Designing Play

Now that it’s getting cold outside here in the Northeast we’re settling into a new routine of work, (maybe) school, volunteering, exercising, keeping your home in order (maybe!), caring for family members, etc., what are you doing for fun? Fun, really? When is there time for fun. I get it.

The most popular course at Stanford University is Designing Your Life. Professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans wrote a book of the same name and posit that we need to think like designers as we search for direction, meaningful work, and, yes, fun in our lives. In a nutshell, we don’t need to know exactly where we’re going, but getting a good idea of which direction we’re traveling is most helpful.

As part of the journey, the authors ask the students/readers to assess their current lives in four categories: work, play, love, and health. “How full is your life in each of these buckets?” I did the exercise. All good...except I noticed that my play meter was too far to the left. Seriously!? This is my self assessment and it doesn’t lie. OK, what now?

Well, it’s been a few months since I realized my fun tank was running on empty and I have started doing something about it. I’ve reached out to friends to go on a few couples dates. Hubby and I tried spinning. I planned a vacation. These are all good, and I’m glad we did them all. What’s missing? More play! Daily play. Not just the big things like a vacation, but the daily little things that fill the play bucket. What’s next? Dancing?

How about you, if your play bucket isn’t full enough, what are you going to add? If it’s full already, let me know what you do to play. I could use some new and creative ideas!