When I need a mental break, here are my favorite places to waste time, in no particular order of importance:

Email.

The stats page on my blog.

The “Write a post” page on my blog, to jot down a thought or two in case I want to turn it into something later on.

The Freelance Success message boards for new comments, first the work-related comments, then the non-work related comments.

MyYahoo for news headlines and to see if my favorite bloggers have written anything new. Paging Penelope Trunk, you haven’t added anything in more than a week.

My daughter’s blog; this only applies when she’s away at school and actually blogging.

My sister’s blog; she just moved to Copenhagen.

My high-school son’s Edline account, to read the daily announcements and check out any other news, and around the end of a term or semester to check on grades.

Safeway.com, to start or add to my grocery list.

RMLS.com, the real estate multiple listing service for Oregon and Washington, to look at new listings, a habit I picked up when we were buying a house five years ago.

The publications I write for, like IncTechnology.com, Portfolio.com and Workforce Management.

How do you waste time online?