I talk a lot about playful work design, so I was interested to come across research on playful sport design from Juriena D. de Vries , Yuri S. Scharp, Arnold B. Bakker. So cool!
The researchers followed 99 athletes over four weeks and asked them to report on their training sessions. They looked at two ways athletes could bring play into training: designing fun, with creativity, humor, or fantasy, and designing competition, with self-set challenges and opportunities to improve.
When athletes used more of either approach than usual, they also reported feeling more engaged. Greater engagement was connected with feeling more progress toward their sports goals.
The setting made a difference, too. Designing fun was more strongly connected with engagement when athletes trained with other people. Designing competition was more strongly connected with engagement when athletes trained alone or with a coach.
This study is about sports training, so it doesn’t tell us whether the same results apply at work.
Still, I love seeing research look at how people can bring their OWN play into an activity they care about. In this particular study, playful sport design meant they looked at strategies athletes started themselves. Play didn’t have to be supplied by someone else.
If you train, I’m curious: do you ever bring creativity, imagination, or a personal challenge into a workout? And if you do, did you notice any difference?
GRATITUDE SECTION: Sunshine and cool weather! I love fall. Yesterday, I went for a run at our free, local, gorgeous open space. Here’s a little recap
Bring more play into the way you work with the Playful Work Design card deck collection—three practical, 50ish-card toolkits designed to help you navigate challenges, take playful breaks, and bring more intention to how you work. Whether you need a quick reset, a new way to approach a difficult moment, or a little more play in your day, there’s a card for that. Pick a deck, pull a card, and find an approach that works for YOU.