February 7th, 2024 - a peek inside my workshops

Over the past 18 months, I have been honored to present a number of workshops on various topics, all based in the neuroscience of play. 

Just a few examples: I’ve been in front of a virtual corporate global leadership team at 5am with LEGO for creativity and communication, in a small meeting room full of professional women with stickers reflecting on their personal play identities, in a hotel event space with over 200 chamber professionals sharing their worst failures with each other, in a large conference room at a convention center with over 150 HR professionals throwing paper airplanes to each other, on stage in front of 500 pretending to give an infomercial with absolutely no theater or comedy training, in a small overcrowded conference room with over 50 female leaders flashing peace signs, ok signs, and maybe accidentally flipping each other off.  Every space vibrating with energy, with professional adults reclaiming their right to play. Attendees giving feedback like …

“ I love the way Acey balances deep insights and research, with experiential learning exercises that can be applied in real-time”

“Focused on work and the monotony of routine, it can be easy to lose sight of “play," and particularly, how it can benefit our daily successes and performance. Thank goodness Acey Holmes from “BoredLess” is here to remind us.”

“She allows her attendees to think outside of the box and explore new areas of their roles to keep them excited and engaged.” “Acey was responsive and able to adapt her content and material to a diverse audience of stake holders in a unique meeting setting. She delivered a presentation that was enjoyed by all.”

“She did an excellent job of keeping us engaged, having activities that we didn't expect but turns out we had fun with, and everybody truly enjoyed team building virtually (which is a very tall order if you've ever tried to engage a global team from Singapore to the States to Serbia!)”

Sound like I'm bragging? Maybe. But that's not my point. 

My goal is to bring more presentations to more teams, so that I can continue to share the power of play and flow with larger and broader communities. 

As a global society, we are stressed, and tired, and sad, and burnt-out. But we don’t have to be. I believe play can not only change the future of work, but the world. And I don’t say that lightly.

Attributed to Stuart Brown and Brian Sutton-Smith - “the opposite of play isn’t work, it’s depression”.

Attributed to Oliver Wendall Holmes and George Bernard Shaw -  “you don’t stop playing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop playing”. 

Attributed to me, (though I’m likely not the first person to ever say it) - “Burnout is an epidemic, but play is the cure”. 

I want to work with your teams, your communities, your people to remind us all that play is a vital aspect of being human, that play is key to maximizing our potential without sacrificing our wellbeing. 

You can help by opening the door to play in your own teams and communities. Whether it's a quick activity to kick off a meeting, a creative workshop to solve a problem, or simply encouraging more laughter and lightness in the workday, every little bit counts. Together, we can redefine what it means to work and thrive in a world that's desperate for more connection, creativity, and, most importantly, play. Are you ready to join the movement and bring a little more fun into the workplace? Let's make work something we all look forward to, not just because of the tasks we accomplish but because of the joy and fulfillment we find in doing them together.

Reach out, and let's create something extraordinary.

Like this ai graphic… or probably, definitely, a little better than this ai graphic.