Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

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November 4, 2012 22 Comments

The Play Project

When I wrote of the paucity of play in my life, Diana left the following exhortation in the comments:

Make a short list of things that make you feel as though you’re taking a break – maybe even things you fight feeling guilty about. Taking a walk, taking pictures, reading a good book, maybe for the 2nd or 3rd time, seeing a movie, getting a manicure, taking a bubble bath, jumping on a trampoline, taking a bus or a train to somewhere new – from simple to complex, have a little list of things that nourish you. Then try to add at least one simple thing each day and one more complex thing each week. If you make a project out of it – you might just luck into playfulness!!

Diana, thanks to your encouragement (and precise instructions), I’m now going to make that list and launch The Play Project.

The Play List

The short list of “things that make you feel as though you’re taking a break.”

  1. Snap pictures (especially of family)
  2. Sleep in
  3. Take a walk
  4. Read a book
  5. Read the newspaper
  6. Browse shelves at the library to discover interesting books
  7. Learn something new
  8. Share what I learn with someone else
  9. Make a big breakfast (and eat it at a leisurely pace)
  10. Bake muffins, cookies, or brownies
  11. Ride my bike on a warm day
  12. Write in a journal
  13. Write a blog post
  14. Write a friend
  15. Chat with a friend
  16. Laugh with family
  17. Laugh with a friend
  18. Solve someone’s problem
  19. Wander around an art museum
  20. Sketch or draw something
  21. Meander the Internet reading blog posts and commenting where appropriate
  22. Attend a writing event (conference, seminar, author reading)
  23. Vacation with family
  24. Lounge on a beach on a hot, sunny day
  25. Walk along a beach on a hot, sunny day
  26. Read a book on a beach on a hot, sunny day
  27. Snap pictures of the beach on a hot, sunny day

Other than the series of beach-related activities, the list seems simple, attainable. Unfortunately, I live far from beaches in a part of the country that grows increasingly cold and dreary this time of year; therefore, the beach play will have to wait.

I’m realizing that the list lacks any type of high-energy, high-speed play. To illustrate, I’ve not listed any adventures like boating, swimming, parasailing, mountain climbing, or sky-diving. I guess play, for me, for the moment, doesn’t require surges of adrenaline to feel playful. If anything, I seem to equate play with a sense of calm and quiet.

Claire Burge, adventure girl, would be so sad about my low-energy list. Don’t despair, Claire…perhaps with practice, my playfulness will evolve to one day include water walking and zorbing?

In the meantime, I must start somewhere, even if all I do is read one chapter in a book.

I shall launch The Play Project this week by implementing some of the simplest items on the list, one a day, and periodically report back on my Play Progress.

Filed Under: life Tagged With: play, Play Project, The Play Project

Comments

  1. David Rupert says

    November 4, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    You got me at “paucity”
    Ok. I’m in!

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      November 5, 2012 at 9:19 am

      David, I can’t wait to see your list. I imagine it will include not only reading, writing and time with friends, but also some more rugged outdoorsy activities like hiking, photographing that gorgeous landscape around you, and maybe some fishing?

      This morning I already read a little.

      Reply
  2. Claire says

    November 5, 2012 at 4:34 am

    Ann! Very excited about this new project.

    To be honest, I am not saddened at all. Something interesting actually happened this year in August when I got back from South Africa. I felt a deep sense of fatigue from all my adventuring. It was wearing my nerves down. I resolved to slow down and to stay put for winter. Adrenalin like anything else can become addictive and my itchy feet that have kept me travelling and daring have hurt me in some ways that I am only realising after that fact. So here I am in month 3 of no travelling abroad, staying put in Ireland and soaking up a full season of Autumn and Winter. My soul is thanking me.

    So I am not disappointed in your list at all but rather very happy about it. I am glad that you have reached this point.

    As a professional organiser and Irish owner of Get Organised, I always remind my clients that they need to take their time and space styles into account when they are organising and reshaping their lives. We have different styles and not working within these can really hurt us as people, often leaving us more disorganised and exasperated than before.

    Looking forward to the seeing this journey unfold…

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      November 5, 2012 at 9:22 am

      Wow, Claire, this is fascinating! I love all of your thoughts and appreciate hearing your personal revelations. I hope this time of staying put and slowing down does indeed feed your soul.

      Love hearing from you!

      Reply
  3. Patricia (Pollywog Creek) says

    November 5, 2012 at 6:56 am

    I LOVE this! What a wise woman, that Diana! Appreciate Claire’s comment, too.

    Something Tonia Peckover helped me clarify a few years ago is that one of the ways that God created each of us differently is in our energy levels – and some of us {me, me, me} have always been on the lower end of the energy scale. We can appreciate the high energy accomplishments of those so bent, but we are much more satisfied by the calmer, peaceful, contemplative activities. Like Tonia, if I have a day or weekend or week of energetic {even mentally exhausting} activity, I need a cocoon day or days to recover.

    A high-energy person probably doesn’t need a play project, but it would be a great idea for me – because sometimes when I cocoon, I get too comfortable and want to stay there.

