The NPR article “Play Doesn’t End With Childhood: Adults Need Recess Too” reports, “[P]laytime doesn’t end when we grow up. Adults need recess too.”

Why? To find out, they asked our friend Dr. Stuart Brown, who responded, “Play is something done for its own sake…It’s voluntary, it’s pleasurable, it offers a sense of engagement, it takes you out of time. And the act itself is more important than the outcome.”

In this Play Project update, week three, we see that Michelle Ortega listened to an audio narration of a French children’s book to unwind after a long day. Her caption suggests she accomplished much of what Dr. Brown mentioned with this voluntary, pleasurable activity that took her out of time for a few minutes.

They say one reason grown-ups play is to “maintain our social well-being,” whether through gathering to play board games, joining an adult soccer league, or trying an Escape Room. “Playing is how we connect.” They mention the closeness a couple can gain when they add play to their relationship.

Another reason we play, the article says, “is to stay sharp.” Playing games like Scrabble that engage the mind can lower our risk of developing Alzheimer’s. “A number of studies suggest that playing games or doing puzzles helps maintain memory and thinking skills.”

Michelle Ortega has been squeezing play into every day this month. She shared with us this photo of the last standing gas lamp in New York, near e. e. cummings’ apartment. 

And she played Ms Pacman, which was a big source of play in my teen years.

Bethany took a break to sip tea and peruse responses to a recent Tweetspeak Poetry prompt (puppies+dreams!).

Vicki Addesso pulled out crayons to distract herself, to find joy. She awakened creativity and play, documenting the day with a poem, which ends:

Tonight I opened a box of crayons
and simply filled the blank page,
and time,
with colors.

Donna Falcone has been making art, playing with paint:

Meanwhile, Marilyn Yocum decided to do her nails while watching Downton Abbey, reminding us that play can be simple (and indulgent).

A friend of mine gave me a box of gluten-free cookie mix and a container of icing to use during the Play Project month—cookies just for me. So last night I made them. And ate them.

In the NPR article, Dr. Brown said, “What you begin to see when there’s major play deprivation in an otherwise competent adult is that they’re not much fun to be around…You begin to see that the perseverance and joy in work is lessened and that life is much more laborious.”

Right. Without play, we get bored and boring.

So, to avoid play deprivation, we get creative. We get out. We do things, see things. For example, Marilyn headed to her local library to view an exhibit of photos. She writes:

There are gems to be had, often right under our noses.

AN EXHIBIT of PHOTOS taken by Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank, might not seem like much of a Play Project outing. Perhaps it’s more of an artist’s date. I’m not exactly sure of the overlap between those two, but a trip to any exhibit where my everyday thoughts are temporarily suspended feels like play to me. It may fit into the category of spectator play or even storytelling (because photos tell a story).

When you play, you decide how many sprinkles to shake on the cookie. You decide whether to visit the art exhibit or where to walk in SoHo. You decide where to go and what to do.

We’ve got one week left in the January 2016 Play Project. Life needn’t be laborious—let’s avoid being dulled by a stream of duties and obligations.

Dream up seven more ideas, one for each day in the week ahead—things you want to do.

Then tell us (in the comments below) how you’ll play in the days that remain.

Related:

• The Play Project: A Month of Fun for Anyone (especially writers and other creatives) (introductory and main page, complete with downloadable worksheets)
• #PlayProject Jan 2016 – Week One Update
• #PlayProject Jan 2016 – Week Two Update
• Top 6 Curiosity Discoveries – December 2015, Planning for Play (each month I document curiosity discoveries, and December offered a play theme, as I was immersed in planning for January)
• #31 Play a Playful Year (podcast)

Image sourced from Gratisography, offered under Creative Commons Zero terms. Words added by Ann Kroeker.

The post #PlayProject Jan 2016 – Week Three Update appeared first on Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach.

I’m not super flexible, nor do I dance well, but I can spin that hoop in both directions. When I turn up music and that hoop is in motion, I feel free and fun. It offers a perfect play break, especially after an unexpectedly un-playful week that included a series of unfortunate events (broken sump pump, cavities, and engine trouble, among other things).

