Play is Not a Reward for Productivity
Photo Credit: Alex Guillaume
How often have you told yourself you'll take a break, indulge in a hobby, or simply do nothing after you finish your to-do list? For many of us, this is a familiar pattern. We treat rest and play as rewards we must earn through hard work and productivity. But what if this mindset is actually holding us back from feeling truly restored and fulfilled?
Play is not a prize for a job well done; it is a fundamental human need, essential for our well-being, creativity, and even our capacity to care for others. Viewing it as something to be earned can lead to burnout, exhaustion, and a disconnect from the very joy and spontaneity that energise us.
This post explores why it's time to uncouple play from productivity. We'll look at how embracing leisure as a vital part of your life, not just an afterthought, can lead to a healthier balance, deeper creativity, and greater overall well-being.
The Problem with "Earning" Your Rest and Play
Many of us were taught that our value is tied to our output. We learned to prioritise work, obligations, and the needs of others above our own. In professions dedicated to service, this impulse is even stronger. The internal dialogue often sounds like, "I'll relax once this report is finished," or "I can paint after I've answered all my emails."
This "work-first, play-later" approach creates a harmful cycle:
It creates a moving target: The to-do list is never truly done. New tasks and responsibilities always appear, pushing your promised break further away.
It frames rest as indulgent: When we see play as a reward, we can feel guilty for taking it, especially if we feel we haven't been "productive enough." This guilt prevents us from fully relaxing, making our downtime less restorative.
It leads to depletion and burnout: Constantly delaying rest and play drains your energy reserves. Feeling drained isn't a sign of failure; it's often a symptom of systems and expectations that were never designed to sustain you or your clients. The path back to energy and joy isn't more self-sacrifice. It's about gently and intentionally making space for yourself.
Play: An Essential Nutrient for Your Well-being
Just as your body needs nourishment from food, your mind and spirit crave the revitalising energy of play. Dr Stuart Brown, a renowned researcher and founder of the National Institute for Play, emphasises that play is not merely a childhood pastime but a fundamental aspect of being fully human. He describes play as activities done for their own sake, spontaneous, joyful, and deeply absorbing. Far from being unnecessary, this "purposeless" activity is an essential contributor to our well-being, adaptability, and sense of fulfilment throughout life.
Dr Brown's work reveals that play is how we learn to adapt, cope, and imagine new solutions in a changing world. Individuals who engage in regular play are better equipped to navigate stress, embrace change, and lean into their creativity. Play activates areas of the brain essential for innovation and flexible thinking, helping us process challenges with greater resilience and hope.
Boost Your Creativity and Problem-Solving: Think back to a moment when insight came to you while engaged in something unrelated to work, perhaps during a walk in the park, while doodling, or listening to music. This isn't a coincidence. Play invites your brain to form new connections, allowing for divergent thinking, the ability to see problems from different angles and imagine a wider range of possibilities.
Enhance Your Mental and Emotional Health: Integrating play into your daily life is a deeply caring act for your own well-being. Dr Brown's research shows that play can lower stress, elevate mood, and build emotional resilience, allowing you to process complex emotions in an unpressured way.
Improve Connection and Belonging: Play is also powerful for strengthening relationships. Whether it's sharing laughter with a friend, making up games with a child in your life, or collaborating on a creative project, play creates bonds of trust and compassion.
Dr Brown notes that animal species that play together develop stronger social ties, and human beings are no different. Play softens barriers, encourages authentic expression, and invites us to feel connected and supported.
Nurture Joy Across the Lifespan: Adults who prioritise play, through hobbies, movement, storytelling, or spontaneous moments of delight, report higher feelings of joy and fulfilment. This sense of joy is rooted in allowing yourself to explore, imagine, and engage without expectation, which can also nurture a kind of delight in the present moment.
Play can take many forms: friendly banter with colleagues, a family board game, building sandcastles, dancing, doodling, or simply daydreaming. Your kind of play may look different from someone else's, and that's okay.
How to Weave Play into Your Daily Life
The idea of adding "play" to your already overflowing schedule might feel overwhelming. The key is to start small and redefine what play looks like for you. It doesn't have to be a grand adventure or a time-consuming hobby.
Here are a few small ways to invite more play into your life:
Schedule "Play Appointments": Treat your playtime with the same importance as a work meeting. Block out 15-20 minutes in your calendar for an activity you enjoy. Maybe it's sketching, listening to a favourite album, dancing in your living room, or working on a puzzle. By scheduling it, you give yourself permission to unplug and be “unproductive”
Practice "Micro-Joys": Find small moments of play throughout your day. This could be noticing the beauty of a flower on your way to your car, savouring a cup of tea without multitasking, or spending five minutes doodling on a notepad. These small acts can break up the intensity of your day and serve as gentle resets.
Redefine Your Hobbies: Too often, we put our creative projects on hold, telling ourselves we'll write that story or learn that instrument when we have more time. Reclaim your hobbies from the "someday" pile. Give yourself permission to be a beginner, to create something imperfectly, and to do it simply for the joy of the process.
Embrace Curiosity: Approach a routine task with a playful mindset. How could you make tidying your desk more fun? Could you turn your commute into a chance to people-watch or to draw freely in your journal?
You Are Worthy of Rest and Play
It's time to release the belief that your worth is measured by your productivity. You are a whole person, and your need for rest, joy, and play is as fundamental as your drive to achieve.
Feeling tired doesn't mean you aren't doing enough. It's a signal from your body to pause, to replenish, and to connect with what lights you up. By embracing play as an essential part of your life, you are actively investing in your long-term health and well-being, happiness, and ability to show up for others.
What is one small, playful activity you can welcome into your life this week? You don't need to earn it.
Ready to explore more ways to flourish in your creativity and life?
Taking the Next Step
If this resonates with you and you're ready to explore deeper ways to nurture your playfulness, creativity and joy, and to build a flourishing life, I'd love to support you on that journey. Sometimes we need a gentle guide to help us reconnect with our playful selves and develop sustainable practices.
If you’re ready to begin and want to reconnect with sustainable, playful, creative approaches to your work and life, explore my services here.
If you’d like to access further creative, playful activities, you can download my free creative toolkit here.
Does this post resonate with you? I'd love to hear from you. You can connect with me on Instagram @the_flourishing_space or LinkedIn.
