The Importance of Play AND Work

Good reminders sometimes we are so passionate with our work we don't realize it is work and think we are playing. Yep there is a difference. :-)

Work hard and play hard... its a motto I try to live by. Good message Chris!

- Greg

Wow, a video from the hotel room no less. Nice work, and great message. Play is very important, and something I need to try and do more of, thanks for the reminder. See ya in a few.

When real work is also fun, people are more productive. You can't artificially induce "fun" but you can create a climate where playfulness and fun are not taboo - let people take ownership of the work and have fun with it, then recognize that in order to decompress after a stressful period of work that's - a little less fun than we'd like - it's IMPORTANT to play. Schools have long recognized the value, indeed, the NEED for "recess." Daily. Not quarterly. And naps. Play and naps help keep people (not just little kids) focused and less cranky.

Going to play... now.

Working... in a bit.

Thanks!

Chris,

I can tell that you, all of the sudden, had an idea that you were passionate about and just had to do the video right then! Good message and now I am off to play some, before I sit back down to work. On a Saturday. The pleasures of having my own business;)

heard the tweet, laughed. got it. I work a lot of hours, but a lot of my work right now is still research. So let me step up to the plate quicker and do some batting! I could use a cocktail too - so I made some cocktail dates with friends for after Christmas. Looking forward to the play!

Deb

My eyes hurt. I had to speed lip-read that one. Got some words here and there-- something about work and play? :)

An exercise that I use in MBTI workshops demonstrates work and play attitudes in comparison to the Judging and Perceiving preferences, or how individuals organize their life. Participants are instructed to place themselves on an imaginary line or continuum where one end is "Work Before Play" and the opposite is "Play Before Work". Responses range from "I can't play if my work isn't done" to "I can play, regardless of my work". Discussion focuses on why individuals placed themselves where they did on the line and how they feel about where they are standing. Many times you will sense an admiration for the folks in the middle of the continuum claiming balance and the "My work is play." I know that I strive to be there too. Play on!

Good one, Chris. Best of all is when we can stop making the distinction between work and play -- when our job is a form of "serious play" and when our leisure is something that achieves useful ends for ourselves and those around us.

It can't be an accident that so many of the most successful people don't regard their daily work as the least bit of a burden, but rather as an opportunity to experience joy (if not always having "fun" -- most folks will never have fun in a budget meeting) in doing what they love to do.

Amen, brother. Encouraging others to mix play and work is the life mission of me and my wife. Giving ourselves permission to play not only give us all some much needed balance, but it also makes us that much more energetic and our ideas that much more interesting when we are working! Adultitis is a deadly enemy that we all face, but the prescription is just a little bit of fun!

Hi Chris,

I've always believe it's not about work/play balance anymore, it's work/play integration. It's not about scheduling 'blocks of time' for either. The days of 'work time' and 'play time' are being redefined and is becoming more blurred.

Good advice Chris! I like Holly's point too in combining fun with work. I have always recognized that if work stops being fun for me, it is time for a change (or perhaps time to take a break and play). ;-)

Hope no one is reading this and instead out playing this weekend!

-colin

Here, here. Since being laid off, I've had a chance to work when I want, which mean spending a lot more time with the family. That has refilled my soul. Thanks for reminding us of the importance of balance in our lives!
-Matt

I usually just work my butt off instead of any playtime. I find that working hard brings success much easier. I know I should always leave time for playing though. It just seems like I have way too much to do though.

Chris you know I take having fun seriously.

I was never someone who looked for permission from anyone to do the things I did. I just did them. And I had fun doing it And I still do. And from this I learned that while we can outsource many things, it is not possible to outsource fun.

Which in turn reminds me that we can not outsource our life. We need to make our own fun happen. Which I try to do whenever I can. Sometimes the fun is subtle and other times it is obvious. But it is something always on my mind. Maybe it is because I feel as if I’m still a lonely 11 year old kid inside and not a grown up. And maybe it is because I don’t ever want to grow up.

Chris, I hope we both help make fun and share fun in 2009. :)

I do both. Work and Play...I can't just work it would suck the life out of me.

Great message.

The whole "work, work, work" mentality is what drives people to burnout. I had that feeling in my previous career and the lack of any kind of fun made me miserable and less effective at my job.

There is a stigma in society that one must "work" from 9 to 5 which is why those who try to change the system, e.g. telecommuting, are frowned upon. This relates to a 15-year-old statistic I recall from Patty Seybold that the average American hates his job because he views it as a "job."

When will work and jobs stop being viewed in the same sentence? I'd like to think I am conducting work right now by reading your advice, reading other people's comments, and sharing my own thoughts. Yet, the manager of the above "worker" would think I am playing right now.

Something to think about. I'm always working and always playing.

What if your work is play at the same time for you?

I think that is the ideal situation.

Having fun really makes the work worthwhile. In the right line of work, having fun can equal work and visa versa.

