33 ways to play and bring more fun into your everyday life
This is an adaption of a post I wrote on my Substack, where I often share my own creative journey and experiences. You can join me on Substack over here.
Some small & simple ideas to bring more curiosity and play into your everyday.
A creative life is a life of uncertainty in a lot of ways. You may not know exactly what direction you’re going, or where you’re going to end up, but you dive right in anyway, putting one foot in front of the other and following the threads of curiosity.
Stepping into the unknown is a scary thing to do, and the practice of play is something that can support us through the process. It’s something I try to bring into my life often. Play requires that we relinquish control of outcomes and open up to all possibilities. It’s something we did naturally as children, but it becomes harder to do as we become adults. It’s often looked down on and dismissed, but opening up to play opens up creativity.
Play doesn’t have to be hard though. Small and simple moments of play can transform your day and build your resilience to facing the unknown, and so I thought I’d offer out 33 easy ways to bring more play into your life.
Pick one that feels fun, and give it a try!
33 Ways to Play
Eat or drink something you used to love as a child and haven’t had in ages (I bought some Ribena recently - yum!)
Play “Guess Who” but you can’t use physical descriptions (like the social trend)
Don’t walk on the cracks in the pavement
If you have a dog, let it take you for a walk. Or take the lead, so to speak. See where it wants to go (although keep it safe and legal!)
Play the Exquisite Corpse game
Collect random items from nature when you’re next out somewhere, and use them in your next creative project somehow
Buy a magazine you’ve never read before that looks kind of interesting
Visit somewhere you know well with someone else, and let them decide where to go and what to look at. See the world through their eyes.
Spin around in a swivel chair
Put on a song you love and DANCE
Pick a street near you that you’ve never been down, and go there
Order something you’ve never tried in a cafe
Draw something with your eyes closed
Look for shapes in the clouds
People-watch, and make up names and stories for the people you see
Colour in a crossword to represent how the questions make you feel
Stay in bed a bit longer when you think you shouldn’t, but actually you can
Pick a shape and draw it over and over on a page
Read a book!
Read a newspaper backwards
Say a word over and over until you get semantic satiation
Draw something in the ‘wrong’ colour (purple apple anyone?)
Play with something you used to when you were a child
Look around and write down the first 20 words you see. Re-arrange them into a new sentence or poem.
In your mind or out loud, narrate your life in the 3rd person for a while
Google Translate the last 3 tv shows/movies you watched into Korean and back again
Open a window somewhere else in the world here
Draw some scribbles on a page, then turn them into animals or people
Play pooh sticks
Test your local street knowledge with Back of Your Hand
Eat a macadamia nut - it’s kind of like walking on snow in your mouth!
Discover what your play style is with Lindsay Bramham’s quiz
Go on a smell seeking adventure. Find 5 different smells.