3 Easy Ways to Convince Yourself to Play More in 2022
(Click here for “How to Make Friends in the New Normal”)
Did 2021 feel aimless? Joyless? You're not alone. Not by a long shot. For heaven’s sake, the most read New York Times article for all of 2021 (“There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling”) is about how the nonstop waves of disruption to work, family, and social lives have fed a state of being called “languishing” - a not-quite-depression absence of well-being where we long for joy and purpose. So how can you save 2022 from more of the same? Science says: convince yourself to play.
There are endless studies about how play can lead us back to a state of flourishing, regardless of age or the type of work you do. However, if you’re like most busy adults, your practical self will try to convince you that you don’t have time for such things. So, here are three tactics to use on your left brain when it insists you can’t take an hour to learn Bhangra because your career will tank unless you answer that email right. this. minute.
The Scientific argument: Humans of all ages NEED play to flourish.
It’s not us. It’s science. Renowned play researcher Stuart Brown, MD teaches us that play is an important part of our survival, our resilience, our creativity, and our adaptability in the face of change. Sadly, however, the part of our brain that lights up during play and fuels those important life skills, begins to atrophy as we grow older and less playful. Award winning Psychologist, Alison Gopnik’s research on AI revealed that robots who play (picture a freestyle dancing robot) before learning a new skill demonstrate much greater resilience when compared to robots who just learn a specific skill. Even famed relationship therapist, Esther Perel, tells us that play is therapy and has created her own wildly popular card game that builds unexpected connections between players through storytelling.
The Kindness argument: You DESERVE an hour of play
You’ve lived through nearly two years of social distancing, you’ve lost friends and loved ones to the pandemic, you quit/lost your job, you broke up with your partner, you converted your closet to a “cloffice” and held zoom calls while your toddler clung to your outstretched leg, you wept as your 2nd grader’s brilliant teacher shared her personal story of racism and discrimination in your child’s school, you ….fill in the blank. You deserve to take an hour away from all of that, so you can recharge and refuel for the next round of curve balls coming your way.
The Pragmatic argument: Your work will BENEFIT from an hour to play
An hour of joy is not shirking your responsibilities - it’s ensuring that everything that comes afterwards is better. We conducted 40+ interviews with staff who regularly participated in Make Believe Time. All of them said that investing in one hour of play led to amazing results when they went back to work. Jason, a Design Director at IDEO, told us, “It was pretty incredible. There were a number of times where my afternoon just became incredibly generative after Make Believe Time. I ended up doing much better work, or I ended up thinking of a totally different way to frame a task that was better than before.”
Regardless of which approach resonates with you, take the message to heart: Play is worth the time. But it’s also really important to remember that this doesn’t mean you have to choose between the to-do list and the overdue laughs. Work and play aren’t mutually exclusive. When woven together correctly, each benefits the other in meaningful and lasting ways.
Curious about how you might incorporate play with your remote work teams? Reach out and we can help you with that! Or just come to one of our upcoming public events.
Curious to read more?
There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling
Stuart Brown: Play is more than fun
Alison Gopnik’s research on AI featured on Hidden Brain: Bringing Up Baby