life...with a twist of dixie: these are a few of my favorite distractions.

The internet.

As an aspiring writer and someone that is trying to be more productive in life, it can be both a huge blessing...and curse. On the one hand, I am able to easily research ideas for blogs, discover new music, watch obscure indie films, and connect with interesting people from all over the world.

Then there's my other hand - the easily distracted one. I can fall into the black hole that is an adorable cat video so fast it would make your head spin. One minute, I am reading a very important world news article or basking in the glow of a brilliant blog idea and in the next second, I am on a tumblr page with endless memes of Sherlock dancing.

i mean. C'MON. this is SHERLOCKTACULAR.

There are some truly hilarious things out there and it can be an endless sea of ridiculous if you get sucked in...which I do...quite regularly. Just in the time it has taken me to write this little bit of a blog, I have probably checked my twitter feed like 8 times, facebooked, posted a photo on Instagram, watched a how-to video on makeup contouring, and googled how to get Beyonce's body (which is a LOT more work than I really want to do).

So how do we stay focused in a world where anything and everything is at our fingertips? Beats the hell out of me. If someone figures it out, please pass the information along.

In the meantime, check out my "5 Favorite Ways Bekah Loses Productivity".

1. Jimmy Fallon Clips

I swear, Jimmy Fallon must sit around and think of ways to make me happy. I love all of his extra little show bits but my favorites are the lip sync battles. They're all brilliant and will fill even the coldest of hearts with joy. Below is the most recent battle with one of my dream celeb besties, Emma Stone. But before you watch it, let's all thank John Krasinski for introducing the lip sync battle to Jimmy. Our lives are far funnier and more distracted with them in it.

2. Buzzfeed Quizzes

I can spend HOURS perusing all things Buzzfeed. It's an endless sea of interesting lists, whacky memes, and most importantly - the wonderful world of top notch time-wasting quizzes. They are obviously super scientific and no one I know would take them multiple times just because they didn't like the original result (guilty). I mean, who doesn't need to know the ever important answer to "Which Amazing Woman From History Should you Get Drunk With" (apparently my love of dancing got me an exotic dancer and courtesan named Mata Hari) to "How sweary Are You" (totally NSFW but hilarious)? Everyone, that's who!

3. HelloGiggles

This is absolutely one of my favorite sites! It is an online community created by women for women (but don't worry boys, you could learn a lot from it too). It was created by Zooey Deschanel and two of her favorite gal pals as a way for women to come and share their voices in a way that promotes and praises positivity. We see so much shaming and negativity in the media, it's a breath of fresh air to see a space where women come together without judgement and choose to lift each other up instead. If you like things like how to's, laughing, real deal life issues, nostalgia, and all the best kinds of girl power - you too will adore HelloGiggles. [Check out one of my recent favorites on positive body image.]

4. Cover Me Songs

If you love a good cover song as much as I do, this is the place to be. You will find all sorts of musical gems - the big names, the no names, the beautiful, and the downright weird. I have found loads of new artists here, but the best part about this site is how hearing a favorite song re-imagined can make you fall in love with it all over again...or getting to hear one of your favorite childhood shows like Ducktales get its theme song totally slow jammed. Thank you POW!GRL, oo-oo!

5. Coming Soon

Anyone reading this who knows me must have been waiting on a film related distraction. This site is basically full of movie news and trailers galore! I can sit and watch film trailers for HOURS. I then carefully file the watchable flicks under the "totally worth paying for at the cinema", "wait until it's on Netflix or at Redbox", or "this is so obscure, where can I find it online" list. The extra dangerous part - they have television show trailers too! So basically, it's my own inescapable vortex of movie and tv magic.

I mean, I found THIS. And yes, I'm fully aware that as a 30 year old woman, I probably shouldn't be so frickin' excited about a "Girl Meets World" trailer but what can I say...I'm a 90s chick. Cory + Topanga 4ever!!!!