How to create space for play

Somewhere between swinging across monkey bars in the playground and paying bills, many of us learn to leave play behind. We start to see it as frivolous, something reserved for kids. But as many of us have realized (and as many studies have also found) play still matters even when we’re already in the throes of adulting. It relieves stress and invites joy. It fuels creativity and makes us better at problem solving. It’s fun and it also doesn’t have an age limit.

When it comes to work—whether you have your own studio, a tiny shop, or just a work desk—you can always make space for play. It doesn’t need hours of practice or perfection, just the willingness to try, make a mess, and follow your curiosity. Here are a few ways to create space at work for play.

1. Learn from the world of play

To get things started, look back on the things you enjoyed doing as a child. What brought you the most joy? What made you lose track of time and just feel free? Was it being able to go outside and bike, to build forts and play with Legos, create crafts or do Science experiments?

If you can do the same thing, go for it. Reconnect with your favorite childhood hobby. If not, for one reason or another, consider what you liked about those activities and where or how you can recreate them. Have always loved to move around? Have a stationary bike, treadmill, or whatever exercise equipment you have nearby. Keen on creating things with your hands again? Have clay on your desk or art materials. If you have more time, take up pottery or gardening at home. 

Play allows us a break from all the serious adulting we have to do every day. Before you think, it’s another thing to add to your to-do list, remember that it is solely for you. While it may have benefits for your work, it is ultimately for yourself. As Psychology Today advises, “It is going to take intention to prioritize play as a key element of your well-being… to step out of your comfort zone and let go of what you think you ‘should’...be doing instead.”

2. Start a play prompt jar

If you want to give yourself your own small breaks all throughout the work day without it always being screentime, fill a jar with play or creative prompts and pull one out when you’re feeling stuck. For some creative writing fun, you can write a letter to someone in the past (or future), write about a haunted object, or create a character based on one word. If you’re working and taking a break with a team, you can build a story together–each one adding a sentence to it. 

Your play prompts can also be specific physical activities, like dance for five minutes to a favorite song, take an adult coloring book and finish a page, play a card game. (If you’re with a team, conversation cards like So Cards from the webshop or Ugnayan Cards at the Atrium branch, are loaded with topics or questions to get the conversation going.) 

3. Create a "no-rules" material box

You remember this. As a kid in the waiting room of your doctor or dentist, if you’re lucky you find some coloring materials, coloring books, puzzle books, some building blocks, and you get to play until it’s your turn. As adults, we can use the same concept to encourage some playful making.

You can take ideas from how Common Room made over an office room to turn it into a fun co-working space. They got a bar table and filled its drawers with art materials. “In case they would like a break or they want to destress, they can do something creative with their hands,” explained co-founder Roma Agsunod.

You can also just DIY something simple:  take a small box or tray and fill it with coloring materials, paper, fabric scraps, a small sewing kit, whatever crafty tools you have lying around the house—no rules, so no right or wrong way to make something, and no, you’re not obliged to post your creation or output on social media, so no pressure.

4. Keep a curiosity journal

Always need to brainstorm for new ideas at work or for your different clients? Or maybe you just  want to put pen to paper whenever you stumble on an interesting piece of info or idea. Keep your own curiosity journal, a small notebook where you can put down those “what ifs,” the story ideas, musings, ramblings, color combos, strange trivia, and maybe a doodle or  two.

As journaling pro and crafter Nica Cosio advises in this journaling how-to video, keep your journal (and your journaling supplies) accessible. You don’t want to be hunting down for that notebook every time you have an idea. Keeping it within reach also makes it easy for you to get it when you want to flip through it whenever you feel stuck.

5. Celebrate your weirdest ideas

While we’re on the subject of writing down ideas, how about doing a mid-year flip-through of your curiosity journal. Celebrate the weirdest, most unexpected ones that brought you somewhere new. Not just the ‘brilliant mistake’ that led to something great, but also the ones you ran with and flopped because messes like those often carry with them the seeds of  perspective and growth.

This habit of honoring your unconventional ideas can help you build the courage to stand out, especially if you run your own small business. As Common Room’s Maan Agsalud puts it in this small business advice episode, “Don’t be afraid to be different. If you have a unique or interesting business idea na kakaiba, why don’t you stick with it? Trends and fads come and go, maybe in the long run it will benefit your business if you start and stick with what makes you different.”

By making room for the weird and wonderful in your creative practice, you’re not just playing, you’re practicing how to trust your own voice.

6. Celebrate all the wins… with silly rituals

Life can get hard enough to make you lose sight of the value of play. So while you’re making space for play, carve out some playful rituals for wins as well. Hit a sales goal with your team? Maybe you can do themed Zoom costumes with funny awards. Finalized sketches for a new line of merch you’ll have produced? Wear a crown made of paper scraps or pin your earliest sketch to your shirt for the rest of the day. It can be anything. Whatever it is, keep it light and joyful, and don’t overthink it.

As Maan reminded us when it comes to small business lessons learned, “What will get you through is recognizing what you already have.” And sometimes, what we already have is worth throwing a ridiculous, wonderful celebration for.