Beating Burnout with Play
Dr. Stuart Brown, CEO and founder of the National Institute for Play, describes play as time spent without purpose. While a strikingly simple concept, today’s rat race for productivity views such relaxed endeavors as a waste of time. Even well-intentioned exercise or hobbies morph into another to-do list item when the focus shifts from stress relief and relaxation to Strava stats and constant improvement.
This hustle culture mentality so pervasive in the U.S. is a recipe for burnout. Living with a nagging voice relentlessly prodding you to—work a little more after dinner—or skip the Sunday bike ride to—get ahead for the week—is a thief of necessary moments of creativity and joy. There is a time and a place for the all-star work ethic and gritty mindset, but an inability to set boundaries and step away is having a devastating affect on longevity in the workplace.
Dr. Brown points out in his research that the opposite of play isn’t work, but depression. In an interview with NPR’s Guy Raz, Brown explains, “When you are in a state of play, part of your frontal lobe gets unhooked, and a lot more associations that are all over the rest of the brain join in like a symphony.” He continues, “...in the process we get new connections, new maps, and...mood uplift.”
In an age where antidepressant prescription names are as ubiquitous as the latest trendy sneaker—it might be time to reintroduce recess and play into our lives. There was a brief but promising glimpse of this during the pandemic, when the collective productivity pause encouraged time spent developing new hobbies and creative pursuits.
For me, it was piano. To my bewilderment, I found that I would get so absorbed in learning something new, hours would go by without me noticing. It was as if I was under some sort of spell—completely transfixed by the tick, tick, tick, of the metronome while I carefully parsed out notes line by line.
This time-blindness became a welcome relief. When I eventually snapped back to reality, I’d realize I hadn’t been bothered to pick up my phone or check for any emails at all. I stopped being a consumer and started being a creator. Briefly unfettered from the work ball and chain—I was filled with happiness, pride, and a youthful exuberance for having learned and accomplished something new.
As we return to a pre-pandemic pace in society, those moments for escape and rejuvenation feel fleeting once again. After a long day of work, too exhausted to play, I’ll instead opt to lay with my phone a half inch from my face, mindlessly scrolling through videos of the latest skincare routines or dance trends. The immediate dopamine hit feels good, but the harsh reality is that it won’t last; in fact, it makes it worse. I know for certain that the more my screen-time increases, the quicker the depressive storm clouds roll in.
Instead of turning into the next Cymbalta commercial and staring out the window while raindrops drip past—play now seems like the more encouraging solution. For a taste of nostalgia, I might even throw a tennis ball against the wall or tinker with a Lego set for good measure. But whatever it is—baking, gardening, bouldering, writing, cycling—it breathes life back into the body and beats burnout one playdate at a time. After all, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.