January 24th, 2024 - Can drawing a penguin make you more productive?

Do you know Catherine Price? She’s the author of The Power of Fun and she writes a pretty great email newsletter. Last week, she wrote

“Fun is not zero sum. I’m … always struck by our unspoken assumption that if we are having / prioritizing fun, we’re preventing someone else from doing the same, as if there’s some International Bank of Fun that only allows a certain number of withdrawals per day. But why? Fun is not zero sum: if I’m having fun, it does not limit the amount of fun that’s available to you—there is infinite fun to go around. In fact, fun often begets fun”

Incredible insight into a theory many modern adults subconsciously subscribe to… that we, as adults, aren’t really SUPPOSED to play. We view it as what children do, as if there is only so much play that can happen, and kids use it all up.

We would be well-served by applying an abundance mindset to play. Given that humans are created to play (not just as children, but across the lifespan), and that that very play is crucial to our on-going health and development as we age, it is completely reasonable to view play as infinite.

Anyone can play, at any time, in their own way. This play does not take away from the opportunity to play for others, and this play does not take away from our responsibilities.

In fact, PLAY can benefit our responsibilities, our chores, our relationships, and even our productivity and satisfaction at work.

Last week, my friend Morgan sent me this message:

“I was having a stressful day at work and saw a company session I had on my calendar that involved learning to draw penguins in Microsoft Paint and I almost wasn’t going to attend because I felt so busy and overwhelmed…but I attended anyway and wow I felt amazing after! It was a perfect reminder to slow down and also a non-serious exercise of creativity and I was like wow is this what Acey is talking about?? ”

Thank you Morgan for sharing this with us! Aren’t they adorable?

Yes. YES. This is exactly what I’m talking about! Morgan was viewing the play as something that would detract from her professional obligations, but when she participated, she realized that the play actually boosted her wellbeing to the point that she was able to be MORE PRODUCTIVE and probably more effective at her next task! (Can we also just take a second to applaud her company for having that as an option for their employees? Wanna bring that kind of playful work design to your org? That’s exactly the type of work I do with teams, click here and let’s get you going!)

To be clear, I’m not saying you have to open Microsoft Paint right now to be productive today, but I encourage you to acknowledge that the power of play is universal and transformative. It's about more than just drawing penguins in Microsoft Paint or “having fun”; it’s about the mindset we bring into our daily lives. If you embrace playfulness, you can open yourself to creativity, joy, and renewed energy (who doesn’t want that?).

Do you have a story about taking time for yourself that benefited your work and/or community? Share it by just replying to this email (it comes straight to me) or joining in the discussion on this LinkedIn post!