My hula hoop break reminded me of Laura Boggess’ secret visit to her neighbor’s trampoline, described in her book Playdates with God:

I slipped off my shoes. Clambered up in the awkward way of a fortyish woman. And I did. I jumped. Slow at first, but with each landing on the heel—each pushing off with the balls of the feet—I went higher. This body shed free the years, and I became unfettered. I became a stranger in my body, but I remembered. Oh, yes, I remembered this. There was sun-warmed elastic beneath my bare feet, and I was loosed to bound free. The earth fell below, and I flew. (26)

That. That’s how hooping makes me feel: Loosed and unfettered, almost like dancing, shedding free the years. Laura’s leaping inspired her to commit to seeking moments with God as playful and open and childlike as she felt on that trampoline. She vowed, “Once a week I would leave my grown-up notions behind, and I would find a place where joy and wonder would lead. A playdate with God” (26).

I hope the one-month #PlayProject spills into the rest of our year and we play a little every day, or at least every week, like Laura does.

Laura realizes that as a grown-up, she has a chance at recovering “the wild joy of wonder” through play. She quotes from Barbara Brannen’s book The Gift of Play: Why Adult Women Stop Playing and How to Start Again:

When you are through playing you are able to retrieve the experience from your memory bank and relive it. You are able to recapture the moment with joy all over again. When you think about your play you can focus on it and feel instantly refreshed. Your play opens your heart. When your heart is open you open your eyes and see things for what they really are. Your spirit is opened and you can feel everything to a greater degree. You are no longer numb to the world, but experiencing it fully and with great glee. (24)

Laura concurs: “For me, play has always been a way of opening up to intuition—that place where the Holy Spirit speaks more clearly into my heart. Play gives me permission to pay attention to this gentle prodding that I might otherwise ignore” (63-64).

That gentle prodding sometimes manifests as curiosity, as it did for Marilyn Yocum when she explored Google Earth, and for Michelle Ortega, when she grew curious about a nearby church’s Jazz Ensemble Vespers. She dropped in to visit, for a #playproject outing:

If you’re running low on #PlayProject ideas, you can always build an origami phone, like Monica Sharman did:

Or print a Tweetspeak Poetry Coloring page, fun and different from the usual fare, or try writing Ginsberg’s “American Sentence”: a 17-syllable sentence—sort of a haiku, but not. Kim Addonizio introduces Allen Ginsberg’s American Sentences in her book Ordinary Genius. She says Ginsberg, “inspired by the traditional Japanese haiku—three lines of five, seven, and five syllables—invented the ‘American Sentence,’ one sentence of seventeen syllables” (33).

She offers an example from Ginsberg himself: “Four skinheads stand in the streetlight rain chatting under an umbrella.”

Here’s one from me, as I look out the window: “Shimmering snow melts away, leaving patches of wet, gray slush and mud.”

Laura Boggess reminds us to have a poet’s playful, mindful eye that follows our curiosity and picks up on sensory input all around:

When eyes are focused on some point far ahead, it’s hard to see the beauty right beside you. This is one thing children rarely do—miss details. From the tiniest bug, to the shape of a stick, to the smoothest rocks creek side, children are always surveying their environment for the next great treasure. It’s no accident that the word question contains the word quest. When was the last time I gave my curiosity free reign? When did I last let myself get lost in wondering, let exploration lead instead of a goal? (120)

If it’s been a while since you last got lost in wondering, if you are looking so far ahead you miss the details right in front of you, take a minute to pay attention, to follow your curiosity, to play.

Here’s a simple American Sentence:

“The #playproject opens my eyes, mind, and heart to see the world afresh.”

Jump in with January’s #PlayProject and document your fun (drop links in the comments below and be sure to describe ideas that can’t be shared due to privacy settings on social media).

Related:

• The Play Project: A Month of Fun for Anyone (especially writers and other creatives) (introductory and main page, complete with downloadable worksheets)
• #PlayProject Jan 2016 – Week One Update
• Top 6 Curiosity Discoveries – December 2015, Planning for Play (each month I document curiosity discoveries, and December offered a play theme, as I was immersed in planning for January)
• #31 Play a Playful Year (podcast)

Source: Boggess, Laura. Playdates with God: Having a Childlike Faith in a Grown-up World. Abilene, TX: Leafwood, 2014. Print.