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      November 5, 2012 at 9:23 am

      Wise words from you (and Tonia), Patricia. I’m delighted to find a kindred spirit in terms of energy levels. That cocooning sounds familiar!

      Reply
  4. Sandra Harriette says

    November 5, 2012 at 3:30 pm

    What do you mean when you say “solve someone else’s problem?”

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      November 5, 2012 at 3:45 pm

      Sandra, I love being helpful. Problem-solving is one way I feel quite energized. For example, if someone would express frustration that they don’t know how to organize their laundry room, I love brainstorming for ideas after asking things like, “What’s not working? What do you need it to do? Hey, what if you try this?”

      When a person feels stuck and I can help them think through the stuckness to participate in a breakthrough moment where they feel unstuck and can see how to solve a problem, I’m thrilled. Does that make sense?

      Reply
      • Laura Brown says

        February 26, 2015 at 10:14 pm

        You are really good at this.

        Reply
  5. Charity Singleton says

    November 5, 2012 at 8:22 pm

    Ann – How did you, and Diana and Claire, all get so smart? I think this is a wonderful idea, to plan times of play. I feel like the pace of my life has been unsustainable recently. Yesterday, while I am out of town, I found myself with a whole day of laying around, watching movies, not doing much of anything. That was restful. I’m nearly ready to start playing again. I think that rest and play must certainly be linked somehow. Thanks for sharing your smarts with the rest of us, all three of you!

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      November 6, 2012 at 10:05 pm

      The co-op moms dressed as hippies today. That was fun! Rest and play, yes, I think they are linked. One must have energy to play, which can be gained through rest. I think Claire’s story in the above comment illustrates it exactly!

      Reply
  6. Hazel Moon says

    November 5, 2012 at 8:26 pm

    Your list has several thing I would love to do. A trip that I have put off for almost a year to visit some old friends. And a conference writing or blogging would be nice. There are others too, but these would be #1 and #2.

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      November 6, 2012 at 10:05 pm

      Hazel, I hope you get that trip to visit friends. Sound like a fun break, and you would really enjoy a writing/blogging conference. Have you heard of any that sound like a particularly good fit?

      Reply
  7. Sandra Heska King says

    November 5, 2012 at 9:06 pm

    I started giggling at Diana’s list–the part about the trampoline. I want to see her jump. It makes me dizzy.

    I have your #20 on my list. Soon as I get more clutter out of this place, I want to try that. I used to draw a little. I was terrible.

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      November 6, 2012 at 10:07 pm

      I agree. Let’s see Diana jump!

      Of course, she might have been imagining that I would be a trampoline person (I’m not; I’m more of a hammock girl).

      Sketching is so simple, you could probably do it even surrounded by clutter! But clutter does nothing to inspire. I think if I were going to set up an easel and paint, then I would have to clear the clutter completely. But sketching, why, I carry a sketch pad with me often (it doubles as my journal). I hope you get some of that playfulness in your life–I think your photography and poetry has a lot of play in it. Do you?

      Reply
  8. Megan Willome says

    November 6, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    I’ve got a couple of problems you’re welcome to solve. 🙂

    Seriously, I love that you’ve given your problem (not playing enough) a title and are sallying forth. I can help a little with No. 3 and No. 9.

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      November 6, 2012 at 10:08 pm

      Well, I think using the phrase “sallying forth” is playing with words! And let’s make it a point to enjoy No. 3 together. And No. 9? Yummmmm….

      Reply
  9. Laura says

    November 6, 2012 at 8:46 pm

    Play has become something very, very dear to me. Ever since I started Playdates with God (and my own trampoline experience!) I have come to see how much God loves it too. And I have come to define it in so many different ways…as Patricia (and Tonia) say, we are all made differently. This is fun, Ann! You’ll have to join my Playdates community sometime so I can keep up with your play!

    Reply
    • annkroeker says

      November 6, 2012 at 10:10 pm

      Of course! I will indeed try to write more about play and link up to Playdates! See how out of the loop I am? Maybe if I were better connected to my dear friends, I would have all the reminders and encouragement I need to more intentionally play! You can be one of my mentors. Yes?

      Reply
  10. Mike St. Pierre says

    November 8, 2012 at 7:37 am

    Ann, what I appreciate about your list is that it nudges you forward, deeper in your faith and in your journey with Christ. Very incarnational- the ordinary things of life can bring us closer to God. I’m with you- I need more high energy activities as well as the winter moves in.

    Reply
  11. Krista Foley says

    November 13, 2012 at 9:35 am

    I love this idea! To do things and be productive, but savor in that time and have fun with it. I need to enjoy my day, take care of myself, and play a little bit! I love how you emphasize playing calmly, in enriching activities that make us slow down and savor that moment. I just came across your blog and am enjoying it.
    Please check out my sister and my blog Sisters for Sunshine!
    God bless.

    Reply
  12. Laura Brown says

    February 26, 2015 at 10:17 pm

    I love #5. I didn’t know you #20. That’s a big one for me. I hope you laughed today.

    Reply

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