Play Seriously

We take ourselves very seriously at work and with our core responsibilities. We know that certain things require our very best and because of that we show up with more focus, concentration, and intention. But why does the buck stop there? Why don’t we take the same approach to the fun and enjoyable side of life?

We spend so much time creating optimizations and efficiencies in an attempt to maximize our productivity. We want to squeeze every bit of value we can from how we’re spending our time with the things we take seriously. Let’s commit to trying the same in the lighter things we do as well!

Every day is a masterpiece in how we’re balancing the personal and professional faces of our lives. But right now we’re treating it as if we’re either ‘on’ or ‘off’. Unfortunately this means that we resort to ‘turning-off’ for our personal time, which then impacts its quality. 

It’s sinking deeper into the couch instead of playing an engaging board game. It’s scrolling on social media during a half-conversation with someone instead of going for a walk and connecting more deeply. If we don’t intervene, we’ll tolerate spending our time with a fraction of the presence, enjoyment, and enthusiasm we could experience if we had done things differently.

So take your personal time seriously. Play seriously.

My recommendation for that is to be clear on your intentions for doing things. Keep it top of mind so that you can be more accountable to it. When the intention is to work, you are vigilant about limiting distractions. Similarly when the intention is to play, engage yourself in it. And when your intention is to rest, don’t occupy yourself with nonsense.

You’ve heard it this way before - Work hard, play hard. The edit I’d make to that is “Work serious, play serious.” You’ll be amazed to see how much more fulfilled, enriched, and inspired you’ll feel when you start making the most out of the way you spend your personal time.