The post #PlayProject Jan 2016 – Week Two Update appeared first on Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach.

So far, during January’s #PlayProject I’ve been exploring simple, quiet ideas I can incorporate into my days.

I mean, could it get more simple and quiet than word searches?

In just minutes, I'm ten years old again. #playproject #day3

A photo posted by Ann Kroeker (@annkroeker) on Jan 3, 2016 at 10:55am PST

Coloring books?

Trying to color on day 5 of the #playproject, but not finding it super fun. I might have outgrown it.

A photo posted by Ann Kroeker (@annkroeker) on Jan 5, 2016 at 9:49am PST

And doodling?

This simple Day 7 #playproject doodle pleases me more than printed coloring books.

A photo posted by Ann Kroeker (@annkroeker) on Jan 7, 2016 at 6:54am PST

I hope my boring attempts (so far! I intend to up my game in the weeks ahead) remind you that fun doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive, or involved.

It can be, though, if you’re inspired!

Whether you curl up in front of the fire to read a book, or head outside to build a snow fort or run in the rain, life improves with a little play in every day.

Check out what Michelle’s documenting in her Instagram stream:

Some magnetic poetry…

Day 1 #PlayProject Today I am at my office doing some necessary admin work to wrap up 2015-but taking a break to play with my poetry magnets! You'll see these again throughout the month, I'm sure. #poetry #magneticpoetry @annkroeker

A photo posted by Michelle Ortega (@michellebelleslp) on Jan 1, 2016 at 11:45am PST

A poem tapped out on a Remington Portable Model 5, then illustrated by hand…

Day 2 #PlayProject I used my Remington Portable Model 5 to pound this poem out, then doodled around the words with colored pencils. The force of the key strikes and the scratch of a pencil across paper reminds me of the difficult and beautiful creative process, wherever we are and whatever we are creating, inside and out. The story behind this poem will come to you, another day. But for now, I offer #jeffersonmarketgarden : "park is closed until the tulips are in bloom" but the {rose (never to be passed over) vines weave (sweet ghosts fragrance) toward me through (a winterspring day) the fence so i stay} #nycpoetry #flowerpoem #flowerpoetry #rosepoems #wildroses

A photo posted by Michelle Ortega (@michellebelleslp) on Jan 2, 2016 at 11:58am PST

A few minutes with a charming children’s book about e. e. cummings…

Day 3 #PlayProject After a long hard day, I would most definitely plop down and go to sleep- but tonight, I know I have to PLAY. This page is from Matthew Burgess' children's book, "enormousSMALLNESS: a story of e.e. cummings. It's a delightfully illustrated book for the young and old and in between, and inspired an artist's date for me… #patchinplace #eecummings #matthewburgess

A photo posted by Michelle Ortega (@michellebelleslp) on Jan 3, 2016 at 5:34pm PST

An origami box…

Day 5 #PlayProject I made this origami Star Box from a starter kit I purchased last year. It's a little crinkly underneath but you can't see it in the photo. Like @annkroeker 's feelings on coloring, I'm not sold on it. #sorrynotsorry #playsomethingdifferent

A photo posted by Michelle Ortega (@michellebelleslp) on Jan 5, 2016 at 7:13pm PST

And, a balloon launch!

Day 6 #PlayProject It seems these balloons had a failure to launch, but maybe the barren tree just didn't want to let them go. Maybe there is no dance there, but a bubble guppy hanging out in some sea grass. What do you see? #perspective #imaginaryfriends #tellastory

A photo posted by Michelle Ortega (@michellebelleslp) on Jan 6, 2016 at 8:43pm PST

Meanwhile, Marilyn Yocum is playing in the kitchen, slicing and dicing, letting her creativity flow freely:

Having fun slicing, dicing, working without a recipe. #PlayProject 30 days of play w/ @annkroeker pic.twitter.com/aQ4MbmEltw

— Marilyn Yocum (@MarilynYocum) January 4, 2016

Play can be delicious. Callie Feyen knew that when she baked #PlayProject bread using her grandmother’s recipe…

Day One of participating in @annkroeker 's #playproject. I baked French bread using a recipe in my Grandma Ayanoglou's bread book. #yum

A photo posted by Callie Feyen (@calliefeyen) on Jan 1, 2016 at 10:54am PST

and created some art to inspire…

@annkroeker here's what I did for Day 2 of #playproject Explanation forthcoming (as discussed on FB during our lovely #playchat, but I it wasn't an accident that the print from my friend @ashleegadd is next to my other sign. (Also, I took the statement from @designmom's book.)

