Grown-up Play Time

Grown-up Play Time – Does Play Matter to You?

Your life is busy! So much that must be done and so little time. You are overwhelmed. You search for ways to organize, streamline and be more productive in less time. You are stressed. You’ve hit a brick wall of frustration. What’s the answer? Might I suggest what could seem counter-productive? How about if you stop everything and have some grown-up play time?

Counter-Productive or Not?

How could wasting valuable time playing, when you could be accomplishing something, be anything but counter-productive? It’s all in how our brains work. When we fill our minds up with all the responsibilities and stuff of life we lose focus. That loss of focus makes it difficult if not impossible to do all those things we are trying so hard to do.

In the book, Getting Things Done, David Allen describes what happens to the mind when we keep everything there instead of documenting it and assigning a next action to it.  While following the Getting Things Done principles, has helped me get focused and accomplish what is really important, I still hit that overwhelmed brick wall that is so counter-productive. So how do we break through that wall?

Be Like Children

Children don’t have 3 million things on their to do list or their minds full of oil changes, meals to plan, and projects at work. Their focus is simple, play. For them every thing is play – cleaning is play, eating is play, getting dressed is play. I am not suggesting as adults we should turn every moment into play-time. I am suggesting that grown-up play time can help us clear the cobwebs of our mind.

When I think of the reasons why we need to play I picture children in my head and what they do. They climb, run, dig, jump, sing, scream and more. They expend energy, they investigate how things work, discover the world around them and they make up games to play. Play teaches children how to make decisions, problem-solving skills and how to try things without fear. Play also develops creativity and imagination. If that is the case, doesn’t it make sense that play will sharpen our problem-solving skills, enhance our decision-making abilities, and learn to try new things free of fear?

When children don’t get the play that is so important to their development, it lead to poor health, behavior problems, depression and anxiety. I believe as grown-ups, not having enough grown-up play time can have the same or similar negative affects. So if grown-up play time relieves stress, encourages creativity, helps us develop relationships and improves brain function, how do we get started?

What is Play?

It is fun and enjoyable of course! Play is not rigid; it is spontaneous and flexible. It is not work, but it might be challenging. Grown-up play time should be doing something you want to do just because you want to do it. It should be focused and intentional.

It should not be something you dread, but something you look forward to doing. If you love bowling, joining a league might take that joy from you. As part of a team you HAVE to be there, so it’s not flexible. If you are not the best bowler, it might feel like work to practice and improve so you can be a valuable member of your team. Now you long for the days of just bowling for fun. See what I mean?

Learning to Play Again

I recently listened to one of Chalene Johnson’s podcasts where she talked about how to get started working out. Her suggestion was to think back to childhood and remember what felt good, what you enjoyed and what was not so good. In her example she talked about how she did not like playing certain sports, how they made her feel, etc. Then she suggested that you start with something that you are comfortable with. Once you gain confidence, you can seek new challenges and try something different. I think her advice fits here, don’t you?

I think we can apply that concept to our desire to learn to play again. I remember spending hours playing dolls, school, cowboys and Indians, games, and building the tallest building in the world out of Lego’s with my brother. I loved reading and riding my bike, too. Do you see a pattern? Most of my play time was either just me or with my brother (and later my two sisters). So while I think I might love to eventually take a pottery class just for fun, it’s probably not where I need to start my adventure of learning to play.

Planning Grown-up Play Time

It might seem like an oxymoron to “plan” play time, but we live in a real world.  So just like accomplishing anything else, the key is to be intentional.  Block time for play on your calendar!  You will find more suggestions and some great info in this post, The Benefits of Play for Adults and this one The Psychological Case for Adult Play time.

I recently went on a trip with my mom and one of my sisters. It was truly a girls road trip – we stopped when we wanted to stop, we shopped when we wanted to shop, pedicures, food, and more. We had so much fun! It was grown-up play time.

Part of our trip was to two days at the Biltmore in Asheville, NC. I thought it was interesting that even in that rich, elegant (and now historical) home grown-up play was encouraged. There is a storage room dubbed “The Halloween Room“.  Its walls were painted with murals from a popular cabaret at that time. The room was used for a 1925 New Years party.  Can’t you just imagine the scene of the guests dressed in their costumes and the backdrop of the stone walls painted in the scary, colorful murals. That was their idea of some grown-up play time! I don’t have a spare storage room to paint murals on the walls for a costume party, but I do need to find ways to play.

Taking a vacation or having a party, might be an obvious way to add play to your life. Here are some other grown-up play time suggestions:

• Have family game nights
• Have other grown-ups over for game nights
• Play with your kids or borrow someone else’s to play with (I love being an aunt!)
• Color, grown-up coloring books are becoming very popular
• Join an improv group – or just go see one
• Start a new hobby or pick an old one back up – photography, painting, scrapbooking, ballroom dancing
• Get a dog, while they require care, they also bring a lot of joy and fun

Like little children, dogs play with abandon and are a good reminder that we should, too. We have a beautiful Boxer, Levi. No one has explained to him that he is 4 years old and no longer a puppy. He lives to play. He almost always has ball in his mouth or at least nearby. If he loses the ball he whines until you find it for him. No matter how tired or stressed I am, if I take just a few moments to play with him it changes my day. His exuberance is contagious. He is also a bit clumsy, so his little mishaps make me laugh.

As I’ve been planning this post for a few weeks, a bible verse keeps coming to mind. “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, will rank high in God’s kingdom.” (excerpt from Matthew 18:2-5, MSG). So I challenge you to be like a little child for a few minutes each day.  Start at square one, be simple, elemental and enjoy some free play time.

Is play important to you? Have you seen the difference it can make in your life? How does it make your life joyful and satisfying? Please share in the comments…inquiring minds want to know!

Blessings,

Lauree

…keep dancing the dream

Be sure to check out the blog hop Play Matters at:  http://www.encourageplay.com/blog/play-matters

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