time spent offline

Rule 1: Define play

Play is the work of children. It consists of those activities performed for self-amusement. It is child-directed, and the rewards come from within the individual child; it is enjoyable and spontaneous.

• How do you define play for yourself?

Rule 2: Sell your cleverness, and embrace bewilderment.

• Cleverness is mere opinion, bewilderment is intuition. The best way to allow your intuition to come out is to…

Rule 3: Act like a child!

• Follow your inner instinct to play and connect. When you see a playground, run to the swings and say to your partner, “push me, push me, push meeeeeeeee!” Walk into any shop or store that calls your attention and chat with the store clerk as if their shop is the coolest thing you have been to all week. Compliment people on their beautiful garden when you see them on their porch; shout “BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS!” Pet a cat or a dog when you see one: Ask first, “Can I pet your dog?!??” Complain openly and loudly when you feel tired and/or bored: “I’m done with this shit!”— you can swear as an adult. Cry if nobody pays attention to you.

Rule 4: Schedule time to play.

• When we were kids, all we did was imagine and play. Our lives were our canvases, and we inherently understood that we could make believe absolutely anything and spend the day living it out. The same is true in adulthood, but over the course of a few decades, the world tends to have a way of beating the magic out of you. If you really want to enjoy life, you have to make time to do what you loved when you were young. Paint, play in the sand, play games you love, and be creative for the sake of it. (Source: The Mountain is You)

Rule 5: Never pass an opportunity for random acts of play!

• Here is a simple, favourite random act of play: Whenever you come across a playground, go on the swing. No matter what. Take off your heels, your coat, throw your bag on the dirt, and get on the swing. Go as high as you can. What other random acts of play can you commit to?

Rule 6: Borrow a kid(s)

• They are the best teachers at play, and really just at living. Instead of attempting to brainwash them with your clever adult wisdom— they don’t really care anyway, I promise— let them teach you how to live well with their intuition for play and pure enjoyment.

If you have a child of two or three, or can borrow one, let her give you beginning lessons in looking.

— Corita Kent and Jan Steward, Learning By Heart

Rule 7: Move online play offline (if possible)

• I have the Sudoku app, one of the handful apps on my phone, and the only entertainment app I have on my dumb smartphone. Sudoku is my favourite play, and a while back I found a 400+ Sudoku puzzle book plus the below piece. It is completely offline paired with background music. No internet connection required.

Rule 8: Go wandering!

• Go to the museum and look at each piece with this question in mind: Does this art interest me? If it doesn’t interest you, say ‘god no,’ and move onto the next one.

Rule 9: Amuse yourself.

Rule 10: Practice makes perfect.

• As with most things in life, the more you play, the better you get at it. Go play!