10 Ideas for the "Build Play Into Your Adult Life" Session

I'm leading a group session on exploring and building more play into our adult lives in a women's group I'm in. Here are some ideas for the session.

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1. Define what makes something "play"

Stuart Brown's 7 properties of play. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/paperbacktheology/2016/05/dr-stuart-browns-seven-properties-of-play.html

2. Think back to things you remember enjoying as a child as an adult.

3. Think about things you do not enjoy that other people do, either you dislike them or are lukewarm about them.

4. Look for common themes in the things you like and don't like.

5. Determine your "Play Personalities"

https://designepiclife.com/how-to-have-fun/ Explore how some of them may appear in different forms during your life.

6. Have everyone look at ideas for play from some different websites.

- Pick out things that sound interesting.
- Create a "play drawer" with fun things to play with that are easy to pull out and use.
- Can also be fun to go through the toy section at a store and grab some items, like balloons to toss back and forth, bubbles, and other childhood favorites.

7. Everyone creates a "Play Menu" with at least 3 items on each level

3 Tier Menu
1) Starter - Light and easy to do (low or no prep)....like chips on the table at a restaurant
2) Appetizer - A bit involved (a bit of prep, time, etc.)
3) Main Course - Highest time involvement, but more depth to the experience (maybe more setup, travel time, etc.)

8. Questions to Cover the Play Bases

Are you looking to explore new things to find something you like? Or diving deeper into something you already know you like?
Do you have things that can be done alone? And with others?
Can be done at home? Involves going other places?
Requires no new supplies? Involves exploring new supplies?
Free? Some investment (like a class or travel)?
Planned? Spontaneous?

9. Build a Play Plan

- Establish how much time you want to spend on play (days a week, hours, whatever)
- Build time for play into your schedule.
- Look for micro moments of time to play
- Combine play with other things, like getting together with family or friends, finding ways to make exercise more fun, put on music that makes you want to dance when making dinner, etc.
- Don't share it on social media (this can take you out of the moment and make it less fun)

10. Plan some time for review

It's easy to not make time for play, especially when busy. Take some time to notice how you feel after you play, and after you do different kinds of play, and use that to be reminded when you need more or different kinds of play to balance out life.

Donna