that the Finger Drum Set in my last post was just the tip of the iceburg. Watch this YouTube video of a gadget guy [...]