25 Websites You Absolutely Have to Avoid If You’re Working from Home

By | Published Mar 17, 2020 3:57 PM

Man wearing lion mask looking at laptop
Working from home is a rare combination of stiflingly boring and endlessly distracting. It’s hard to stay focused when the Internet beckons: You could revisit your old LiveJournal! Or pore through Wikipedia articles on the Portuguese Colonial War! Or buy a bunch of stuff you don’t need from eBay! Or you can read this list of every website you should avoid when you’re trying to get work done. Happy WFH, everyone. Getty Images

The Office “Stare Machine”

This single-serving site is a smorgasbord of procrastination for any fan of The Office. Just type in what kind of “stare” you want to see and hit “go.” You’ll get a mini video clip of Jim, Pam, Michael or another character giving it to you.

WebMD

Nope. Now is definitely not the time to go on a self-diagnosis spiral on WebMD.

OCEARCH Shark Tracker

Yep, it’s just what it sounds like: The OCEARCH organization (with financial backing from SeaWorld) pulls in GPS tagging data from great whites, makos and other sharks around the world and shows you exactly where they’re swimming. Right now. Like “Nova,” a 1,000-pound, 11-foot-long great white who was cruising off the coast of South Carolina at press time.

San Diego Zoo Livestream

No matter what, do not go look at the San Diego Zoo’s live cams if you are trying to work right now. There’s a dedicated Ape Cam, Baboon Cam, Condor Cam, Elephant Cam, Koala Cam, Panda Cam, Penguin Cam, Polar Cam and last but not least, a Tiger Cam. Click at your own peril.

CNN

All of the scary headlines on CNN will drain any energy you have left today. Save the frightening-news reading for first thing in the morning—you know, to set the tone for your day!

Zillow

It’s fun to laugh (or cry) at the price disparity between a mansion in Texas and a shoebox in NYC. But poking around Zillow is also addictive—you’ve been warned!

Timelapse

TIME’s online Timelapse feature lets you watch thirty years’ worth of satellite photography from all over the world. At least you’ll feel a little smarter by the end of it.

Pitbull Party

While all the clubs and bars are shut down, it’s only natural to crave a taste of your old nightlife. But don’t go to the Pitbull Party website, which lets you use your arrow keys to keep the music pumping with Pitbull. At least until after 5 pm.

Facebook

Unless you really want to see the fake news your aunts are relentlessly posting, or the corona memes the friend you haven’t seen since high school keeps sharing, take a break from Facebook in the coming weeks.

WizardingWorld

Whether you’re a Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffndor or Slytherin, you should avoid this one during the workday. Forget the basic Sorting Hat quizzes—this website is the real deal. One quiz on this site reveals whether or not you could become an oracle, while another tests your knowledge of Neville Longbottom.

Bored Panda

If you get sucked into Bored Panda’s feel-good content—like a list of art museums you can visit virtually and adorable footage of people’s pets living the work-from-home life—good luck getting back out of it.

Reddit: Am I The A**hole?

You know Reddit is bad news—you can fall deep down a reddithole on just about any topic. But one that is certain to keep you clicking (when you should be working) is the “Am I the Asshole” (AITA) thread where posters ask Qs like: “AITA for blackmailing my brother?” and “AITA for having my assistant fired because she frequently smells bad?” It’s like Dr. Phil and Dear Abby got married and had a baby that only lives inside the internet.

Find the Invisible Cow

This site is a…game?…where you move the cursor around to reveal an invisible cow. Oh! And a disembodied voice shouts, “cow cow cow” at you—louder or quieter depending on how “well” you’re doing. This one will eat away at your brain. Really. Don’t click!

Eyebleach.me

This unfortunately named website will mesmerize you with full-screen automatic slideshows of kittens and dogs. If you do venture in for a quick break, set a timer to help you snap out of it when it’s time to go back to work!

Oprah and Her Bees

You’ll spend more time than you think watching this looping gif of Oprah sending vicious bees into an unsuspecting audience. It’s random, pointless and way too compelling.

Hydraulic Press Channel

We can’t explain why watching various objects get crushed by a hydraulic press is so damn satisfying, but we literally can’t take our eyes off these videos (especially the one of a Furby being flattened by the world’s fastest press). We bet you won’t be able to either.

Wikipedia Serial Killers Page

True crime buffs know once you start perusing the serial killers page on Wikipedia, it’s practically impossible not to read [all the gruesome details](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_killer) of every case the articles link out to, from Ted Bundy’s infamous killing spree to evil doctors who murdered their patients. So unless you want to get fired for malingering and also have bad dreams tonight, don’t go there.

Attack of the Cute

Pic after pic of puppies, kittens, baby bugs and other adorable animals. You will scroll and scroll and scroll until your hand freezes into a claw or you get fired. Whichever comes first. (For a vintage dose of cute, remember Cute Overload?)

Reddit’s Ooer Board

Reddit’s r/Ooer] board is a compilation of ultra-niche memes that will make you wonder WTF is wrong with the Internet. If you open it now, you will spend the next two weeks sitting in one place, scrolling until your hand is permanently gnarled over your keyboard and your shoulders are forever hunched.

Buzzfeed Quizzes

If you take one Buzzfeed quiz asking which Disney character you are based on your shoe size, you will inevitably take at least 75 more—which is why you need to avoid the website at all costs during the work day.

Clickhole

Laughter is truly the best medicine—unless you’re trying to get something done on deadline. Clickhole is The Onion’s satirical listicle site. They stopped publishing new content in February because their computers all got “infested with crickets,”, but you can still get a much-needed laugh from their archives. So don’t go there.

Distractify

The title of this website says it all. Save the light entertainment news on social media stars and C-list celebrities for after work!

Yahoo Answers!

There’s a delightful bounty of misinformation on Yahoo! Answers, and it can be easy to spend hours reading just how wrong people can be. Please wait until your lunch break.

Target.com

Nobody has ever left Target having bought only the essentials. Shopping online means you’ll be even more tempted to fill your cart with unnecessary extras. You’re supposed to be earning money right now, not spending it!

The Oatmeal

Matthew Inman’s comics are super cute, and one of them even provides helpful alternatives for people who just can’t stop touching their faces. But once you see his cartoon on the “mole” on Mars, you’re going to want to read every news article you can find on the topic—which won’t be very conducive to getting work done.

Etsy

Now is a great time to support small businesses—but if you find yourself with three $200 antique cameras in your Etsy cart, it’s time to close the tab.

MORE TO READ