A photo posted by Callie Feyen (@calliefeyen) on Jan 2, 2016 at 12:02pm PST

Lisa Taylor Phillips played with her button collection:

@lisatphillips My love of old buttons. Embellish sweaters & scarves. Day 2 plan by @annkroeker #PlayProject #2016 pic.twitter.com/572f5ykOLA

— lisa taylor phillips (@lisatphillips) January 2, 2016

Christina Hubbard heard about my doodling and shared her dreams of the beach…

A little late to the #playproject, but #creativity remains undaunted! On right: my doodles + beach (which appeared subconsciously. Florida is in my near future). This hand-drawn card on the left from a @fair_trade_friday artisan inspired me. P.S. does anyone know where I can get more of them? (artist: Fidan from Azerbaijan). Thanks for the challenge, @annkroeker + card @abigailinkc #waketomake #playwithart #makers #beautifullife #creativechallenge #thisisfun

A photo posted by Christina Hubbard (@creativefreecourage) on Jan 7, 2016 at 11:08am PST

We’re just getting started on this month of fun.

And by “we” I mean you, me, our friends, your writing group, the neighbors. The #PlayProject is for anyone: writers, creatives, and curious people of all kinds.

Are you hesitating?

Dr. Stuart Brown observes, “We strive to always be productive, and if an activity doesn’t teach us a skill, make us money, or get on the boss’s good side, then we feel we should not be doing it. Sometimes the sheer demands of daily living seem to rob us of the ability to play,” and yet “play is what lifts people out of the mundane” (6-7, 6).

He continues, “Once people understand what play does for them, they can learn to bring a sense of excitement and adventure back to their lives, make work an extension of their play lives, and engage fully with the world” (11).

Won’t you join us? Let play lift you out of the mundane. Bring that sense of excitement and adventure to your life. Engage more fully with the world.

You can start small, like I have, with a coloring book, a doodle, a break from the weight of work and everyday challenges. Or go big straight out of the gate! Jump in at any time with your own playful ideas.

If you make your own efforts public, link up on social media or send me a link (you may have to adjust privacy settings). I’d love to see and celebrate! Did I miss you this week? Drop a link to your project in the comments below, so we can pay you a visit!

For now, play on.

* * *

Related:

• The Play Project: A Month of Fun for Anyone (especially writers and other creatives) (includes free worksheets to inspire your creativity)
• #29: The Energizing Work of the Playful Writer (podcast)
• Top 6 Curiosity Discoveries – December 2015, Planning for Play
• Take Your Play History
• #31: Plan a Playful Year (podcast)
• English Teaching Resources: Incidentally, That Play-Doh Could Prevent a Homicide (Tweetspeak Poetry)
• English Teaching Resources: Incidentally, That Lego Could Earn You Six Figures (Tweetspeak Poetry)

Source: Brown, Stuart L., and Christopher C. Vaughan. Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. New York: Avery, 2009. Print.

The post #PlayProject Jan 2016 – Week One Update appeared first on Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach.

He assures those who scoff at the thought of active play in the life of an adult, “We don’t need to play all the time to be fulfilled. The truth is that in most cases, play is a catalyst. The beneficial effects of getting just a little true play can spread throughout our lives, actually making us more productive and happier in everything we do” (7).

This motivated me to find “just a little true play” for each day of the month ahead—the Play Project doesn’t have to involve week-long endeavors or all-day outings. Even the tiniest break in the day can open up a few minutes to do one word search, color just a few areas in a coloring book, or take a single snapshot.

The consequences of eliminating play from our busy days that carry such weight of responsibility lead to us being stuck in our ways. Dr. Brown writes:

If we stop playing, we share the fate of all animals that grow out of play. Our behavior becomes fixed. We are not interested in new and different things. We find fewer opportunities to take pleasure in the world around us. (71)

To avoid becoming fixed in your behavior, get up and move. Try something new. Play.

