The Office Playground Blog

Ready for March Madness? Shoot Hoops at Work!

Are you ready for March Madness? Even if you're not, someone in your office might be feeling the excitement of the NCAA Basketball Championships. Selection Sunday is March 14, 2010 and the Finals are on April 5th. Who will be in that game? Who will win?

Do you and your co-workers still toss random garbage into your trash can and yell "3 points!"? If so, isn't it time to upgrade to a real Trash Can Hoop?

Get into the spirit of March Madness with an Office Nerf Hoop or a Basketball Stress Ball.

Why not get a bunch of Basketball Stress Balls and/or Hoops and give them out to your entire office? Sure, you're saying, "but then no one will get any work done". Just make sure everyone understands that office hoops are an acceptable form of stress relief and team building, provided the other work is still getting done. You'll be pleased to see that employee morale and productivity will likely increase.

To help you get your office ready for March Madness, we've reduced our entire line of Basketball related items by 10% through March 22, 2010. Use coupon code BBall10 at checkout.

So, don't throw an air ball this year. Drive to our site, face up, shoot and score with your very own Office Basketball Hoop or Stress Ball. (Whew, yeah, that's all I've got for the basketball lingo. Could you have done any better? Get it? Like betting on the games using a bracket? Something you shouldn't do at work. Sorry, I'll stop now.)

Here are some of our favorite basketball hoops and basketballs, but we have lots more fun basketball stuff! Come check them out!

Basketball Hoop - Backboard	Nerfoop	Breakaway Hoop
Basketball Stress Ball	Basketball - 4 inch Pro Mini	Basketball - 7 inch Junior
See all of our Basketball products here

Bill Ross
The Office Toy Guy
OfficeToyGuy@OfficePlayground.com

www.OfficePlayground.com
We help you play on company time.

Host Your Own Office Olympics

Are you one of the estimated 28 million viewers watching the 2010 Winter Olympics? Do you dream of being an elite athlete competing against the best of the best for the gold? Or maybe you just wish you were there at the games in the heat of the action. I'm a little of both. In the past, I loved to compete in sports and I was fortunate to attend a live event at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

There is really something special about this sporting event that brings the world together. Let's check out the current medal count for the top three leaders. Go USA!

Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
United States	6	5	7	18
Germany	4	4	3	11
Norway	3	3	2	8
(Results as of 8:00am PST, 2/19/10. Source: Comcast.net)

You can get into the Olympic spirit and bring your co-workers together by hosting your own Office Olympics. Compete against your colleagues (and even your boss) for some friendly competition. Pull out your snowboards, ice skates, and bobsleds and let the games begin!

Okay, so not everyone has the equipment (and snow) to host a full winter Olympics at work, but there are still plenty of events you can compete in. We know it's not too practical to build a Speed Skating rink in the parking lot. Therefore, we put together some events that you can do in your office.

Competitive Events

Timed Events
See who can find the most objects in the Find It - Sports within a time limit. One person is the player and another verifies the finds.
Liquid Motion Time Trials – Choose a variety of similar liquid motion timers and have each person flip them over at the same time. The person with the timer that finishes first wins. (This one is great because there is no skill required.)

Competitive Sports
Get an Air Hockey Table and players win the best 2 out of 3. Set it up tournament style.
Slingshot Animal Shooting – Fire off slingshot animals for distance and for accuracy.

Skilled Events
The Basket Case Hoop Game is a hoot. We did it at our office during the Office Playground Summer Games; it takes a steady hand to get them all in.
Whack-A-Mouse – who can get the most whacks in.
Dartboard Toss is easy. Set up a dartboard and aim for the target.

Off to the Races
Line up a bunch of wind-up toys and send them racing. Race the same styles against each other or mix it up by doing a variety of styles. Place bets on who will win. (Or maybe not, office gambling is probably frowned upon. And while we're at it, steroids probably won't help participants wind faster.)

Puzzle Solving
Find out who can solve a given puzzle in the fastest time. We recommend the Puzzle Pen for beginners and a Rubik's Cube for puzzle masters.

Design your Own
Be creative and develop your own games to match your tastes and co-worker skill levels. Check out the Sports & Games category to get started.

Once you decide on your events, set up game stations and assign point values to each activity. Have folks go in groups of two or three to each event simultaneously. People rotate through each station and post their scores as they complete a game. Keep a scoreboard on the wall. Tally up the points at the end and award 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. You can also give out consolation prizes to everyone who participates.

Speaking of prizes, adding a reward enhances the competition and encourages people to be more playful and to have fun. You can be creative with your prizes and here are some suggestions:

• An extra paid day off.
• Gift certificate to Office Playground, Inc.
• Extended lunch break.
• Gift certificate for a local store or restaurant.
• Higher end office toys (Zen Garden, Newton's Cradle or Stellanova, to name a few).
• The office toys you used during competition.
• Awards to post on the desk. Who doesn't love bragging rights?

Serve up some lunch or have folks bring a potluck. It's fairly easy to put together some games and it is a lot of fun. At Office Playground, we host an annual Summer Olympics and have a blast each year. And you may remember that hilarious episode of The Office.

Whether you win or lose, we hope you enjoy being more playful at work.

Playfully,

Bill Ross
The Office Toy Guy
OfficeToyGuy@OfficePlayground.com

www.OfficePlayground.com
We help you play on company time.

Treadmill Desk

We’re all for creative and fun work environments. Check out this unique office set up that helps you get more exercise at work: the "treadmill desk". Could the treadmill desk transform the old cubicle model of conducting business?

