My favorite way to spend a few minutes on a mental health break is to play online backgammon or some of the free card games on Yahoo or other online game sites. I first discovered online games way back in the early 90′s, when Microsoft launched their “Village of Games.” Now there are dozens of different sites, some with excellent graphics and large numbers of regular players from all over the world.

If I have a full hour to spend on R&R I’ll try to find a good partner and play one or two Spades games. If I only have a few minutes I’ll play something fast, like backgammon or cribbage. Sometimes I like the cutthroat strategies of Hearts to sharpen my mind. These are not time wasters as much as they are mental exercises to keep me alert and sharpen my critical thinking skills.