How To Inject An Element Of Play into your Day

Remember when we were really young kids, and we got to play all day long?  It’s like, that was our job.  To go outside and play. 

So what happened?  We grew up, went to school, got a job and life got much more serious.  But the idea of including some play time in every day is a good thing…. And most of us don’t make the effort enough of the time.

Some folks are lucky. They love what they work at so much, that it feels like play a lot of the time.

The rest of us… not so much.  Most of us work hard at a job we are pretty good at, but we find there isn’t much time or energy left over after work, for much of anything.  Especially not play.  That rings true for some of the clients I coach.  They like their jobs, but they are desperate to carve out some time in their day/week/month to have fun- to play at things they enjoy.  Especially these days.  Play can be a natural antidote to the disruption the pandemic has wrought on our lives.

What can we do to ensure we get some play time once in awhile?

#1        Think about what you get from play.  Is it peace of mind, relaxation, stimulation, a chance to let loose and unwind, a chance to laugh… think about what PLAY means to you.

#2        Decide how important it is for you to include some play time in your day. Essential?  Somewhat important?  Not very?  It’s your call. But be clear with yourself.  Rank it honestly.

#3        Think of a handful of different activities that say PLAY to you.  It’s different for everyone, so I’m not even going to prompt you here.  Again- it’s about you- what could play look /sound/feel/ like for you?

#4        Time for the “C” word.  Make a Commitment to yourself, that you’ll make time for one item from your list.  Just one.  And commit to making time regularly- again, you choose how regular, based on how you answered question #2.

#5        Now it’s time for the “F” word.  Follow through.  Follow through for a month.  Then reflect back on your PLAY quotient compared to when you started the process.   What’s different?  If you’ve successfully included Play in your day- How are you different now than you were a month ago?