Watch the entire treadmill desk video on the Mayo Clinic web site.

Image courtesy of cmcbrown.

Get Smart! - The Benefits of Puzzles

At OfficePlayground.com, we often mention that one of the main benefits of playing with office toys at work is to help reduce stress. But, did you know that playing at work can make you smarter?

Well, your IQ probably won't increase and you still might think the capital of Oregon is Portland, but you can boost your brain power with a mini-workout each day.

According to the September 2009 issue of Redbook Magazine, "research has shown that doing puzzles—from crosswords and Sudoku to Rubik’s Cube—might help ward off diseases such as Alzheimer's and dementia." Further, the recommendation is to spend 10 minutes a day exercising your brain muscle.

We've always loved the Office Playground Puzzle Category because of classics like Rubik’s Cube and the Fifteen Puzzle. And as always, these old standbys don't disappoint. But, more recent products like the Find It games and the Hoberman Brain Twist give a fun flair to puzzling.

Visit our puzzles category to pick out your next piece of exercise equipment so you can start to get smarter just by sitting at your desk and playing. No pain, a lot of gain. It doesn't get easier than that!

Extreme Workplaces

Eating lunch outside at the Googleplex

The Travel Channel's segment on Extreme Workplaces is mind boggling and dream inspiring. Showcased in the show and the article, "Thinking Outside the Cubicle" written by Erica Walsh, are seven businesses that go all out in providing uniquely designed workplaces and unbelievably fun perks for their employees.

Ping Pong at the Threadless Warehouse

While not all employers can provide such wonderland-type settings and expensive perks, fun doesn't have to be high priced. Small gifts given out at a meeting can make a big impression. Freebees are appreciated and the good will associated with them can help stimulate creativity that just might give birth to the next great idea for your business.

Office Playground's Meeting in a Box is a modestly priced box containing 17 fidget toys. These little toys add an element of fun to any meeting or workday. The briefcase shaped box makes it easy to carry and it will definitely be the center of attention when placed on the conference table and opened to reveal the variety of toys inside. Let the brainstorming begin!

Images of the Googleplex courtesy of Erik Hersman. Image of the Threadless Warehouse courtesy of Joe M500.

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month

Since 1983, May has been observed as National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. Individuals and organizations everywhere have joined in the fun to promote awareness of the value of physical activity in the pursuit of happier, healthier, more productive lives.

Many people spend most of their work week sitting at a desk. "We are made to move, not sit at a desk 12 hours a day," says Joan Price, author of The Anytime, Anywhere Exercise Book. "As ergonomic as your desk or chair may be, sitting produces back pains, headaches, and listlessness. You become less productive." The Surgeon General recommends at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day, but with today's hectic schedules, even 30 minutes of exercise can be difficult to squeeze into a busy day. Micro workouts are a step in the right direction. Get in a few minutes of exercise right at your desk. Three minutes of exercise ten times in a day at work and you've done your required thirty minutes of exercise. There are exercises you can do at your desk. Stretching is good for your neck and back and it can be done while sitting. (Read more about stretching at your desk.)

Zig Ziglar is an author and famous motivational speaker focused on inspiring true performance in the corporate world. He said "for every five minutes of exercise you do, you'll get back fifteen minutes of productivity". L.L. Bean recently tested this theory. They provided their workers with three five minute exercise breaks. At the end of the day when they measured productivity, they found that they had gained thirty minutes in output.

The key to exercise and physical activity is fun and convenience. At work, do fun activities during breaks such as play office golf, magnetic darts or a quick game of air hockey. At lunch time, take a walk or play catch with a Nerf ball in the parking lot. Walk up and down stairs rather than using the elevator. If you ride a bus, get off a few blocks early and walk the remaining distance. At home, take advantage of summer's long hours of daylight and warm evenings by enjoying sunset walks or bicycle rides. Working in the garden or playing games with the children can be a great way to end a day.

Office Playground offers scores of choices to help you score on the exercise scale. Add fun physical activity to your day with Indoor Sports Games, Sports Balls, Basketball Hoop games, Magnetic Dart Games, Disc Shooters and Safe Shooters. At your desk use Therapy Balls for hand and arm exercises.

Images courtesy of About.com © Anne Asher 2006-2007 licensed to About.com

Office Exercise – Get Moving!

Exercise is a way to eliminate stress and there is a good chance that your job stresses you out. According to Wikipedia:

"Stress is a prevalent and costly problem in today's workplace. About one-third of workers report high levels of stress. One-quarter of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives. Three-quarters of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago. Evidence also suggests that stress is the major cause of turnover in organizations."

You have to be at work at least 40 hours a week, maybe a lot more. You have all sorts of other personal responsibilities. When are you supposed to get in your exercise? Do it at work! We have assembled some resources for you to use in building your own office exercise routine:

• About.com discusses way to exercise in your desk chair
• Mayo Clinic discusses ways to exercise without your chair
• eHow discusses 11 more office exercises

How can Office Playground help? We offer a variety of items that will aid in your office exercise regime:

• Office Sports – Get some of this stuff and start some healthy competition in your office.
• Therapy Balls – Strengthen your grip, rehab an injury, avoid carpel tunnel and have fun!
• Flying Toys – Get an old-fashioned shoot out going at work. Our items are safe, of course.

Let us know how you get your exercise in at work. What products can we carry to help you get in an office workout?