Not long ago, I watched Dick Van Dyke stay playful, dancing and moving and laughing:

In an NPR interview, he advises:

Oh yeah they caught me tap dancing out here in the lobby here – nice marble floor. Everyone should dance. And everyone should sing. People say, “Well, I can’t sing.” Everybody can sing. That you do it badly is no reason not to sing….The point is to enjoy. You have to pick what you enjoy doing, what fulfills you, what interests you….almost anyone can find that one immersing hobby or pastime that they love to do.

Tap dancing in the lobby, singing, laughing…Dick Van Dyke is Exhibit A, supporting Dr. Stuart Brown’s conclusion:

Play is how we are made, how we develop and adjust to change. It can foster innovation and lead to multibillion-dollar fortunes. But in the end the most significant aspect of play is that it allows us to express our joy and connect most deeply with the best in ourselves, and in others. If your life has become barren, play brings it to life again. (218)

* * *

The post Top 6 Curiosity Discoveries – December 2015, Planning for Play appeared first on Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach.

Summary:

This is the time of year when people look back at 2015 and consider how they did at achieving their goals, then they look ahead to 2016 and start to plan the year ahead. They decide the habits they want to eradicate and establish, and the goals they want to achieve.

It happens that this time of resolution setting overlaps with the Play Project: Every single day in January I’m going to do something big or small to be more playful.

When you think back to the early days of your writing life, do you remember being playful? Playing with words and stories? Writing just for the fun of it?

If we can regain that playful freedom as writers, we’ll find freedom to be more creative and productive.

Look ahead. Dream big. Set goals. And actually plan some play. Kickstart it by joining the Play Project, intentionally setting aside time to play every day for a month.

Try something you’ve never tried before. Lose yourself in your work, in your art. When you play, you’ll likely start to turn out fresh, original work you never realized was in you.

If you make January a month of play, and 2016 a year of play, maybe you’ll end up with a lifetime of play.

Listen for the full podcast.

Ideas from this episode:

• Planning a year of play will free you to be more creative and original.

Resources:

• The Play Project: A Month of Fun for Anyone (especially writers and other creatives)
• #29: The Energizing Work of a Playful Writer
• Take Your Play History

* * *

You can subscribe with iTunes and Stitcher, where I’d love to have you subscribe, rate, and leave a review. You can also use the feed with any podcast player you use.

Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook, where I’m always sharing ideas to help us be more curious, creative, and productive

______________________________

Is your writing life all it can be?

Let this book act as your personal coach, to explore the writing life you already have and the writing life you wish for, and close the gap between the two.

“A genial marriage of practice and theory. For writers new and seasoned. This book is a winner.”

—Phil Gulley, author of Front Porch Tales

The post #31: Plan a Playful Year appeared first on Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach.

In a recent podcast, I encouraged play as a way to energize a writer's work, and a week ago I zeroed in on the need to take your play history to identify what brought you joy in childhood, in hopes of incorporating it into your life today.

I shared with you about the care and keeping of crickets, but the more I worked on my play history, the more I remembered summers in my childhood, when I read Nancy Drew mysteries, played Barbies with my friend down the road, and pedaled my bike to Edward's Cash & Carry to buy a bottle of grape Faygo and some Dubble Bubble. ​In winter, I'd play Intellivision games, do word searches, read comic books, and watch re-runs of The Dick Van Dyke Show, Gilligan's Island, and The Brady Bunch. 

A few years later, I started college. It was hard. Much harder than high school. Afraid I might lose my generous academic scholarship, I focused on studies to keep up my GPA. No way would I have time to watch afternoon reruns. On weekends I might go on a road trip with friends, and I joined a college group that met Tuesday evening meetings, but during the day I was in class or preparing for class.

One afternoon in my junior year, a roommate suggested we watch a movie.

"Right now?"

"Sure."

"But...it's the middle of the day. In the middle of the week."

"Live a little, Annie!"

I looked at the TV set and the VHS player. I doubt I would have skipped a class, but as an English major I had lengthy, often challenging, reading assignments followed by response papers. The mere thought of setting it all aside felt irresponsible, but that one afternoon, I did it. I settled onto the couch and tuned out schoolwork for a couple of hours. I don't even remember the movie, but I do remember it was the first time I thought about finding balance between work and play throughout the week.

