Episode 188: 71 Ways to Add Play to Your Day
July 27, 2021
For the past two months, we’ve explored the importance of rest, relaxation, and play. Today, we want to leave you with 71 ways to add play to your day. You’ll see some of the suggestions are silly, some are spontaneous, and some you might think aren’t fun at all. And that’s ok.
Our Invitation
Here’s our invitation: add to the list and make it your own. When someone says “I’m bored,” pull out the list, ask for a number and take five minutes to add play to your day.
We don’t walk through all 71 ideas on the podcast, that’s what this list below is for. Instead, we have a short conversation about coming up with this list and one idea on the list.
Enjoy! Or maybe we should say, “have fun!”
Write it Down/Talk it Out
- Create a “play” list – what activities can you do for hours on end?
- Put play on your calendar if you need to.
- Include others in moments of fun and play.
71 Ways to Add Play to Your Day
- Laugh
- Toss a ball
- Kick a ball
- Color (outside the lines)
- Grab a board game
- Grab a deck of cards
- Get on the floor with a child and play with their toys
- Experiment in the kitchen with a new recipe
- Go to a ballgame
- Go to a park
- Go for a bike ride (or take a scooter for a ride)
- Swing on the swings
- Slide on a slide.
- Write with your non-dominant hand
- Go for a walk or a run
- Play catch with your dog
- Jump in a pool (that’s deep enough to jump in)
- Splash in a bathtub
- Have a pillow fight
- Play hide and seek
- Play a childhood game outdoors
- Listen to your favorite music
- Have a dance party – for five minutes in the kitchen
- Set a timer and dance like no one is watching for five minutes
- Lay in the grass and look at the clouds
- Pick a flower
- Paint with your fingers
- Paint with watercolors
- Draw with your eyes closed
- Draw a flower/plant/still object without looking at your paper
- Draw an object from memory without picking up your pen (toilet, a flower in a vase, an oven, the console in a car)
- Blow bubbles (with bubble gum or a wand)
- Make a rootbeer float
- Skip a rock on a lake (or sink it)
- Go swimming
- Take a boat ride/Go kayaking
- Go fishing
- Take a hike
- Have a picnic
- Play in a sandbox
- Plant seeds/bulbs
- Eat dessert first
- Leave your phone at home
- Do what you want for an entire day
- Start the day with a joke or “groaner” Did you hear about the house with the roof? It’s over your head.
- Tell a knock-knock joke.
- Eat breakfast for dinner
- Sew something for fun – without a machine.
- Take 10 pictures of someone you love (use your cell phone)
- Take a selfie to remember a moment of fun
- Host an unbirthday party for the people you work with
- Celebrate an ordinary moment with ___
- Give a standing ovation at an unexpected moment
- Movie night in your PJs
- Toss confetti at the end of a long day! You made it!
- Sit down with someone and make a list of fun things to do this summer. Have fun doing it.
- Play dodgeball
- Jump in the deep end of a pool (if you know how to swim)
- Follow the spontaneity of a child
- Have a tea party
- Find designs in the bark of a tree, the clouds, pavement, flowers, etc.
- Share a silly memory of the person you’re with right now.
- Play kickball, volleyball, cornhole
- Jump rope
- Jump on a pogo stick
- Jump on a trampoline
- Jump on the bed (…while singing no more monkeys jumping on the bed…)
- Jump in a puddle after the rain
- Play in the rain
- Read or listen to a book
- Play eye spy.