Does playtime ever feel like a waste of time to you? Maybe you wish you could play, but you feel that you have too much on your plate or that play is for children.
The thing is that playtime is necessary for our brain, body and nervous system to recharge.
The "adult" life takes place in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) - the area of brain just behind our forehead. This area is in charge of our executive function - cognitive behaviour, decision making and personality expression including empathy and patience.
The thing is the PFC has little capacity and can only do one thing at a time. So when you are "multitasking", the PFC is switching between tasks losing some of its operational capacity.
Also, the PFC drains quickly - like a smartphone's battery on the second year of its life, it needs daily recharging.
Playtime is one of the top ways to recharge your PFC. Allow time for play daily. A restful evening or just a 5 minute break during your working day.
What you do for play is different for all of us - for me it is being in the flow without purpose (a 5 min daydreaming), learning a new skill that requires my full concentration (playing the uke) or exploring new things (travelling).
And play becomes fun when it is shared! Sharing daydreams with my husband, playing uke with my father-in-law's rock band and jumping up the hot sand of La Dune du Pilat with a dozen other excited travellers.
And yes, it's OK if you don't feel excited about playing children games, rolling cars and dolls.
What is playtime for you?
Anya Smirnova helps women in high-pressure jobs to prepare for and go through life shifts, because shift happens! She does it through deep transformational one-on-one work. Reach out to Anya for a free no-obligation chemistry coaching session.