Hi Chris! This is a message I need to take to heart. Sometimes I work for hours, and forget to play. On the other hand, sometimes I do play, and am met by adults who are very stuffed shirt about it and put off by it, acting scandalized. They can't loosen up. "Adults don't play," I have actually heard! Fortunately, I come from a family that has always known how to play, and never lost that playfulness, even into adulthood. Thanks for the reminder to not take myself too seriously and stop and play at times. Yes, work hard, play hard!

I'd like to know what you, Chris, do for play. I'm assuming you're not talking about exercise (working out - or work), cocktails (mentioned in a comment, probably not the healthiest pastime), blogging (which I do when I'm not working)... maybe a couple of examples from your own life would help me figure out what play means at this point in mine :)

Hey Chris,
Man, you said it! The whole point of working hard is to make the time to play hard - working without reward is like working just for the money, and why do that? Glad to hear your view on the work/life balance. Keep having fun Chris!
Wayde

Good reminder. It's easy to get completely caught up in work.

Great reminder! There's a fantastic TedTalk you should check out about play being important when it comes to creativity --> http://blog.ted.com/2008/11/the_powerful_li.php

For sure - I really believe in a fair balance of work and play. Makes life more fun that way :)

Absolutely. Work hard, play harder. Off to work after playing all day in SF. ;)

I'd just add:

1) Remember to play WITH your kids, too. If you've got them. It's the best quality time and will get your creative juices flowing.
2) Consider buying a pass to your favorite parks (county, state, national, etc.). Guy Kawasaki tweeted that National Park attendance is down 13%. We need to play more! Buying a pass makes you more invested in play - you paid for it - might as well get your money's worth. It's like getting permission for recess!
3) Kaboom.org has a Playspace Finder widget on their website for adding to blogs. Add a playground to it. Or use it to find a new park.
4) OC Play Parks just made it onto Alltop for its geographical region - but there are not enough feeds for PLAY or PARKS to make it a viable topic! Huh? Start blogging, people.
5) Why not post about your play time on your own blog? It's not enough to say "Go play." Inspire someone with a "how" or "where." Lead by example. Get out and play. Thanks for the reminder, Chris.

Both. I've accomplished next to nothing today, but I did watch a good animated movie with my family.

If you are interested in the "how" to find time to play, I humbly suggest that you check out the Life Balance software, (mac, windows, palm, iPhone), which helps busy people to carve out the time to do... fun stuff or whatever you want. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a co-author of the software, and I just happened upon this site via a Twitter link from Guy Kawaski, who seems to Twitter just about everything these days! Anyway, our software isn't for everybody, but if you care about the issues concerning division and intergration between work time and play time, and want to be more flexible, less stressed, and manage your time better, it's worth checking out a different kind of tool to get that to happen. For the people that like what we do... it works well. End of shameless, but on topic, pitch. Now go play! :-)

Great point. I think the difficulty is when "play" and "work" become indistinguishable because we are so passionate about what we do. That's when we need to stop and build some disciplines around this stuff so that we don't fry.

Hi Chris. I think you've made some good points here. We have to work hard, but work with some smart and fun mixed in as well. I think that you should enjoy your work as much as you can. Because of the type of work we do, we can work anywhere - so I regularly work at coffee places etc. It gives me different perspectives, a new environment for a few hours, and this boosts my productivity.

I regularly go to the beach as well. My office is in the city, and the beach is 5 min away - but I bet I'm the only one in my building who does this. People get so caught up in their stuck-at-the-desk mindsets that they forget to have fun. I normally go there to have a break, lunch, or even just a coffee, other times I'll read, catch up on Twitter, but when I leave there, I'm totally refreshed and energised.

I also believe in investing in the best work tools. Expensive wireless mouse that does a few neat tricks, etc etc. My work experience is a totally fun one. So it's 9.47pm now in South Africa and I'm still working - because I enjoy it.

Who said hard work had to be dreadful?

I love your blog, especially the videos. This post is especially fun for me as it is what I preach : humor in the workplace increases productivity.

I have a blog carnival that is right on this topic. I wonder if you'd consider letting us include this post in our next carnival? (We've only done one, but it was pretty successful w/ traffic.)

http://www.bradlaughs.com/2008/10/31/humor-carn...

Thanks Chris.

Brad Montgomery

Am I happy to hear what you have to say! Yes, we all have to work hard but if we don't play, our work and soul can suffer. What so many of us don't realize is that if we don't take the time out to play and be in our "childlike state" we can block some great opportunities for our subconscious to come up with great ideas & solutions for our work. How many inventors say their ideas came to them when they weren't "working"? So playing has a great by product of actually being more productive! We just need to trust that, let go and play... That's why I teach buffoonery! :) Thanks for your video!

Love that you have started doing videos in your posts again!

Great point. You MUST have a good work to fun ratio for all this stuff to work.