The Catalogue of Awesome: 5 Sites to put Soul Back into Your Day

Things getting soul-draining at work? Surfing the net is less than productive.

Our directions will jet-ski you straight to the places you need to get you through the working day instead.

There's only so far your catalogue of tracks can get you in the working week.

1. Stuff You Should Know [www.stuffyoushouldknow.com] This is an obvious one, but we put it on the list for those few people who haven't already discovered this show. Interesting information meets with healthy scepticism and a little comedy ensues. An easy listening experience that can carry you through a rough day.
2. On the Hour [itunes.apple.com]. Willing to brave the iTunes store? If so, you can get a free copy of On the Hour, a BBC panel series which was a launching pad for people like Steve Coogan. If UK comedy isn't what you're in the mood for, try the Nerdist, in which a bunch of nerds get to talk to their favourite celebrities and are actually funny at it. You should have done this already anyway. Why are you still reading?

   If you want something from a little closer to home, try Grain of Truth, a Melbourne-made comedy panel show podcast.

   One to save for the drive home: Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction. Comedians composing and then reading erotic fan fiction, another Nerdist production. If you don't know what 'fan fiction' means, it's all the more reason you should listen to the podcast.

3. Screamer Radio [www.screamer-radio.com/]. LastFM is excellent, but the fact that you have to pay a fee grates more than a little (particularly considering that other countries listen for free). The solution: hack your way into a UK IP address. A better solution: Screamer Radio, a program that allows you to download any of 4000 international radio stations. They say no spyware.

   Or you can download Spotify if you want to be boring about it.

4. Double J [doublej.net.au/]. While we're on the topic of radio, there's Double J. For some it's remained 'that extra radio station thing on the Freeview guide'. For the people daring enough to use their TVs for radio listening, it's 'Triple J for someone who was listening in their 20s'. Those crazy kids.

   Seriously, Double J seems to be the graduated form of Triple J, featuring everything guaranteed to appeal to people in their 30s and 40s. It's even got Myf Warhurst, back after a brief stint away from ABC. It's the Degrassi High to Triple J's ongoing, but slightly less good Degrassi Junior.

5. Missing getting your hands dirty with a little coding? Building a Twitter bot means you can be conscientious and have fun at the same time. Try this site for instructions should you need them. Need inspiration? So far Twitter bots have published the entirety of Shakespeare's works, written Law & Order fanfiction and created a new species of dinosaur. See what you can do.

Special mention: Radio Lab, Freakonomics Radio and No Such Thing As A Fish

Shows you can listen to while mindlessly tweaking code. Try Radio Lab, Freakonomics Radio and No Such Thing As A Fish (the last being one you may be tempted to shout at, as it's hosted by the pedantic Qi Elves) to help the mind fight against the encroaching grey of a long, boring day fixing other people's mistakes.