Years later, as a young mom, I gave my kids lots of time for free play with toys and games, and to make sure they enjoyed fresh, new experiences, I also planned play. I'd arrange outings to the children's museum, the zoo, the park, and the library so my kids would have intentional opportunities to play. In summer I'd pass around popsicles and set up the sprinkler for them to run through. In winter I'd zip up their snowsuits so they could stomp through the drifts to build forts and snowmen. 

Work Doesn't Work Without Play

Time flies. Those sprinkler summers and snowsuit winters are long gone: Three of my kids are young adults and the youngest is a teen. Play looks different than it used to. As I build my writing life and coaching business, the proposition of watching a movie in the middle of the day feels as irresponsible as it did in college—I should be doing something more productive than settling onto the couch for two hours. But that resistance suggests I need to build in something more playful than a coffee break. I can tell I need the sense of flow and delight offered by play as much as I need the purpose and stability of work.

Dr. Stuart Brown, author of the book Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul and founder of the National Institute of Play, writes, "Respecting our biologically programmed need for play can transform work...true play that comes from our own inner needs and desires is the only path to finding lasting joy and satisfaction in our work. In the long run, work does not work without play" (127).

I need to play again. I need to make sure it happens. I need to live a little!

Today, I want to offer an actual plan for play that you and I can follow. If you're playful by nature, this is for you—you'll enjoy dreaming up new ways to get active and creative. If you resist fun in the name of productivity, if you get so busy you forget to play, if life is hard and heavy, this is for you, too. The Play Project will give you a much-needed mental and physical break to refresh and restore you on a daily and weekly basis. After you come back from some play time, you'll probably be more creative and productive than ever. 

During Christmas break, take time to generate ideas for everyday play (simple activities you enjoy, that relax you, like doodling, baking brownies, playing solitaire, jumping on a trampoline, or folding an origami swan), more involved play (like ice skating, hiking, or visiting an art museum) and writing-specific play (like penning a poem from a fun prompt or trying some flash fiction). 

Join the #PlayProject Community

Join the Play Project, and you'll transform January into a month of delight.

Let's follow each other's play progress by using the #PlayProject hashtag in our status updates at Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Let's find each other, and for the month of January, we'll balance out our resolutions with play. Dr. Brown writes, "Far from standing in opposition to each other, play and work are mutually supportive" (126).

No one gets more play points by being more ambitious, and no one gets docked points for falling behind and getting too serious. Think up super-easy playful activities to offer you at least a passing grin on even the hardest, longest days. For example, if you find yourself at 11:30 p.m. one night without having taken a single moment to play, search online for a knock-knock joke and type up your favorite on Instagram. It can be that simple.

Wherever we are in the world, the #PlayProject can bring us together for one month, to laugh, applaud, relax for a minute, and report on how much more creative and productive we feel.

In the next few weeks, let's plan.

In January, let's play.

Step One: Make Your Play List

Grab a notebook and start listing fun things you already do and want to continue, ideas you used to enjoy but haven't done for a long time, or activities and outings you've never tried that seem relaxing, nourishing or fun. Think of ideas for everyday play, more involved play, and writing-specific play.

I already hula hoop, so I'll want to keep that going. I used to take a lot of photographs but haven't for a while, so I'm going to actually schedule that into my month (watch for a flood of #PlayProject photos on Instagram), and I've never shot a bow and arrow, so I might plan an outing to an archery range.

It might be tempting to start jotting down things you've heard are fun, but don't necessarily excite you. Take time to figure out what fits you.

Dr. Stuart Brown, author of Play and founder of the National Institute for Play, has identified eight play personalities. You'll find the personalities described on pages 66-70 of the book Play, and I'll list them here with abbreviated descriptions. They may help you generate ideas in keeping with your personality's tendencies:

• ​The Joker: The class clown who makes others laugh, you may find the most fun in playing practical jokes.
• The Kinesthete: Always on the move, you might be an athlete or you might want to play Twister—but more to be moving around than to win.
• The Explorer: Whether physically exploring by traveling, emotionally exploring by searching for a deeper feeling, or mentally exploring by learning something new, you want to go where you've never gone before.
• The Competitor: You enjoy a competitive game, and you want to play, to fight, to win, whether playing alone or on teams.
• The Director: You organize, plan and execute events and activities, from parties to outings.
• The Collector: You collect objects, like coins, or experiences, like visiting every national park; you may collect on your own or with others.
• The Artist/Creator: The key to play for the artist/creator is to make something, regardless of whether or not you show it to someone.
• The Storyteller: Imagination is key, and because of this, you can bring play to almost any activity; storytellers love writing novels, plays, performing, lecturing.

Which of these play personalities seems most like you? If you're a collector, work in some outings that fit your fun—visit antique stores to find the next button for your collection or buy another model car to expand your display. If you're a Kinesthete, plan a jog, dance, and climb a tree. Recognizing your dominant type can help you build in plenty of activities and outings that you'll truly enjoy.

At the same time, even if active play is your thing, don't be afraid to sit down and play Settlers of Catan with your kids. If creating art is your kind of play, don't be afraid to plan a coffee outing with a friend. You can play in a lot of different ways, within your play personality and stretching beyond your tendencies. 

Brainstorm. Make a long list with more than 31 ideas, so you'll have plenty to choose from.

Step Two: Plan Your Play

Does it spoil the fun to plan out our play?

I think not. I think it ensures we step away from the desk for a few minutes to stretch and laugh or have fun with the writing itself. Play gives us something to write about. Play makes sure a day doesn't go by without a little levity.

Read through your long list of ideas and pencil an activity into each of January's 31 days. They can be short and simple, or longer and more involved. For the more involved ideas, open your calendar and look for a weekend where you have a chunk of free time. Block it out and phone to reserve your spot at the skating rink, pottery class, or recording studio. If you're the type to brush aside your play plans when the day arrives, schedule it on an electronic calendar as an event and turn on the notification. When it beeps and flashes on your phone or desktop, commit. 

You need not always break away from work to play. Find ways to brainstorm as part of your work, because play and work need not be mutually exclusive. A couple of easy ideas: play beat-the-clock on a mindless task you've got to plow through, or pull out a big piece of poster board and start creating a mind map to explore various solutions to a problem that's got you stuck. Add color and images. See if the answer presents itself as your brain stops fighting so hard to force its way through.

"The quality that work and play have in common is creativity.​" Dr. Stuart Brown #PlayProject

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Step Three: Play!

On January 1st, it's time to play!

By all means, feel free to start intentionally playing in December, but the official #PlayProject begins in January. As your days unfold, you may decide to undertake a different activity or outing than you originally recorded on your worksheets.

No problem! That's why we have erasers and Whiteout and digital devices. If you've been planning and tracking your play project on Evernote and Google calendar, update with changes. If you've been writing longhand, erase or cross out the original idea, record what you actually did, and then check it off. 

Feels good, doesn't it?

Note of the effects of the play:

• Did it give you physical or mental energy?
• Do you feel more alert or creative? To what degree?
• How did it affect your relationships and your level of happiness?
• Are you feeling frustrated at play activities interrupting more pressing matters?
• Is your play having minimal impact or transforming your days? Describe in a sentence or two.

Understanding play's impact (or lack thereof) you can help you tweak your project.

Step Four: Document and Share the Fun

Take a photo and Instagram it, write about it on your blog, report on your play via Facebook or Twitter, using the #PlayProject hashtag.

I'm providing visuals you can grab to use for each. The top image is Pinterest-ready. Next one down is prepped for Instagram. The one just above Step Four is sized for Twitter, and the bottom image is for Facebook.

Grab these images if you like, or just type out a description and include the #PlayProject hashtag. By connecting ourselves in a community of play, we build in accountability and celebration, while reminding others in our circles to make time for play.​

Click to download your FREE Play Project Planning Worksheets

Ready for Play?

That's the rundown on January's Play Project! Open a Word document, record notes in Evernote, or flag a page in your bullet journal to capture your ideas. I'll be providing encouragement and examples heading into our Month of Fun and throughout the Play Project, but more than anything, I want to connect with you, to see your play in action.

Stay in touch. I'll watch for you, hoping to spot you here, there, and everywhere, having fun!

The post The Play Project: A Month of Fun for Anyone (especially writers and other creatives) appeared first on Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach.